WorldWideScience

Sample records for macho gravitational microlensing

  1. Astrometric Observation of MACHO Gravitational Microlensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boden, A. F.; Shao, M.; Van Buren, D.

    1997-01-01

    This paper discusses the prospects for astrometric observation of MACHO gravitational microlensing events. We derive the expected astrometric observables for a simple microlensing event assuming a dark MACHO, and demonstrate that accurate astrometry can determine the lens mass, distance, and proper motion in a very general fashion.

  2. Gravitational microlensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zakharov, Aleksandr F [Russian Federation State Scientific Center ' A.I. Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics' , Moscow (Russian Federation); Sazhin, Mikhail V [P.K. Shternberg State Astronomical Institute at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    1998-10-31

    The foundations of standard microlensing theory are discussed as applied to stars in the Galactic bulge, Magellanic Clouds or other nearby galaxies and gravitational microlenses assumed to lie in-between these stars and the terrestrial observer. In contrast to the review article by Gurevich et al. [48], microlensing by compact objects is mainly considered. Criteria for the identification of microlensing events are discussed as also are microlensing events not satisfying these criteria, such as non-symmetrical light curves and chromatic and polarization effects. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Galactic bulge microlensing data of the MACHO group are discussed in detail and also the LMC data of EROS and the Galactic bulge data of OGLE are presented. A detailed comparison of theoretical predictions and observations is given. (reviews of topical problems)

  3. Gravitational microlensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakharov, Aleksandr F; Sazhin, Mikhail V

    1998-01-01

    The foundations of standard microlensing theory are discussed as applied to stars in the Galactic bulge, Magellanic Clouds or other nearby galaxies and gravitational microlenses assumed to lie in-between these stars and the terrestrial observer. In contrast to the review article by Gurevich et al. [48], microlensing by compact objects is mainly considered. Criteria for the identification of microlensing events are discussed as also are microlensing events not satisfying these criteria, such as non-symmetrical light curves and chromatic and polarization effects. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Galactic bulge microlensing data of the MACHO group are discussed in detail and also the LMC data of EROS and the Galactic bulge data of OGLE are presented. A detailed comparison of theoretical predictions and observations is given. (reviews of topical problems)

  4. The MACHO Project HST Follow-Up: The Large Magellanic Cloud Microlensing Source Stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, C.A.; /LLNL, Livermore /UC, Berkeley; Drake, A.J.; /Caltech; Cook, K.H.; /LLNL, Livermore /UC, Berkeley; Bennett, D.P.; /Caltech /Notre Dame U.; Popowski, P.; /Garching, Max Planck Inst.; Dalal, N.; /Toronto U.; Nikolaev, S.; /LLNL, Livermore; Alcock, C.; /Caltech /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys.; Axelrod, T.S.; /Arizona U.; Becker, A.C. /Washington U., Seattle; Freeman, K.C.; /Res. Sch. Astron. Astrophys., Weston Creek; Geha, M.; /Yale U.; Griest, K.; /UC, San Diego; Keller, S.C.; /LLNL, Livermore; Lehner, M.J.; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys. /Taipei, Inst. Astron. Astrophys.; Marshall, S.L.; /SLAC; Minniti, D.; /Rio de Janeiro, Pont. U. Catol. /Vatican Astron. Observ.; Pratt, M.R.; /Aradigm, Hayward; Quinn, P.J.; /Western Australia U.; Stubbs, C.W.; /UC, Berkeley /Harvard U.; Sutherland, W.; /Oxford U. /Oran, Sci. Tech. U. /Garching, Max Planck Inst. /McMaster U.

    2009-06-25

    We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2 photometry of 13 microlensed source stars from the 5.7 year Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) survey conducted by the MACHO Project. The microlensing source stars are identified by deriving accurate centroids in the ground-based MACHO images using difference image analysis (DIA) and then transforming the DIA coordinates to the HST frame. None of these sources is coincident with a background galaxy, which rules out the possibility that the MACHO LMC microlensing sample is contaminated with misidentified supernovae or AGN in galaxies behind the LMC. This supports the conclusion that the MACHO LMC microlensing sample has only a small amount of contamination due to non-microlensing forms of variability. We compare the WFPC2 source star magnitudes with the lensed flux predictions derived from microlensing fits to the light curve data. In most cases the source star brightness is accurately predicted. Finally, we develop a statistic which constrains the location of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) microlensing source stars with respect to the distributions of stars and dust in the LMC and compare this to the predictions of various models of LMC microlensing. This test excludes at {approx}> 90% confidence level models where more than 80% of the source stars lie behind the LMC. Exotic models that attempt to explain the excess LMC microlensing optical depth seen by MACHO with a population of background sources are disfavored or excluded by this test. Models in which most of the lenses reside in a halo or spheroid distribution associated with either the Milky Way or the LMC are consistent which these data, but LMC halo or spheroid models are favored by the combined MACHO and EROS microlensing results.

  5. Search for black matter through the detection of gravitational micro-lenses in differential photometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Guillou, L.

