58,014 research outputs found
Orbital evolution of a test particle around a black hole: higher-order corrections
We study the orbital evolution of a radiation-damped binary in the extreme
mass ratio limit, and the resulting waveforms, to one order beyond what can be
obtained using the conservation laws approach. The equations of motion are
solved perturbatively in the mass ratio (or the corresponding parameter in the
scalar field toy model), using the self force, for quasi-circular orbits around
a Schwarzschild black hole. This approach is applied for the scalar model.
Higher-order corrections yield a phase shift which, if included, may make
gravitational-wave astronomy potentially highly accurate.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Encapsulated PostScript figure
Coaxial cable stripping device facilitates RF cabling fabrication
Coaxial cable stripping device assures clean, right angled shoulder for RF cable connector fabrication. This method requires minimal skill and creates a low voltage standing wave ratio and mechanical stability in the interconnecting RF Cables
Seismic gravity-gradient noise in interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
When ambient seismic waves pass near and under an interferometric gravitational-wave detector, they induce density perturbations in the Earth, which in turn produce fluctuating gravitational forces on the interferometerâs test masses. These forces mimic a stochastic background of gravitational waves and thus constitute a noise source. This seismic gravity-gradient noise has been estimated and discussed previously by Saulson using a simple model of the Earthâs ambient seismic motions. In this paper, we develop a more sophisticated model of these motions, based on the theory of multimode Rayleigh and Love waves propagating in a multilayer medium that approximates the geological strata at the LIGO sites, and we use this model to reexamine seismic gravity gradients. We characterize the seismic gravity-gradient noise by a transfer function, T(f )âĄxĚ(f )/WĚ(f ), from the spectrum of rms seismic displacements averaged over vertical and horizontal directions, WĚ(f ), to the spectrum of interferometric test-mass motions, xĚ(f )âĄLhĚ(f ); here L is the interferometer arm length, hĚ(f ) is the gravitational-wave noise spectrum, and f is frequency. Our model predicts a transfer function with essentially the same functional form as that derived by Saulson, Tâ4ĎGĎ(2Ďf )-2β(f ), where Ď is the density of Earth near the test masses, G is Newtonâs constant, and β(f )âĄÎł(f )Î(f )βâ˛(f ) is a dimensionless reduced transfer function whose components Îłâ1 and Îâ1 account for a weak correlation between the interferometerâs two corner test masses and a slight reduction of the noise due to the height of the test masses above the Earthâs surface. This paperâs primary foci are (i) a study of how βâ˛(f )âβ(f ) depends on the various Rayleigh and Love modes that are present in the seismic spectrum, (ii) an attempt to estimate which modes are actually present at the two LIGO sites at quiet times and at noisy times, and (iii) a corresponding estimate of the magnitude of βâ˛(f ) at quiet and noisy times. We conclude that at quiet times βâ˛â0.35â0.6 at the LIGO sites, and at noisy times βâ˛â0.15â1.4. (For comparison, Saulsonâs simple model gave β=βâ˛=1/sqrt[3]=0.58.) By folding our resulting transfer function into the âstandard LIGO seismic spectrum,â which approximates WĚ(f ) at typical times, we obtain the gravity-gradient noise spectra. At quiet times this noise is below the benchmark noise level of âadvanced LIGO interferometersâ at all frequencies (though not by much at âź10 Hz); at noisy times it may significantly exceed the advanced noise level near 10 Hz. The lower edge of our quiet-time noise constitutes a limit, beyond which there would be little gain from further improvements in vibration isolation and thermal noise, unless one can also reduce the seismic gravity gradient noise. Two methods of such reduction are briefly discussed: monitoring the Earthâs density perturbations near each test mass, computing the gravitational forces they produce, and correcting the data for those forces; and constructing narrow moats around the interferometersâ corner and end stations to shield out the fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves, which we suspect dominate at quiet times
Extreme Mass Ratio Binary: Radiation reaction and gravitational waveform
For a successful detection of gravitational waves by LISA, it is essential to
construct theoretical waveforms in a reliable manner. We discuss gravitational
waves from an extreme mass ratio binary system which is expected to be a
promising target of the LISA project.
The extreme mass ratio binary is a binary system of a supermassive black hole
and a stellar mass compact object. As the supermassive black hole dominates the
gravitational field of the system, we suppose that the system might be well
approximated by a metric perturbation of a Kerr black hole. We discuss a recent
theoretical progress in calculating the waveforms from such a system.Comment: Classical and Quantum Gravity 22 (2005) S375-S379, Proceedings for
5th International LISA Symposiu
Some analysis on the diurnal variation of rainfall over the Atlantic Ocean
Data collected from the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE) was examined. The data were collected from 10,000 grid points arranged as a 100 x 100 array; each grid covered a 4 square km area. The amount of rainfall was measured every 15 minutes during the experiment periods using c-band radars. Two types of analyses were performed on the data: analysis of diurnal variation was done on each of grid points based on the rainfall averages at noon and at midnight, and time series analysis on selected grid points based on the hourly averages of rainfall. Since there are no known distribution model which best describes the rainfall amount, nonparametric methods were used to examine the diurnal variation. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test if the rainfalls at noon and at midnight have the same statistical distribution. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test if the noon rainfall is heavier than, equal to, or lighter than the midnight rainfall. These tests were done on each of the 10,000 grid points at which the data are available
Double-impulse magnetic focusing of launched cold atoms.
