156 research outputs found
Conventional Forces can Explain the Anomalous Acceleration of Pioneer 10
Anderson, et al. find the measured trajectories of Pioneer 10 and 11
spacecraft deviate from the trajectories computed from known forces acting on
them. This unmodelled acceleration (and the less well known, but similar,
unmodelled torque) can be accounted for by non-isotropic radiation of
spacecraft heat. Various forms of non-isotropic radiation were proposed by
Katz, Murphy, and Scheffer, but Anderson, et al. felt that none of these could
explain the observed effect. This paper calculates the known effects in more
detail and considers new sources of radiation, all based on spacecraft
construction. These effects are then modelled over the duration of the
experiment. The model reproduces the acceleration from its appearance at a
heliocentric distance of 5 AU to the last measurement at 71 AU to within 10
percent. However, it predicts a larger decrease in acceleration between
intervals I and III of the Pioneer 10 observations than is observed. This is a
2 sigma discrepancy from the average of the three analyses (SIGMA, CHASMP, and
Markwardt). A more complex (but more speculative) model provides a somewhat
better fit. Radiation forces can also plausibly explain the previously
unmodelled torques, including the spindown of Pioneer 10 that is directly
proportional to spacecraft bus heat, and the slow but constant spin-up of
Pioneer 11. In any case, by accounting for the bulk of the acceleration, the
proposed mechanism makes it much more likely that the entire effect can be
explained without the need for new physics.Comment: Final minor changes for publication - added explanation of acronyms,
added to RTG asymmetry argument.. Was: 12 pages, 9 figures, major revision.
Added discussion of gas leaks and spin history, a radiation based explanation
of spin changes, and references to re-analysis of Markwardt. Fixed radio
forces, tuned models. Was: 7 pages, 5 figures; added liklihood calculations
in body and abstract per suggestio
Origin of G Magnetic Fields in the Central Engine of Gamma Ray Bursts
Various authors have suggested that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) central engine
is a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized, G) compact
object. The strong magnetic field can accelerate and collimate the relativistic
flow and the rotation of the compact object can be the energy source of the
GRB. The major problem in this scenario is the difficulty of finding an
astrophysical mechanism for obtaining such intense fields. Whereas, in
principle, a neutron star could maintain such strong fields, it is difficult to
justify a scenario for their creation. If the compact object is a black hole,
the problem is more difficult since, according to general relativity it has "no
hair" (i.e., no magnetic field). Schuster, Blackett, Pauli, and others have
suggested that a rotating neutral body can create a magnetic field by
non-minimal gravitational-electromagnetic coupling (NMGEC). The
Schuster-Blackett form of NMGEC was obtained from the Mikhail and Wanas's
tetrad theory of gravitation (MW). We call the general theory NMGEC-MW.
We investigate here the possible origin of the intense magnetic fields G in GRBs by NMGEC-MW. Whereas these fields are difficult to
explain astrophysically, we find that they are easily explained by NMGEC-MW. It
not only explains the origin of the G fields when the
compact object is a neutron star, but also when it is a black hole.Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in JCA
Relativistic Jets from Accretion Disks
The jets observed to emanate from many compact accreting objects may arise
from the twisting of a magnetic field threading a differentially rotating
accretion disk which acts to magnetically extract angular momentum and energy
from the disk. Two main regimes have been discussed, hydromagnetic jets, which
have a significant mass flux and have energy and angular momentum carried by
both matter and electromagnetic field and, Poynting jets, where the mass flux
is small and energy and angular momentum are carried predominantly by the
electromagnetic field. Here, we describe recent theoretical work on the
formation of relativistic Poynting jets from magnetized accretion disks.
Further, we describe new relativistic, fully-electromagnetic, particle-in-cell
simulations of the formation of jets from accretion disks. Analog Z-pinch
experiments may help to understand the origin of astrophysical jets.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proc. of High Energy Density Astrophysics Conf.,
200
Galaxy rotation curves: the effect of j x B force
Using the Galaxy as an example, we study the effect of j x B force on the
rotational curves of gas and plasma in galaxies. Acceptable model for the
galactic magnetic field and plausible physical parameters are used to fit the
flat rotational curve for gas and plasma based on the observed baryonic
(visible) matter distribution and j x B force term in the static MHD equation
of motion. We also study the effects of varied strength of the magnetic field,
its pitch angle and length scale on the rotational curves. We show that j x B
force does not play an important role on the plasma dynamics in the
intermediate range of distances 6-12 kpc from the centre, whilst the effect is
sizable for larger r (r > 15 kpc), where it is the most crucial.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science (final
printed version, typos in proofs corrected
The Pioneer Anomaly in the Light of New Data
The radio-metric tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft
from the distances between 20-70 astronomical units from the Sun has
consistently indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted Doppler
frequency drift that limited the accuracy of the orbit reconstruction for these
vehicles. This drift was interpreted as a sunward acceleration of a_P =
(8.74+/-1.33)x10^{-10} m/s^2 for each particular spacecraft. This signal has
become known as the Pioneer anomaly; the nature of this anomaly is still being
investigated.
Recently new Pioneer 10 and 11 radio-metric Doppler and flight telemetry data
became available. The newly available Doppler data set is much larger when
compared to the data used in previous investigations and is the primary source
for new investigation of the anomaly. In addition, the flight telemetry files,
original project documentation, and newly developed software tools are now used
to reconstruct the engineering history of spacecraft. With the help of this
information, a thermal model of the Pioneers was developed to study possible
contribution of thermal recoil force acting on the spacecraft. The goal of the
ongoing efforts is to evaluate the effect of on-board systems on the
spacecrafts' trajectories and possibly identify the nature of this anomaly.
Techniques developed for the investigation of the Pioneer anomaly are
applicable to the New Horizons mission. Analysis shows that anisotropic thermal
radiation from on-board sources will accelerate this spacecraft by ~41 x
10^{-10} m/s^2. We discuss the lessons learned from the study of the Pioneer
anomaly for the New Horizons spacecraft.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Gamma-Ray Bursts: The Underlying Model
A pedagogical derivation is presented of the ``fireball'' model of gamma-ray
bursts, according to which the observable effects are due to the dissipation of
the kinetic energy of a relativistically expanding wind, a ``fireball.'' The
main open questions are emphasized, and key afterglow observations, that
provide support for this model, are briefly discussed. The relativistic outflow
is, most likely, driven by the accretion of a fraction of a solar mass onto a
newly born (few) solar mass black hole. The observed radiation is produced once
the plasma has expanded to a scale much larger than that of the underlying
``engine,'' and is therefore largely independent of the details of the
progenitor, whose gravitational collapse leads to fireball formation. Several
progenitor scenarios, and the prospects for discrimination among them using
future observations, are discussed. The production in gamma- ray burst
fireballs of high energy protons and neutrinos, and the implications of burst
neutrino detection by kilometer-scale telescopes under construction, are
briefly discussed.Comment: In "Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursters", ed. K. W. Weiler, Lecture
Notes in Physics, Springer-Verlag (in press); 26 pages, 2 figure
Gravitational radiation from gamma-ray bursts as observational opportunities for LIGO and VIRGO
Gamma-ray bursts are believed to originate in core-collapse of massive stars.
This produces an active nucleus containing a rapidly rotating Kerr black hole
surrounded by a uniformly magnetized torus represented by two counter-oriented
current rings. We quantify black hole spin-interactions with the torus and
charged particles along open magnetic flux-tubes subtended by the event
horizon. A major output of Egw=4e53 erg is radiated in gravitational waves of
frequency fgw=500 Hz by a quadrupole mass-moment in the torus. Consistent with
GRB-SNe, we find (i) Ts=90s (tens of s, Kouveliotou et al. 1993), (ii)
aspherical SNe of kinetic energy Esn=2e51 erg (2e51 erg in SN1998bw, Hoeflich
et al. 1999) and (iii) GRB-energies Egamma=2e50 erg (3e50erg in Frail et al.
2001). GRB-SNe occur perhaps about once a year within D=100Mpc. Correlating
LIGO/Virgo detectors enables searches for nearby events and their spectral
closure density 6e-9 around 250Hz in the stochastic background radiation in
gravitational waves. At current sensitivity, LIGO-Hanford may place an upper
bound around 150MSolar in GRB030329. Detection of Egw thus provides a method
for identifying Kerr black holes by calorimetry.Comment: to appear in PRD, 49
D* Production in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA
This paper presents measurements of D^{*\pm} production in deep inelastic
scattering from collisions between 27.5 GeV positrons and 820 GeV protons. The
data have been taken with the ZEUS detector at HERA. The decay channel
(+ c.c.) has been used in the study. The
cross section for inclusive D^{*\pm} production with
and is 5.3 \pms 1.0 \pms 0.8 nb in the kinematic region
{ GeV and }. Differential cross
sections as functions of p_T(D^{*\pm}), and are
compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations based on the photon-gluon
fusion production mechanism. After an extrapolation of the cross section to the
full kinematic region in p_T(D^{*\pm}) and (D^{*\pm}), the charm
contribution to the proton structure function is
determined for Bjorken between 2 10 and 5 10.Comment: 17 pages including 4 figure
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