73 research outputs found
Comment on 'Model-dependence of Shapiro time delay and the "speed of gravity/speed of light" controversy'
In a recent paper published in Classical and Quantum Gravity, 2004, vol. 21,
p. 3803 Carlip used a vector-tensor theory of gravity to calculate the Shapiro
time delay by a moving gravitational lens. He claimed that the relativistic
correction of the order of v/c beyond the static part of the Shapiro delay
depends on the speed of light c and, hence, the Fomalont-Kopeikin experiment is
not sensitive to the speed of gravity c_g. In this letter we analyze Carlip's
calculation and demonstrate that it implies a gravitodynamic (non-metric)
system of units based on the principle of the constancy of the speed of gravity
but it is disconnected from the practical method of measurement of astronomical
distances based on the principle of the constancy of the speed of light and the
SI metric (electrodynamic) system of units. Re-adjustment of
theoretically-admissible but practically unmeasurable Carlip's coordinates to
the SI metric system of units used in JPL ephemeris, reveals that the
velocity-dependent correction to the static part of the Shapiro time delay does
depend on the speed of gravity c_g as shown by Kopeikin in Classical and
Quantum Gravity, 2004, vol. 21, p. 1. This analysis elucidates the importance
of employing the metric system of units for physically meaningful
interpretation of gravitational experiments.Comment: 8 pages, no figures, accepted to Classical and Quantum Gravit
Unparticle physics and neutrino phenomenology
We have constrained unparticle interactions with neutrinos and electrons
using available data on neutrino-electron elastic scattering and the four CERN
LEP experiments data on mono photon production. We have found that, for
neutrino-electron elastic scattering, the MUNU experiment gives better
constraints than previous reported limits in the region d>1.5. The results are
compared with the current astrophysical limits, pointing out the cases where
these limits may or may not apply. We also discuss the sensitivity of future
experiments to unparticle physics. In particular, we show that the measurement
of coherent reactor neutrino scattering off nuclei could provide a good
sensitivity to the couplings of unparticle interaction with neutrinos and
quarks. We also discuss the case of future neutrino-electron experiments as
well as the International Linear Collider.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. Minor changes, final versio
Effect of asymmetry of the radio source distribution on the apparent proper motion kinematic analysis
A new list of physical characteristics of 4261 astrometric radio sources,
including all 717 ICRF-Ext.2 sources has been compiled. Comparison of our data
of optical characteristics with the official International Earth Rotation and
Reference Systems Service (IERS) list showed significant discrepancies for
about half of 667 common sources. We also found that asymmetry in the radio
sources distribution between hemispheres could cause significant correlation
between the vector spherical harmonics, especially if the case of sparse
distribution of the sources with high redshift. We identified radio sources
having many-year observation history and lack redshift. This sources should be
urgently observed at large optical telescopes. The list of optical
characteristics created in this paper is recommended for use as a supplement
material for the next International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF)
realization. It can be also effectively used for cosmological studies and
planning of observing programs both in radio and optics.Comment: 9 page
The influence of Galactic aberration on precession parameters determined from VLBI observations
The influence of proper motions of sources due to Galactic aberration on
precession models based on VLBI data is determined. Comparisons of the linear
trends in the coordinates of the celestial pole obtained with and without
taking into account Galactic aberration indicate that this effect can reach 20
as per century, which is important for modern precession models. It is
also shown that correcting for Galactic aberration influences the derived
parameters of low-frequency nutation terms. It is therefore necessary to
correct for Galactic aberration in the reduction of modern astrometric
observations
A uniform treatment of the orbital effects due to a violation of the Strong Equivalence Principle in the gravitational Stark-like limit
We analytically work out several effects which a violation of the Strong
Equivalence Principle (SEP) induces on the orbital motion of a binary system
constituted of self-gravitating bodies immersed in a constant and uniform
external field. We do not restrict to the small eccentricity limit. Moreover,
we do not select any specific spatial orientation of the external polarizing
field. We explicitly calculate the SEP-induced mean rates of change of all the
osculating Keplerian orbital elements of the binary, the perturbation of the
projection of the binary orbit onto the line-of-sight, the shift of the radial
velocity, and the range and range-rate signatures and as well. We find that the
ratio of the SEP precessions of the node and the inclination of the binary
depends only on and the pericenter of the binary itself, being independent on
both the magnitude and the orientation of the polarizing field, and on the
semimajor axis, the eccentricity and the node of the binary. Our results, which
do not depend on any particular SEP-violating theoretical scheme, can be
applied to quite general astronomical and astrophysical scenarios. They can be