    2003-09-01

    The nature of dark matter is an open question. The search for gravitational microlensing effects is an interesting tool because this effect is strongly dependent on the mass of objects whether they are luminous or not, however this detection method is only sensitive to compact forms of dark matter (MACHOS - massive astronomical halo compact objects), and as a consequence no-baryonic matter like neutrinos or WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles) can not be detected this way. In the first chapter the author reviews the plausible candidates to black matter. The use of the microlensing effect as a probe of the galactic halo is presented in the second chapter. The third chapter is dedicated to the series of experiments worldwide that focus on the detection of MACHOS. In the fourth chapter the author shows how the DIA (difference image analysis) method may be promising in the study of gravitational microlensing effects. The main part of this work has been the use of the DIA method to process five-year data set collected by the Eros experiment in the small Magellanic cloud (SMC). The data processing line and the results are presented in the fifth and sixth chapters. The results are consistent with previous results given by Eros and they confirm the disparity of the durations of micro-lenses detected in the large and small Magellanic clouds. (A.C.)

  6. Difference Image Analysis of Galactic Microlensing. II. Microlensing Events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Griest, K. (and others)

    1999-09-01

    The MACHO collaboration has been carrying out difference image analysis (DIA) since 1996 with the aim of increasing the sensitivity to the detection of gravitational microlensing. This is a preliminary report on the application of DIA to galactic bulge images in one field. We show how the DIA technique significantly increases the number of detected lensing events, by removing the positional dependence of traditional photometry schemes and lowering the microlensing event detection threshold. This technique, unlike PSF photometry, gives the unblended colors and positions of the microlensing source stars. We present a set of criteria for selecting microlensing events from objects discovered with this technique. The 16 pixel and classical microlensing events discovered with the DIA technique are presented. (c) (c) 1999. The American Astronomical Society.

  7. The nature of parallax microlensing events towards the Galactic bulge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smith, MC; Belokurov, [No Value; Evans, NW; Mao, SD; An, JH

    2005-01-01

    Perhaps as many as 30 parallax microlensing events are known, thanks to the efforts of the Massive Compact Halo Object (MACHO), Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), Experience pour la Recherche d'Objets Sombres (EROS) and Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) experiments

  8. EROS and MACHO combined limits on planetary-mass dark matter in the galactic halo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alcock, C; Allsman, RA; Alves, D; Ansari, R; Aubourg, E; Axelrod, TS; Bareyre, P; Beaulieu, JP; Becker, AC; Bennett, DP; Brehin, S; Cavalier, F; Char, S; Cook, KH; Ferlet, R; Fernandez, J; Freeman, KC; Griest, K; Grison, P; Gros, M; Gry, C; Guibert, J; Lachieze-Rey, M; Laurent, B; Lehner, MJ; Lesquoy, E; Magneville, C; Marshall, SL; Maurice, E; Milsztajn, A; Minniti, D; Moniez, M; Moreau, O; Moscoso, L; Palanque-Delabrouille, N; Peterson, BA; Pratt, MR; Prevot, L; Queinnec, F; Quinn, PJ; Renault, C; Rich, J; Spiro, M; Stubbs, CW; Sutherland, W; Tomaney, A; Vandehei, T; Vidal-Madjar, A; Vigroux, L; Zylberajch, S

    1998-01-01

    The EROS and MACHO collaborations have each published upper limits on the amount of planetary-mass dark matter in the Galactic halo obtained from gravitational microlensing searches. In this Letter, the two limits are combined to give a much stronger constraint on the abundance of low-mass MACHOs.

  9. Search for black matter through the detection of gravitational micro-lenses in differential photometry; Recherche de matiere noire galactique par detection de microlentilles gravitationnelles en photometrie differentielle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Guillou, L

    2003-09-01

    The nature of dark matter is an open question. The search for gravitational microlensing effects is an interesting tool because this effect is strongly dependent on the mass of objects whether they are luminous or not, however this detection method is only sensitive to compact forms of dark matter (MACHOS - massive astronomical halo compact objects), and as a consequence no-baryonic matter like neutrinos or WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles) can not be detected this way. In the first chapter the author reviews the plausible candidates to black matter. The use of the microlensing effect as a probe of the galactic halo is presented in the second chapter. The third chapter is dedicated to the series of experiments worldwide that focus on the detection of MACHOS. In the fourth chapter the author shows how the DIA (difference image analysis) method may be promising in the study of gravitational microlensing effects. The main part of this work has been the use of the DIA method to process five-year data set collected by the Eros experiment in the small Magellanic cloud (SMC). The data processing line and the results are presented in the fifth and sixth chapters. The results are consistent with previous results given by Eros and they confirm the disparity of the durations of micro-lenses detected in the large and small Magellanic clouds. (A.C.)

  10. AGAPE: the gravitational micro-lensing effect for the search for black matter under the form of MACHOs in direction of the M31 galaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Du, Yann

    2000-01-01

    After a presentation of the physical framework and notions of observational cosmology, the author of this research thesis presents the phenomenon of gravitational micro-lensing on which AGAPE (Andromeda Galaxy Amplified Pixel Experiment) is based to detect the possible presence of baryonic black matter under the form of MACHOs (Massive compact halo objects, one of the possible candidates for black matter) within the halo of our galaxy and in that of a far galaxy, M31. He gives a precise description of observations performed by AGAPE at the Pic du Midi between 1994 and 1996. In order to observe M31, a new method has been developed (the pixel method) which is based on the light curve of each pixel of the M31 image. The author then reports the processing of light curves which notably aimed at reducing the discrepancy of points on these curves and at allowing a selection of interesting curves to be performed. He reports the characterisation of the searched signal from these curves, and then discusses the obtained results

  11. A Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of Gravitational Microlensing Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Stephen R.

