Regularization of subsolutions in discrete weak KAM theory

We expose different methods of regularizations of subsolutions in the context of discrete weak KAM theory. They allow to prove the existence and the density of $C^{1,1}$ subsolutions. Moreover, these subsolutions can be made strict and smooth outside of the Aubry set.Comment: 15 pages, second version. Modified according to the referee's suggestions. The hypotheses are now uniform throughout the paper, which allows a simpler and more general statement of the main result

A two-scale approach to the hydrodynamic limit, part II: local Gibbs behavior

This work is a follow-up on [GOVW]. In that previous work a two-scale approach was used to prove the logarithmic Sobolev inequality for a system of spins with fixed mean whose potential is a bounded perturbation of a Gaussian, and to derive an abstract theorem for the convergence to the hydrodynamic limit. This strategy was then successfully applied to Kawasaki dynamics. Here we shall use again this two-scale approach to show that the microscopic variable in such a model behaves according to a local Gibbs state. As a consequence, we shall prove the convergence of the microscopic entropy to the hydrodynamic entropy.Comment: 31 pages, 2nd version. The proof of Theorem 1.15 has been simplifie

Origin theories for the eccentricities of extrasolar planets

Half the known extrasolar planets have orbital eccentricities in excess of 0.3. Such large eccentricities are surprising as it is thought that planets form in a protoplanetary disk on nearly circular orbits much like the current states of the solar system planets. Possible explanations for the large planetary eccentricities include the perturbations that accompany planet-planet scattering, the tidal interaction between the gas disk and the planets, Kozai's secular eccentricity cycles, the eccentricity excitation during planetary pair migration in mean motion resonance, the perturbations by stellar encounters, stellar-like relaxation that occurs if planets formed through gravitational instability, and the relative acceleration by the stellar jet system of the host star with respect to the companion. In this chapter, we comment on the relevance and characteristics of the various eccentricity origin theories.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures. Review lecture at the 2006 Aussois Winter School "Open Problems in Celestial Mechanics". To appear in Lecture Notes in Physics, Springe

On dynamical friction in a gaseous medium with a boundary

Dynamical friction arises from the interaction of a perturber and the gravitational wake it excites in the ambient medium. We study the effects of the presence of a boundary on dynamical friction by studying analytically the interaction of perturber with uniform rectilinear motion in a uniform homogeneous medium with a reflecting planar boundary. Wake reflection at a medium's boundary may occur at the edges of truncated disks perturbed by planetary or stellar companions as well as in numerical simulations of planet-disk interaction with no-outflow boundary conditions. In this paper, we show that the presence of the boundary modifies the behaviour of dynamical friction significantly. We find that perturbers are invariably pushed away from the boundary and reach a terminal subsonic velocity near Mach 0.37 regardless of initial velocity. Dynamical friction may even be reversed for Mach numbers less than 0.37 thereby accelerating instead of decelerating the perturber. Perturbers moving parallel to the boundary feel additional friction orthogonal to the direction of motion that is much stronger than the standard friction along the direction of motion. These results indicate that the common use of the standard Chandrasekhar formula as a short hand estimate of dynamical friction may be inadequate as observed in various numerical simulations.Comment: Revised version, 28 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc