305 research outputs found
Geodesic Deviation in Regge Calculus
Geodesic deviation is the most basic manifestation of the influence of
gravitational fields on matter. We investigate geodesic deviation within the
framework of Regge calculus, and compare the results with the continuous
formulation of general relativity on two different levels. We show that the
continuum and simplicial descriptions coincide when the cumulative effect of
the Regge contributions over an infinitesimal element of area is considered.
This comparison provides a quantitative relation between the curvature of the
continuous description and the deficit angles of Regge calculus. The results
presented might also be of help in developing generic ways of including matter
terms in the Regge equations.Comment: 9 pages. Latex 2e with 5 EPS figures. Submitted to CQ
Synchrotron Self-Compton Model for Rapid Nonthermal Flares in Blazars with Frequency-Dependent Time Lags
We model rapid variability of multifrequency emission from blazars occurring
across the electromagnetic spectrum (from radio to gamma-rays). Lower energy
emission is produced by the synchrotron mechanism, whereas higher energy
emission is due to inverse Compton scattering of the synchrotron emission. We
take into account energy stratification established by particle acceleration at
shock fronts and energy losses due to synchrotron emission. We also consider
the effect of light travel delays for the synchrotron emission that supplies
the seed photons for inverse Compton scattering. The production of a flare is
caused by the collision between a relativistic shock wave and a stationary
feature in the jet (e.g., a Mach disk). The collision leads to the formation of
forward and reverse shocks, which confine two contiguous emission regions
resulting in complex profiles of simulated flares. Simulations of
multifrequency flares indicate that relative delays between the inverse Compton
flares and their synchrotron counterparts are dominated by energy
stratification and geometry of the emitting regions, resulting in both negative
and positive time delays depending on the frequency of observation. Light
travel effects of the seed photons may lead to a noticeable delay of the
inverse Compton emission with respect to synchrotron variability if the line of
sight is almost perfectly aligned with the jet. We apply the model to a flare
in 3C 273 and derive the properties of shocked plasma responsible for the
flare. We show that the pronounced negative time delay between the X-ray and IR
light curves (X-rays peak after the maximum in the synchrotron emission) can be
accounted for if both forward and reverse shocks are considered.Comment: 48 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Topological Lattice Gravity Using Self-Dual Variables
Topological gravity is the reduction of general relativity to flat
space-times. A lattice model describing topological gravity is developed
starting from a Hamiltonian lattice version of B\w F theory. The extra
symmetries not present in gravity that kill the local degrees of freedom in
theory are removed. The remaining symmetries preserve the
geometrical character of the lattice. Using self-dual variables, the conditions
that guarantee the geometricity of the lattice become reality conditions. The
local part of the remaining symmetry generators, that respect the
geometricity-reality conditions, has the form of Ashtekar's constraints for GR.
Only after constraining the initial data to flat lattices and considering the
non-local (plus local) part of the constraints does the algebra of the symmetry
generators close. A strategy to extend the model for non-flat connections and
quantization are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, revtex, no figure
Cauchy-characteristic Evolution of Einstein-Klein-Gordon Systems: The Black Hole Regime
The Cauchy+characteristic matching (CCM) problem for the scalar wave equation
is investigated in the background geometry of a Schwarzschild black hole.