    2000-08-01

    Gravitational microlensing has generated a great deal of scientific interest over recent years. This has been largely due to the realization of its wide-reaching applications, such as the search for dark matter, the detection of planets, and the study of Galactic structure. A significant observational advance has been that most microlensing events can be identified in real-time while the source is still being lensed. More than 400 microlensing events have now been detected towards the Galactic bulge and Magellanic Clouds by the microlensing survey teams EROS, MACHO, OGLE, DUO, and MOA. The real-time detection of these events allows detailed follow-up observations with much denser sampling, both photometrically and spectroscopically. The research undertaken in this project on photometric studies of gravitational microlensing events has been performed as a member of the PLANET (Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork) collaboration. This is a worldwide collaboration formed in the early part of 1995 to study microlensing anomalies - departures from an achromatic point source, point lens light curve - through rapidly-sampled, multi-band, photometry. PLANET has demonstrated that it can achieve 1% photometry under ideal circumstances, making PLANET observations sensitive to detection of Earth-mass planets which require characterization of 1%--2% deviations from a standard microlensing light curve. The photometric work in this project involved over 5 months using the 1.0 m telescope at Canopus Observatory in Australia, and 3 separate observing runs using the 0.9 m telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. Methods were developed to reduce the vast amount of photometric data using the image analysis software MIDAS and the photometry package DoPHOT. Modelling routines were then written to analyse a selection of the resulting light curves in order to detect any deviation from an achromatic point source - point lens light curve. The photometric

  12. Probing the gravitational Faraday rotation using quasar X-ray microlensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bin

    2015-11-17

    The effect of gravitational Faraday rotation was predicted in the 1950s, but there is currently no practical method for measuring this effect. Measuring this effect is important because it will provide new evidence for correctness of general relativity, in particular, in the strong field limit. We predict that the observed degree and angle of the X-ray polarization of a cosmologically distant quasar microlensed by the random star field in a foreground galaxy or cluster lens vary rapidly and concurrently with flux during caustic-crossing events using the first simulation of quasar X-ray microlensing polarization light curves. Therefore, it is possible to detect gravitational Faraday rotation by monitoring the X-ray polarization of gravitationally microlensed quasars. Detecting this effect will also confirm the strong gravity nature of quasar X-ray emission.

  13. GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS AS A TARGET FOR THE SETI PROJECT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahvar, Sohrab, E-mail: rahvar@sharif.edu [Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box 11365–9161, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-09-01

    The detection of signals from a possible extrasolar technological civilization is one of the most challenging efforts of science. In this work, we propose using natural telescopes made of single or binary gravitational lensing systems to magnify leakage of electromagnetic signals from a remote planet that harbors Extraterrestrial Intelligent (ETI) technology. Currently, gravitational microlensing surveys are monitoring a large area of the Galactic bulge to search for microlensing events, finding more than 2000 events per year. These lenses are capable of playing the role of natural telescopes, and, in some instances, they can magnify radio band signals from planets orbiting around the source stars in gravitational microlensing systems. Assuming that the frequency of electromagnetic waves used for telecommunication in ETIs is similar to ours, we propose follow-up observation of microlensing events with radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Low Frequency Demonstrators, and the Mileura Wide-Field Array. Amplifying signals from the leakage of broadcasting by an Earth-like civilization will allow us to detect them as far as the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Our analysis shows that in binary microlensing systems, the probability of amplification of signals from ETIs is more than that in single microlensing events. Finally, we propose the use of the target of opportunity mode for follow-up observations of binary microlensing events with SKA as a new observational program for searching ETIs. Using optimistic values for the factors of the Drake equation provides detection of about one event per year.

  14. The MACHO Project: Preliminary Results from 4 years of SMC observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandehei, T.; Griest, K.; Lehner, M.; Alcock, C.; Alves, D.; Cook, K.; Marshall, S.; Minniti, D.; Allsman, R.; Axelrod, T.; Freeman, K.; Peterson, B.; Rodgers, A.; Pratt, M.; Becker, A.; Stubbs, C.; Tomaney, A.; Bennett, D.; Quinn, P.; Sutherland, W.; Welch, D.

    1997-12-01

    The MACHO project is a search for dark matter in the form of massive compact halo objects(MACHOs). The project has photometrically monitored tens of millions of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and Galactic bulge in search of rare gravitational microlensing events caused by these otherwise invisible objects. Microlensing toward the LMC has allowed powerful statements to be made about the dark population in the halo of our Galaxy, indicating that the MACHO halo fraction could be as high as f=0.5 with a most probable MACHO mass being ~ 0.5Msun. However, to date the LMC has been the only line of sight out of our Galaxy's halo. Clearly, another line of sight would provide a consistency check on these results, as well as another contraint on models of the halo, in particular on halo flattening. The SMC affords us this second line of sight. Here we give a status report on our upcoming 4 year results toward the SMC. We present the results of a preliminary analysis on over 2.2 million stars from 3 square degrees and discuss the implications for the dark matter in the halo of our Galaxy. A detailed analysis of the microlensing candidates toward the SMC, with blending and parallax fits, will be shown. This work is dedicated to the memory of Alex Rodgers.

