Cosmological solutions of the Vlasov-Einstein system with spherical, plane, and hyperbolic symmetry

The Vlasov-Einstein system describes a self-gravitating, collisionless gas within the framework of general relativity. We investigate the initial value problem in a cosmological setting with spherical, plane, or hyperbolic symmetry and prove that for small initial data solutions exist up to a spacetime singularity which is a curvature and a crushing singularity. An important tool in the analysis is a local existence result with a continuation criterion saying that solutions can be extended as long as the momenta in the support of the phase-space distribution of the matter remain bounded.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX, report 94

PCAC and the Deficit of Forward Muons in pi^+ Production by Neutrinos

The K2K experiment, using a fine-grained detector in a neutrino beam of energy $\sim 1.3 \mathrm{GeV}$ has observed two-track events that can be interpreted as a coherent reaction $\nu_\mu + \N \to \mu^- + \N + \pi^+ (\N = \rm{C}^{12})$ or an incoherent process $\nu_\mu + (p,n) \to \mu^- + \pi^+ + (p,n)$, the final nucleon being unobserved. The data show a significant deficit of forward-going muons in the interval $Q^2 \lesssim 0.1 \rm{GeV}^2$, where a sizeable coherent signal is expected. We attempt an explanantion of this effect, using a PCAC formula that includes the effect of the non-vanishing muon mass. A suppression of about 25 % is caused by a destructive interference of the axial vector and pseudoscalar (pion-exchange) amplitudes. The incoherent background is also reduced by 10 - 15 %. As a consequence the discrepancy between theory and observation is significantly reduced.Comment: 4 pages including 1 figure, changes in abstract and text; version to appear in Phys.Lett.

On future geodesic completeness for the Einstein-Vlasov system with hyperbolic symmetry

Spacetimes with collisionless matter evolving from data on a compact Cauchy surface with hyperbolic symmetry are shown to be timelike and null geodesically complete in the expanding direction, provided the data satisfy a certain size restriction.Comment: 8 page

Static shells for the Vlasov-Poisson and Vlasov-Einstein systems

We prove the existence of static, spherically symmetric solutions of the stellar dynamic Vlasov-Poisson and Vlasov-Einstein systems, which have the property that their spatial support is a finite, spherically symmetric shell with a vacuum region at the center.Comment: 14 pages, LaTe

Nonlinear stability of homogeneous models in Newtonian cosmology

We consider the Vlasov-Poisson system in a cosmological setting and prove nonlinear stability of homogeneous solutions against small, spatially periodic perturbations in the sup-norm of the spatial mass density. This result is connected with the question of how large scale structures such as galaxies have evolved out of the homogeneous state of the early universe.Comment: 19 pages, late

Flat steady states in stellar dynamics - existence and stability

We consider a special case of the three dimensional Vlasov-Poisson system where the particles are restricted to a plane, a situation that is used in astrophysics to model extremely flattened galaxies. We prove the existence of steady states of this system. They are obtained as minimizers of an energy-Casimir functional from which fact a certain dynamical stability property is deduced. From a mathematics point of view these steady states provide examples of partially singular solutions of the three dimensional Vlasov-Poisson system.Comment: 25 pages, LaTe

Non-linear stability of gaseous stars

We construct steady states of the Euler-Poisson system with a barotropic equation of state as minimizers of a suitably defined energy functional. Their minimizing property implies the non-linear stability of such states against general, i.e., not necessarily spherically symmetric perturbations. The mathematical approach is based on previous stability results for the Vlasov-Poisson system by Y. Guo and the author, exploiting the energy-Casimir technique. The analysis is conditional in the sense that it assumes the existence of solutions to the initial value problem for the Euler-Poisson system which preserve mass and energy. The relation between the Euler-Poisson and the Vlasov-Poisson system in this context is also explored.Comment: 18 pages, LaTe

Stability of spherically symmetric steady states in galactic dynamics against general perturbations

Certain steady states of the Vlasov-Poisson system can be characterized as minimizers of an energy-Casimir functional, and this fact implies a nonlinear stability property of such steady states. In previous investigations by Y. Guo and the author stability was obtained only with respect to spherically symmetric perturbations. In the present investigation we show how to remove this unphysical restriction.Comment: 19 pages LaTe