Previously reported work developed the CCM framework for the coupled
Einstein-Klein-Gordon system of equations, assuming a regular center of
symmetry. Here, the time evolution after the formation of a black hole is
pursued, using a CCM formulation of the governing equations perturbed around
the Schwarzschild background. An extension of the matching scheme allows for
arbitrary matching boundary motion across the coordinate grid. As a proof of
concept, the late time behavior of the dynamics of the scalar field is
explored. The power-law tails in both the time-like and null infinity limits
are verified.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. D, 9 pages, revtex, 5 figures available at
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/nr/preprints.htm
Cauchy-characteristic Evolution of Einstein-Klein-Gordon Systems
A Cauchy-characteristic initial value problem for the Einstein-Klein-Gordon
system with spherical symmetry is presented. Initial data are specified on the
union of a space-like and null hypersurface. The development of the data is
obtained with the combination of a constrained Cauchy evolution in the interior
domain and a characteristic evolution in the exterior, asymptotically flat
region. The matching interface between the space-like and characteristic
foliations is constructed by imposing continuity conditions on metric,
extrinsic curvature and scalar field variables, ensuring smoothness across the
matching surface. The accuracy of the method is established for all ranges of
, most notably, with a detailed comparison of invariant observables
against reference solutions obtained with a calibrated, global, null algorithm.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, 16 pages, revtex, 7 figures available at
http://nr.astro.psu.edu:8080/preprints.htm
Apparent horizons in simplicial Brill wave initial data
We construct initial data for a particular class of Brill wave metrics using
Regge calculus, and compare the results to a corresponding continuum solution,
finding excellent agreement. We then search for trapped surfaces in both sets
of initial data, and provide an independent verification of the existence of an
apparent horizon once a critical gravitational wave amplitude is passed. Our
estimate of this critical value, using both the Regge and continuum solutions,
supports other recent findings.Comment: 7 pages, 6 EPS figures, LaTeX 2e. Submitted to Class. Quant. Gra
A fully (3+1)-D Regge calculus model of the Kasner cosmology
We describe the first discrete-time 4-dimensional numerical application of
Regge calculus. The spacetime is represented as a complex of 4-dimensional
simplices, and the geometry interior to each 4-simplex is flat Minkowski
spacetime. This simplicial spacetime is constructed so as to be foliated with a
one parameter family of spacelike hypersurfaces built of tetrahedra. We
implement a novel two-surface initial-data prescription for Regge calculus, and
provide the first fully 4-dimensional application of an implicit decoupled
evolution scheme (the ``Sorkin evolution scheme''). We benchmark this code on
the Kasner cosmology --- a cosmology which embodies generic features of the
collapse of many cosmological models. We (1) reproduce the continuum solution
with a fractional error in the 3-volume of 10^{-5} after 10000 evolution steps,
(2) demonstrate stable evolution, (3) preserve the standard deviation of
spatial homogeneity to less than 10^{-10} and (4) explicitly display the
existence of diffeomorphism freedom in Regge calculus. We also present the
second-order convergence properties of the solution to the continuum.Comment: 22 pages, 5 eps figures, LaTeX. Updated and expanded versio
Stable characteristic evolution of generic 3-dimensional single-black-hole spacetimes
We report new results which establish that the accurate 3-dimensional
numerical simulation of generic single-black-hole spacetimes has been achieved
by characteristic evolution with unlimited long term stability. Our results
cover a selection of distorted, moving and spinning single black holes, with
evolution times up to 60,000M.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Relativistic hydrodynamics on spacelike and null surfaces: Formalism and computations of spherically symmetric spacetimes
We introduce a formulation of Eulerian general relativistic hydrodynamics
which is applicable for (perfect) fluid data prescribed on either spacelike or
null hypersurfaces. Simple explicit expressions for the characteristic speeds
and fields are derived in the general case. A complete implementation of the
formalism is developed in the case of spherical symmetry. The algorithm is
tested in a number of different situations, predisposing for a range of
possible applications. We consider the Riemann problem for a polytropic gas,
with initial data given on a retarded/advanced time slice of Minkowski
spacetime. We compute perfect fluid accretion onto a Schwarzschild black hole
spacetime using ingoing null Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates. Tests of fluid
evolution on dynamic background include constant density and TOV stars sliced
along the radial null cones. Finally, we consider the accretion of
self-gravitating matter onto a central black hole and the ensuing increase in
the mass of the black hole horizon.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Proton--induced deuteron breakup at GeV energies with forward emission of a fast proton pair
A study of the deuteron breakup reaction with forward emission
of a fast proton pair with small excitation energy 3 MeV has been
performed at the ANKE spectrometer at COSY--J\"ulich. An exclusive measurement
was carried out at six proton--beam energies ~0.6,~0.7,~0.8,~0.95,~1.35,
and 1.9 GeV by reconstructing the momenta of the two protons. The differential
cross section of the breakup reaction, averaged up to over the cm
polar angle of the total momentum of the pairs, has been obtained. Since
the kinematics of this process is quite similar to that of backward elastic scattering, the results are compared to calculations based on a
theoretical model previously applied to the process.Comment: 17 pages including 6 figures and 1 table v2: minor changes; v3: minor
change of author list; v4: changes in accordance with referee remark
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