  15. Gravitational microlensing in Verlinde's emergent gravity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, Leihua; Prokopec, Tom

    2017-01-01

    We propose gravitational microlensing as a way of testing the emergent gravity theory recently proposed by Eric Verlinde [1]. We consider two limiting cases: the dark mass of maximally anisotropic pressures (Case I) and of isotropic pressures (Case II). Our analysis of perihelion advancement of a

  16. Application of Compressive Sensing to Gravitational Microlensing Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korde-Patel, Asmita; Barry, Richard K.; Mohsenin, Tinoosh

    2016-01-01

    Compressive Sensing is an emerging technology for data compression and simultaneous data acquisition. This is an enabling technique for significant reduction in data bandwidth, and transmission power and hence, can greatly benefit spaceflight instruments. We apply this process to detect exoplanets via gravitational microlensing. We experiment with various impact parameters that describe microlensing curves to determine the effectiveness and uncertainty caused by Compressive Sensing. Finally, we describe implications for spaceflight missions.

  17. Blending in gravitational microlensing experiments : source confusion and related systematics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smith, Martin C.; Wozniak, Przemyslaw; Mao, Shude; Sumi, Takahiro

    2007-01-01

    Gravitational microlensing surveys target very dense stellar fields in the local group. As a consequence, the microlensed source stars are often blended with nearby unresolved stars. The presence of 'blending' is a cause of major uncertainty when determining the lensing properties of events towards

  18. AGAPEROS Searches for microlensing in the LMC with the Pixel Method; 2, Selection of possible microlensing events

    CERN Document Server

    Melchior, A.L.; Ansari, R; Aubourg, E.; Baillon, P.; Bareyre, P.; Bauer, F.; Beaulieu, J.-Ph.; Bouquet, A.; Brehin, S.; Cavalier, F.; Char, S.; Couchot, F.; Coutures, C.; Ferlet, R.; Fernandez, J.; Gaucherel, C.; Giraud-Heraud, Y.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Goldman, B.; Gondolo, P.; Gros, M.; Guibert, J.; Hardin, D.; Kaplan, J.; de Kat, J.; Lachieze-Rey, M.; Laurent, B; Lesquoy, E; Magneville, Ch.; Mansoux, B.; Marquette, J.-B.; Maurice, E.; Milsztajn, A.; Moniez, M.; Moreau, O.; Moscoso, L.; Palanque-Delabrouille, N.; Perdereau. O.; Prevot, L.; Renault, C.; Queinnec, F.; Rich, J.; Spiro, M.; Vidal-Madjar, A.; Vigroux, L.; Zylberajch, S.; Magneville, Ch.

    1998-01-01

    We apply the pixel method of analysis (sometimes called ``pixel lensing'') to a small subset of the EROS-1 microlensing observations of the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The pixel method is designed to find microlensing events of unresolved source stars and had heretofore been applied only to M31 where essentially all sources are unresolved. With our analysis optimised for the detection of long-duration microlensing events due to 0.01-1 Mo Machos, we detect no microlensing events and compute the corresponding detection efficiencies. We show that the pixel method should detect 10 to 20 times more microlensing events for M>0.05 Mo Machos compared to a classical analysis of the same data which latter monitors only resolved stars. In particular, we show that for a full halo of Machos in the mass range 0.1 -- 0.5 Mo, a pixel analysis of the three-year EROS-1 data set covering 0.39 deg^2 would yield 4 events.

  19. Simulations of the Fe K α Energy Spectra from Gravitationally Microlensed Quasars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krawczynski, H. [Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, CB 1105, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Chartas, G., E-mail: krawcz@wustl.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424 (United States)

    2017-07-10

    The analysis of the Chandra X-ray observations of the gravitationally lensed quasar RX J1131−1231 revealed the detection of multiple and energy-variable spectral peaks. The spectral variability is thought to result from the microlensing of the Fe K α emission, selectively amplifying the emission from certain regions of the accretion disk with certain effective frequency shifts of the Fe K α line emission. In this paper, we combine detailed simulations of the emission of Fe K α photons from the accretion disk of a Kerr black hole with calculations of the effect of gravitational microlensing on the observed energy spectra. The simulations show that microlensing can indeed produce multiply peaked energy spectra. We explore the dependence of the spectral characteristics on black hole spin, accretion disk inclination, corona height, and microlensing amplification factor and show that the measurements can be used to constrain these parameters. We find that the range of observed spectral peak energies of QSO RX J1131−1231 can only be reproduced for black hole inclinations exceeding 70° and for lamppost corona heights of less than 30 gravitational radii above the black hole. We conclude by emphasizing the scientific potential of studies of the microlensed Fe K α quasar emission and the need for more detailed modeling that explores how the results change for more realistic accretion disk and corona geometries and microlensing magnification patterns. A full analysis should furthermore model the signal-to-noise ratio of the observations and the resulting detection biases.

  20. Limits on the Mass and Abundance of Primordial Black Holes from Quasar Gravitational Microlensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mediavilla, E. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea S/N, La Laguna E-38200, Tenerife (Spain); Jiménez-Vicente, J.; Calderón-Infante, J. [Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada (Spain); Muñoz, J. A.; Vives-Arias, H. [Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad de Valencia, E-46100 Burjassot, Valencia (Spain)

    2017-02-20

    The idea that dark matter can be made of intermediate-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) in the 10 M {sub ⊙} ≲ M ≲ 200 M {sub ⊙} range has recently been reconsidered, particularly in the light of the detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO experiment. The existence of even a small fraction of dark matter in black holes should nevertheless result in noticeable quasar gravitational microlensing. Quasar microlensing is sensitive to any type of compact objects in the lens galaxy, to their abundance, and to their mass. We have analyzed optical and X-ray microlensing data from 24 gravitationally lensed quasars to estimate the abundance of compact objects in a very wide range of masses. We conclude that the fraction of mass in black holes or any type of compact objects is negligible outside of the 0.05 M {sub ⊙} ≲ M ≲ 0.45 M {sub ⊙} mass range and that it amounts to 20% ± 5% of the total matter, in agreement with the expected masses and abundances of the stellar component. Consequently, the existence of a significant population of intermediate-mass PBHs appears to be inconsistent with current microlensing observations. Therefore, primordial massive black holes are a very unlikely source of the gravitational radiation detected by LIGO.