used to better interpret present and future SEP experiments, especially when
several theoretical SEP mechanisms may be involved, and to suitably design new
dedicated tests.Comment: LaTex2e, 14 pages, no figures, no tables, 42 references. To appear in
Classical and Quantum Gravity (CQG
The first result of the neutrino magnetic moment measurement in the GEMMA experiment
The first result of the neutrino magnetic moment measurement at the
Kalininskaya Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) with the GEMMA spectrometer is
presented. An antineutrino-electron scattering is investigated. A high-purity
germanium detector of 1.5 kg placed 13.9 m away from the 3 GW reactor core is
used in the spectrometer. The antineutrino flux is . The differential method is used to extract the -e
electromagnetic scattering events. The scattered electron spectra taken in 6200
and 2064 hours for the reactor ON and OFF periods are compared. The upper limit
for the neutrino magnetic moment Bohr magnetons
at 90{%} CL is derived from the data processing.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, 2 table
PEXO : a global modeling framework for nanosecond timing, microsecond astrometry, and μm/s radial velocities
54 pages, 2 tables, 19 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS, PEXO is available at https://github.com/phillippro/pexoThe ability to make independent detections of the signatures of exoplanets with complementary telescopes and instruments brings a new potential for robust identification of exoplanets and precision characterization. We introduce PEXO, a package for Precise EXOplanetology to facilitate the efficient modeling of timing, astrometry, and radial velocity data, which will benefit not only exoplanet science but also various astrophysical studies in general. PEXO is general enough to account for binary motion and stellar reflex motions induced by planetary companions and is precise enough to treat various relativistic effects both in the solar system and in the target system. We also model the post-Newtonian barycentric motion for future tests of general relativity in extrasolar systems. We benchmark PEXO with the pulsar timing package TEMPO2 and find that PEXO produces numerically similar results with timing precision of about 1 ns, space-based astrometry to a precision of 1{\mu}as, and radial velocity of 1 {\mu}m/s and improves on TEMPO2 for decade-long timing data of nearby targets, due to its consideration of third-order terms of Roemer delay. PEXO is able to avoid the bias introduced by decoupling the target system and the solar system and to account for the atmospheric effects which set a practical limit for ground-based radial velocities close to 1 cm/s. Considering the various caveats in barycentric correction and ancillary data required to realize cm/s modeling, we recommend the preservation of original observational data. The PEXO modeling package is available at GitHub (https://github.com/phillippro/pexo).Peer reviewe
Limits on the neutrino magnetic moment from the MUNU experiment
The MUNU experiment was carried out at the Bugey nuclear power reactor. The
aim was the study of electron antineutrino-electron elastic scattering at low
energy. The recoil electrons were recorded in a gas time projection chamber,
immersed in a tank filled with liquid scintillator serving as veto detector,
suppressing in particular Compton electrons. The measured electron recoil
spectrum is presented. Upper limits on the neutrino magnetic moment were
derived and are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures Added reference: p.3, 1st col., TEXONO Added
sentence: p.4, 1st col., electron attachement Modified sentence: p.5, 1st
col., readout sequence Added sentence: p.5, 1st col., fast rise time cu
Production of Electron Neutrinos at Nuclear Power Reactors and the Prospects for Neutrino Physics
High flux of electron neutrinos(\nue) is produced at nuclear power reactors
through the decays of nuclei activated by neutron capture. Realistic simulation
studies on the neutron transport and capture at the reactor core were
performed. The production of \chr51 and \fe55 give rise to mono-energetic
\nue's at Q-values of 753 keV and 231 keV and fluxes of
and \nue/fission, respectively. Using data from a
germanium detector at the Kuo-Sheng Power Plant, we derived direct limits on
the \nue magnetic moment and the radiative lifetime of \mu_{\nu} < 1.3
\times 10^{-8} ~ \mub and at 90%
confidence level (CL), respectively. Indirect bounds on were also inferred. The \nue-flux can be enhanced by loading
selected isotopes to the reactor core, and the potential applications and
achievable statistical accuracies were examined. These include accurate
cross-section measurements, studies of mixing angle and
monitoring of plutonium production.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 7 table
Determination of Redshifts for Selected IVS Sources. I
From observations with the 6-m BTA telescope at SAO RAS, we have determined
spectroscopic redshifts of seven optical objects whose coordinates coincide
with those of radio sources from the list of IVS (International VLBI Service
for Geodesy and Astrometry). When compared to radio data, the obtained spectra
and redshifts provide evidence for reliable identification of four observed
objects; the other three require further study. The distances to the sources
derived from our measurements will make it possible to refine the current
estimates for parameters of cosmological models based on proper motions of
these objects, which are determined from geodetic VLBI observations.Comment: 8 pp., submitted to Astrophysic
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