93 research outputs found
Gravitational-Wave Recoil from the Ringdown Phase of Coalescing Black Hole Binaries
The gravitational recoil or "kick" of a black hole formed from the merger of
two orbiting black holes, and caused by the anisotropic emission of
gravitational radiation, is an astrophysically important phenomenon. We combine
(i) an earlier calculation, using post-Newtonian theory, of the kick velocity
accumulated up to the merger of two non-spinning black holes, (ii) a
"close-limit approximation" calculation of the radiation emitted during the
ringdown phase, and based on a solution of the Regge-Wheeler and Zerilli
equations using initial data accurate to second post-Newtonian order. We prove
that ringdown radiation produces a significant "anti-kick". Adding the
contributions due to inspiral, merger and ringdown phases, our results for the
net kick velocity agree with those from numerical relativity to 10-15 percent
over a wide range of mass ratios, with a maximum velocity of 180 km/s at a mass
ratio of 0.38.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; to appear in Class. Quant. Gra
The middle ear of the pink fairy armadillo Chlamyphorus truncatus (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Chlamyphoridae): comparison with armadillo relatives using computed tomography.
The pink fairy armadillo Chlamyphorus truncatus is the smallest extant armadillo and one of the least-known fossorial mammals. The aim of this study was to establish if its middle ear is specially adapted to the subterranean environment, through comparison with more epigeic relatives of the groups Euphractinae (Chaetophractus villosus, Chaetophractus vellerosus, Zaedyus pichiy) and Dasypodinae (Dasypus hybridus). We examined the middle ears using micro-computed tomography and subsequent three-dimensional reconstructions. D. hybridus has a relatively small middle ear cavity, an incomplete bulla and 'ancestral' ossicular morphology. The other species, including Chlamyphorus, have fully ossified bullae and middle ear ossicles, with a morphology between 'transitional' and 'freely mobile', but in all armadillos the malleus retains a long anterior process. Unusual features of armadillo ears include the lack of a pedicellate lenticular apophysis and the presence, in some species, of an element of Paaw within the stapedius muscle. In common with many subterranean mammals, Chlamyphorus has a relatively flattened malleo-incudal articulation and appears to lack a functional tensor tympani muscle. Its middle ear cavity is not unusually enlarged, and its middle ear ossicles seem less robust than those of the other armadillos studied. In comparison with the euphractines, there is no reason to believe that the middle ear of this species is specially adapted to the subterranean environment; some aspects may even be indicative of degeneration. The screaming hairy armadillo, Chaetophractus vellerosus, has the most voluminous middle ear in both relative and absolute terms. Its hypertrophied middle ear cavity likely represents an adaptation to low-frequency hearing in arid rather than subterranean conditions.Argentinian research grants: SecretarĂa General de Ciencia y TecnologĂa, UNS (Project PGI 24/B243); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas (CONICET) through a PhD fellowship to APB; SubsecretarĂa de Relaciones Internacionales, UNS, through a grant to APB
Last Men Standing: Chlamydatus Portraits and Public Life in Late Antique Corinth
Notable among the marble sculptures excavated at Corinth are seven portraits of men wearing the long chlamys of Late Antique imperial office. This unusual costume, contemporary portrait heads, and inscribed statue bases all help confirm that new public statuary was created and erected at Corinth during the 4th and 5th centuries. These chlamydatus portraits, published together here for the first time, are likely to represent the Governor of Achaia in his capital city, in the company of local benefactors. Among the last works of the ancient sculptural tradition, they form a valuable source of information on public life in Late Antique Corinth
Understanding mammary activity in red-rumped agouti and implications for management and conservation of this Neotropical game species
Distribution of Two Sympatric Species of Sloths (Choloepus didactylus and Bradypus tridactylus) along the Sinnamary River, French Guiana1
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