  1. Discovery of a Jupiter/Saturn analog with gravitational microlensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudi, B S; Bennett, D P; Udalski, A; Gould, A; Christie, G W; Maoz, D; Dong, S; McCormick, J; Szymanski, M K; Tristram, P J; Nikolaev, S; Paczynski, B; Kubiak, M; Pietrzynski, G; Soszynski, I; Szewczyk, O; Ulaczyk, K; Wyrzykowski, L; Depoy, D L; Han, C; Kaspi, S; Lee, C-U; Mallia, F; Natusch, T; Pogge, R W; Park, B-G; Abe, F; Bond, I A; Botzler, C S; Fukui, A; Hearnshaw, J B; Itow, Y; Kamiya, K; Korpela, A V; Kilmartin, P M; Lin, W; Masuda, K; Matsubara, Y; Motomura, M; Muraki, Y; Nakamura, S; Okumura, T; Ohnishi, K; Rattenbury, N J; Sako, T; Saito, To; Sato, S; Skuljan, L; Sullivan, D J; Sumi, T; Sweatman, W L; Yock, P C M; Albrow, M D; Allan, A; Beaulieu, J-P; Burgdorf, M J; Cook, K H; Coutures, C; Dominik, M; Dieters, S; Fouqué, P; Greenhill, J; Horne, K; Steele, I; Tsapras, Y; Chaboyer, B; Crocker, A; Frank, S; Macintosh, B

    2008-02-15

    Searches for extrasolar planets have uncovered an astonishing diversity of planetary systems, yet the frequency of solar system analogs remains unknown. The gravitational microlensing planet search method is potentially sensitive to multiple-planet systems containing analogs of all the solar system planets except Mercury. We report the detection of a multiple-planet system with microlensing. We identify two planets with masses of approximately 0.71 and approximately 0.27 times the mass of Jupiter and orbital separations of approximately 2.3 and approximately 4.6 astronomical units orbiting a primary star of mass approximately 0.50 solar mass at a distance of approximately 1.5 kiloparsecs. This system resembles a scaled version of our solar system in that the mass ratio, separation ratio, and equilibrium temperatures of the planets are similar to those of Jupiter and Saturn. These planets could not have been detected with other techniques; their discovery from only six confirmed microlensing planet detections suggests that solar system analogs may be common.

  2. Can black-hole MACHO binaries be detected by the Brazilian spherical antenna?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araujo, J C N de; Miranda, O D; Castro, C S; Paleo, B W; Aguiar, O D

    2004-01-01

    Different studies show that dark matter of non-baryonic origin might exist. There is experimental evidence that at least one form of dark matter has been detected through microlensing effects. This form of dark matter is named MACHOs (massive astrophysical compact halo objects). The MACHO collaboration estimated that the masses of these objects are to be in the range 0.15-0.95M o-dot , where the most probable mass is of 0.5M o-dot . Some authors argue that MACHOs could be black holes, and that they could form binary systems, BHMACHO binaries. As is well known, binary systems are sources of gravitational waves. The Brazilian spherical antenna will operate in the frequency band of 3.0-3.4 kHz, sensitive to binaries of a pair of 0.5M o-dot black holes just before coalescing. In the present work we study the detectability of these putative BHMACHO binaries by the Brazilian spherical antenna Mario Schenberg

  3. New Constraints on Quasar Broad Absorption and Emission Line Regions from Gravitational Microlensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hutsemékers, Damien; Braibant, Lorraine; Sluse, Dominique [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, Liège (Belgium); Anguita, Timo [Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago (Chile); Goosmann, René, E-mail: hutsemekers@astro.ulg.ac.be [Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg (France)

    2017-09-29

    Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool allowing one to probe the structure of quasars on sub-parsec scale. We report recent results, focusing on the broad absorption and emission line regions. In particular microlensing reveals the intrinsic absorption hidden in the P Cygni-type line profiles observed in the broad absorption line quasar H1413+117, as well as the existence of an extended continuum source. In addition, polarization microlensing provides constraints on the scattering region. In the quasar Q2237+030, microlensing differently distorts the Hα and CIV broad emission line profiles, indicating that the low- and high-ionization broad emission lines must originate from regions with distinct kinematical properties. We also present simulations of the effect of microlensing on line profiles considering simple but representative models of the broad emission line region. Comparison of observations to simulations allows us to conclude that the Hα emitting region in Q2237+030 is best represented by a Keplerian disk.