We have theoretically investigated three-dimensional focusing of a launched cloud of cold atoms using a pair of magnetic lens pulses (the alternate-gradient method). Individual lenses focus radially and defocus axially or vice versa. The performance of the two possible pulse sequences are compared and found to be ideal for loading both 'pancake' and 'sausage' shaped magnetic/optical microtraps. It is shown that focusing aberrations are considerably smaller for double-impulse magnetic lenses compared to single-impulse magnetic lenses. An analysis of clouds focused by the double-impulse technique is presented
Tidal stability of giant molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Star formation does not occur until the onset of gravitational collapse
inside giant molecular clouds. However, the conditions that initiate cloud
collapse and regulate the star formation process remain poorly understood.
Local processes such as turbulence and magnetic fields can act to promote or
prevent collapse. On larger scales, the galactic potential can also influence
cloud stability and is traditionally assessed by the tidal and shear effects.
In this paper, we examine the stability of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) against shear and the galactic tide using CO data
from the Magellanic Mopra Assessment (MAGMA) and rotation curve data from the
literature. We calculate the tidal acceleration experienced by individual GMCs
and determine the minimum cloud mass required for tidal stability. We also
calculate the shear parameter, which is a measure of a clouds susceptibility to
disruption via shearing forces in the galactic disk. We examine whether there
are correlations between the properties and star forming activity of GMCs and
their stability against shear and tidal disruption. We find that the GMCs are
in approximate tidal balance in the LMC, and that shear is unlikely to affect
their further evolution. GMCs with masses close to the minimal stable mass
against tidal disruption are not unusual in terms of their mass, location, or
CO brightness, but we note that GMCs with large velocity dispersion tend to be
more sensitive to tidal instability. We also note that GMCs with smaller radii,
which represent the majority of our sample, tend to more strongly resist tidal
and shear disruption. Our results demonstrate that star formation in the LMC is
not inhibited by to tidal or shear instability.Comment: 18 pages, 10 Figures, Accepted in PAS
AGAPEROS: Searching for variable stars in the LMC Bar with the Pixel Method. I. Detection, astrometry and cross-identification
We extend the work developed in previous papers on microlensing with a
selection of variable stars. We use the Pixel Method to select variable stars
on a set of 2.5 x 10**6 pixel light curves in the LMC Bar presented elsewhere.
The previous treatment was done in order to optimise the detection of long
timescale variations (larger than a few days) and we further optimise our
analysis for the selection of Long Timescale and Long Period Variables
(LT&LPV). We choose to perform a selection of variable objects as comprehensive
as possible, independent of periodicity and of their position on the colour
magnitude diagram. We detail the different thresholds successively applied to
the light curves, which allow to produce a catalogue of 632 variable objects.
We present a table with the coordinate of each variable, its EROS magnitudes at
one epoch and an indicator of blending in both colours, together with a finding
chart.
A cross-correlation with various catalogues shows that 90% of those variable
objects were undetected before, thus enlarging the sample of LT&LPV previously
known in this area by a factor of 10. Due to the limitations of both the Pixel
Method and the data set, additional data -- namely a longer baseline and near
infrared photometry -- are required to further characterise these variable
stars, as will be addressed in subsequent papers.Comment: 11 pages with 10 figure
Global symmetries of Yang-Mills squared in various dimensions
Tensoring two on-shell super Yang-Mills multiplets in dimensions
yields an on-shell supergravity multiplet, possibly with additional matter
multiplets. Associating a (direct sum of) division algebra(s) with
each dimension we obtain formulae for the algebras
and of the U-duality group and its maximal
compact subgroup , respectively, in terms of the internal global symmetry
algebras of each super Yang-Mills theory. We extend our analysis to include
supergravities coupled to an arbitrary number of matter multiplets by allowing
for non-supersymmetric multiplets in the tensor product.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, references added, minor typos corrected, further
comments on sec. 2.4 included, updated to match version to appear in JHE
Gravitational Effects in Quantum Mechanics
To date, both quantum theory, and Einstein's theory of general relativity
have passed every experimental test in their respective regimes. Nevertheless,
almost since their inception, there has been debate surrounding whether they
should be unified and by now there exists strong theoretical arguments pointing
to the necessity of quantising the gravitational field. In recent years, a
number of experiments have been proposed which, if successful, should give
insight into features at the Planck scale. Here we review some of the
motivations, from the perspective of semi-classical arguments, to expect new
physical effects at the overlap of quantum theory and general relativity. We
conclude with a short introduction to some of the proposals being made to
facilitate empirical verification.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, review article. Submitted to Contemporary
Physic
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