  4. New Constraints on Quasar Broad Absorption and Emission Line Regions from Gravitational Microlensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damien Hutsemékers

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool allowing one to probe the structure of quasars on sub-parsec scale. We report recent results, focusing on the broad absorption and emission line regions. In particular microlensing reveals the intrinsic absorption hidden in the P Cygni-type line profiles observed in the broad absorption line quasar H1413+117, as well as the existence of an extended continuum source. In addition, polarization microlensing provides constraints on the scattering region. In the quasar Q2237+030, microlensing differently distorts the Hα and CIV broad emission line profiles, indicating that the low- and high-ionization broad emission lines must originate from regions with distinct kinematical properties. We also present simulations of the effect of microlensing on line profiles considering simple but representative models of the broad emission line region. Comparison of observations to simulations allows us to conclude that the Hα emitting region in Q2237+030 is best represented by a Keplerian disk.

  5. The OGLE view of microlensing towards the Magellanic Clouds - I. A trickle of events in the OGLE-II LMC data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyrzykowski, Ł.; Kozłowski, S.; Skowron, J.; Belokurov, V.; Smith, M. C.; Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Kubiak, M.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Szewczyk, O.; Żebruń, K.

    2009-08-01

    We present the results from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment II (OGLE-II) survey (1996-2000) towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which has the aim of detecting the microlensing phenomena caused by dark matter compact objects in the Galactic halo [massive compact halo objects (MACHOs)]. We use high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope images of the OGLE fields and derive the correction for the number of monitored stars in each field. This also yields blending distributions which we use in `catalogue-level' Monte Carlo simulations of the microlensing events in order to calculate the detection efficiency of the events. We detect two candidates for microlensing events in the All Stars Sample, which translates into an optical depth of 0.43 +/- 0.33 × 10-7. If both events were due to MACHO, the fraction of mass of compact dark matter objects in the Galactic halo would be 8 +/- 6 per cent. This optical depth, however, along with the characteristics of the events seems to be consistent with the self-lensing scenario, i.e. self-lensing alone is sufficient to explain the observed microlensing signal. Our results indicate the non-detection of MACHOs lensing towards the LMC with an upper limit on their abundance in the Galactic halo of 19 per cent for M = 0.4Msolar and 10 per cent for masses between 0.01 and 0.2Msolar. Based on observations obtained with the 1.3-m Warsaw Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. E-mail: wyrzykow@ast.cam.ac.uk ‡ Name pronunciation: Woocash Vizhikovsky.

  6. Baryonic dark matter and Machos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griest, K.

    2000-01-01

    A brief description of the status of baryons in the Universe is given, along with recent results from the MACHO collaboration and their meaning. A dark matter halo consisting of baryons in the form of Machos is ruled out, leaving an elementary particle as the prime candidate for the dark matter. The observed microlensing events may make up around 20% of the dark matter in the Milky Way, or may indicate an otherwise undetected component of the Large Magellanic Cloud

  7. Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M.

    1999-01-01

    The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of ∼60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For ∼9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of ∼20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision σ V =0.021, σ R =0.019, σ V-R =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be ±0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 mag< V-R<1.2 mag. A comparison of calibrated MACHO photometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be ±0.10 mag in V or R and ±0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

  8. Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M. (and others)

    1999-12-01

    The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of {approx}60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For {approx}9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of {approx}20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision {sigma}{sub V} =0.021, {sigma}{sub R} =0.019, {sigma}{sub V-R} =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be {+-}0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 magMACHO photometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be {+-}0.10 mag in V or R and {+-}0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

  9. Gravitational microlensing by low-mass objects in the globular cluster M22.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, K C; Casertano, S; Livio, M; Gilliland, R L; Panagia, N; Albrow, M D; Potter, M

    2001-06-28

    Gravitational microlensing offers a means of determining directly the masses of objects ranging from planets to stars, provided that the distances and motions of the lenses and sources can be determined. A globular cluster observed against the dense stellar field of the Galactic bulge presents ideal conditions for such observations because the probability of lensing is high and the distances and kinematics of the lenses and sources are well constrained. The abundance of low-mass objects in a globular cluster is of particular interest, because it may be representative of the very early stages of star formation in the Universe, and therefore indicative of the amount of dark baryonic matter in such clusters. Here we report a microlensing event associated with the globular cluster M22. We determine the mass of the lens to be 0.13(+0.03)(-0.02) solar masses. We have also detected six events that are unresolved in time. If these are also microlensing events, they imply that a non-negligible fraction of the cluster mass resides in the form of free-floating planetary-mass objects.

  10. Gravitational Microlensing of Earth-mass Planets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harpsøe, Kennet Bomann West

    It was only 17 years ago that the first planet outside of our own solar system was detected in the form of 51 Pegasi b. This planet is unlike anything in our own solar system. In fact, this planet was the first representative of a class of planets later known as “hot Jupiters”– gas giants......, i.e. it is much easier to detect high mass planets in close orbits. With these two methods it is hard to detect planets in an exo-solar system with a structure similar to our own solar system; specifically, it is hard to detect Earth-like planets in Earth-like orbits. It is presently unknown how...... common such planets are in our galaxy. There are a few other known methods for detecting exoplanets which have very different bias patterns. This thesis has been divided into two parts, treating two of these other methods. Part I is dedicated to the method of gravitational microlensing, a method...

  11. Statistical improvement in detection level of gravitational microlensing events from their light curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Ichsan; Malasan, Hakim L.; Kunjaya, Chatief; Timur Jaelani, Anton; Puannandra Putri, Gerhana; Djamal, Mitra

    2018-04-01

    In astronomy, the brightness of a source is typically expressed in terms of magnitude. Conventionally, the magnitude is defined by the logarithm of received flux. This relationship is known as the Pogson formula. For received flux with a small signal to noise ratio (S/N), however, the formula gives a large magnitude error. We investigate whether the use of Inverse Hyperbolic Sine function (hereafter referred to as the Asinh magnitude) in the modified formulae could allow for an alternative calculation of magnitudes for small S/N flux, and whether the new approach is better for representing the brightness of that region. We study the possibility of increasing the detection level of gravitational microlensing using 40 selected microlensing light curves from the 2013 and 2014 seasons and by using the Asinh magnitude. Photometric data of the selected events are obtained from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE). We found that utilization of the Asinh magnitude makes the events brighter compared to using the logarithmic magnitude, with an average of about 3.42 × 10‑2 magnitude and an average in the difference of error between the logarithmic and the Asinh magnitude of about 2.21 × 10‑2 magnitude. The microlensing events OB140847 and OB140885 are found to have the largest difference values among the selected events. Using a Gaussian fit to find the peak for OB140847 and OB140885, we conclude statistically that the Asinh magnitude gives better mean squared values of the regression and narrower residual histograms than the Pogson magnitude. Based on these results, we also attempt to propose a limit in magnitude value for which use of the Asinh magnitude is optimal with small S/N data.

  12. PLANETESIMAL DISK MICROLENSING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heng, Kevin; Keeton, Charles R.

    2009-01-01

    Motivated by debris disk studies, we investigate the gravitational microlensing of background starlight by a planetesimal disk around a foreground star. We use dynamical survival models to construct a plausible example of a planetesimal disk and study its microlensing properties using established ideas of microlensing by small bodies. When a solar-type source star passes behind a planetesimal disk, the microlensing light curve may exhibit short-term, low-amplitude residuals caused by planetesimals several orders of magnitude below Earth mass. The minimum planetesimal mass probed depends on the photometric sensitivity and the size of the source star, and is lower when the planetesimal lens is located closer to us. Planetesimal lenses may be found more nearby than stellar lenses because the steepness of the planetesimal mass distribution changes how the microlensing signal depends on the lens/source distance ratio. Microlensing searches for planetesimals require essentially continuous monitoring programs that are already feasible and can potentially set constraints on models of debris disks, the progeny of the supposed extrasolar analogues of Kuiper Belts.

  13. Measurement of the abundance of stellar mass compact objects in the galactic halo by detecting micro-lenses in the Large Magellanic Cloud; Mesure de l'abondance des astres sombres de masse stellaire dans le halo galactique par la recherche de phenomenes de microlentilles vers les nuages de magellan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lasserre, Th

    2000-05-09

    Many experimental and theoretical results lead to the conclusion that at least 80 percent of the mass of our Galaxy is dark. Part of this so-called dark matter could be in the form of stellar mass compact objects, called MACHOS; these could be detected using the gravitational microlensing effect. The first generation experiments EROS1 and MACHO have strongly constrained the galactic abundance of objects lighter than 0.01 solar mass to less than 10 percent of the total mass. In parallel, the observation by the MACHO group of massive candidates (half the Sun's mass), numerous enough to constitute 50 percent of galactic dark matter, was a further motivation for the EROS group to extend this search to stellar mass objects in a second phase, EROS2. The present work deals with the analysis of 25 million stellar light curves in the Large Magellanic Cloud, observed for three years in order to extract the rare microlensing candidates and to measure the galactic halo mass fraction in the form of compact objects. After recalling the motivations of this search and the theoretical context, I describe the EROS2 experiment. The observational strategy and the photometric reduction procedures needed to deal with the 1.2 To of data are then presented. A new method to detect micro-lenses is detailed, as well as a discussion of background light curves, poorly known. We do not find enough microlensing candidates to explain the galactic rotation curve; this confirms, and improve on previous EROS1 and EROS2 results. Combining all results from EROS allows to exclude that MACHOS with a mass between 10 e-7 and 10 solar mass are important constituents of the galactic halo. This statement agrees with recent results from the MACHO group, although our interpretations differ, namely on the topics of the location of the lenses, and of a possible contamination of the microlensing ample by background phenomena. (author)

  14. Limb darkening of a K giant in the galactic bulge : Planet photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-28

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Albrow, MD; Beaulieu, JP; Caldwell, JAR; Dominik, M; Greenhill, J; Hill, K; Kane, S; Martin, R; Menzies, J; Pel, JW; Pollard, K; Sackett, PD; Sahu, KC; Vermaak, P; Watson, R; Williams, A; Sahu, MS

    1999-01-01

    We present the PLANET photometric data set(10) for the binary-lens microlensing event MACHO 97-BLG-28, consisting of 696 I- and V-band measurements, and analyze it to determine the radial surface brightness profile of the Galactic bulge source star. The microlensed source, demonstrated to be a K

  15. Gravitational microlensing in Verlinde's emergent gravity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei-Hua Liu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We propose gravitational microlensing as a way of testing the emergent gravity theory recently proposed by Eric Verlinde [1]. We consider two limiting cases: the dark mass of maximally anisotropic pressures (Case I and of isotropic pressures (Case II. Our analysis of perihelion advancement of a planet shows that only Case I yields a viable theory. In this case the metric outside a star of mass M⁎ can be modeled by that of a point-like global monopole whose mass is M⁎ and a deficit angle Δ=(2GH0M⁎/(3c3, where H0 is the Hubble rate and G the Newton constant. This deficit angle can be used to test the theory since light exhibits additional bending around stars given by, αD≈−πΔ/2. This angle is independent on the distance from the star and it affects equally light and massive particles. The effect is too small to be measurable today, but should be within reach of the next generation of high resolution telescopes. Finally we note that the advancement of periastron of a planet orbiting around a star or black hole, which equals πΔ per period, can be also used to test the theory.

  16. Free-floating planets from microlensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumi, Takahiro

    2014-06-01

    Gravitational microlensing has an unique sensitivity to exoplanets at outside of the snow-line and even exoplanets unbound to any host stars because the technique does not rely on any light from the host but the gravity of the lens. MOA and OGLE collaborations reported the discovery of a population of unbound or distant Jupiter-mass objects, which are almost twice (1.8_{-0.8}^{+1.7}) as common as main-sequence stars, based on two years of gravitational microlensing survey observations toward the Galactic Bulge. These planetary-mass objects have no host stars that can be detected within about ten astronomical units by gravitational microlensing. However a comparison with constraints from direct imaging suggests that most of these planetary-mass objects are not bound to any host star. The such short-timescale unbound planetary candidates have been detected with the similar rate in on-going observations and these groups are working to update the analysis with larger statistics. Recently, there are also discoveries of free-floating planetary mass objects by the direct imaging in young star-forming regions and in the moving groups, but these objects are limited to massive objects of 3 to 15 Jupiter masses.They are more massive than the population found by microlensing. So they may be a different population with the different formation process, either similar with that of stars and brown dwarfs, or formed in proto-planetary disks and subsequently scattered into unbound or very distant orbits. It is important to fill the gap of these mass ranges to fully understand these populations. The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is the highest ranked recommendation for a large space mission in the recent New Worlds, New Horizons (NWNH) in Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Decadal Survey. Exoplanet microlensing program is one of the primary science of WFIRST. WFIRST will find about 3000 bound planets and 2000 unbound planets by the high precision continuous survey 15 min

  17. Updating the MACHO fraction of the Milky Way dark halo with improved mass models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calcino, Josh; García-Bellido, Juan; Davis, Tamara M.

    2018-05-01

    Recent interest in primordial black holes as a possible dark matter candidate has motivated the reanalysis of previous methods for constraining massive astrophysical compact objects in the Milky Way halo and beyond. In order to derive these constraints, a model for the dark matter distribution around the Milky Way must be used. Previous microlensing searches have assumed a semi-isothermal density sphere for this task. We show this model is no longer consistent with data from the Milky Way rotation curve, and test two replacement models, namely NFW and power-law. The power-law model is the most flexible as it can break spherical symmetry, and best fits the data. Thus, we recommend the power-law model as a replacement, although it still lacks the flexibility to fully encapsulate all possible shapes of the Milky Way halo. We then use the power-law model to rederive some previous microlensing constraints in the literature, while propagating the primary halo-shape uncertainties through to our final constraints. Our analysis reveals that the microlensing constraints towards the Large Magellanic Cloud weaken somewhat for MACHO masses around 10 M⊙ when this uncertainty is taken into account, but the constraints tighten at lower masses. Exploring some of the simplifying assumptions of previous constraints we also study the effect of wide mass distributions of compact halo objects, as well as the effect of spatial clustering on microlensing constraints. We find that both effects induce a shift in the constraints towards smaller masses, and can effectively remove the microlensing constraints from M ˜ 1 - 10M⊙ for certain MACHO populations.

  18. Primordial black hole detection through diffractive microlensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naderi, T.; Mehrabi, A.; Rahvar, S.

    2018-05-01

    Recent observations of gravitational waves motivate investigations for the existence of primordial black holes (PBHs). We propose the observation of gravitational microlensing of distant quasars for the range of infrared to the submillimeter wavelengths by sublunar PBHs as lenses. The advantage of observations in the longer wavelengths, comparable to the Schwarzschild radius of the lens (i.e., Rsch≃λ ) is the detection of the wave optics features of the gravitational microlensing. The observation of diffraction pattern in the microlensing light curve of a quasar can break the degeneracy between the lens parameters and determine directly the lens mass as well as the distance of the lens from the observer. We estimate the wave optics optical-depth, also calculate the rate of ˜0.1 to ˜0.3 event per year per a quasar, assuming that hundred percent of dark matter is made of sublunar PBHs. Also, we propose a long-term survey of quasars with the cadence of almost one hour to few days to resolve the wave optics features of the light curves to discover PBHs and determine the fraction of dark matter made of sublunar PBHs as well as their mass function.

  19. Application of Compressive Sensing to Gravitational Microlensing Data and Implications for Miniaturized Space Observatories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korde-Patel, Asmita (Inventor); Barry, Richard K.; Mohsenin, Tinoosh

    2016-01-01

    Compressive Sensing is a technique for simultaneous acquisition and compression of data that is sparse or can be made sparse in some domain. It is currently under intense development and has been profitably employed for industrial and medical applications. We here describe the use of this technique for the processing of astronomical data. We outline the procedure as applied to exoplanet gravitational microlensing and analyze measurement results and uncertainty values. We describe implications for on-spacecraft data processing for space observatories. Our findings suggest that application of these techniques may yield significant, enabling benefits especially for power and volume-limited space applications such as miniaturized or micro-constellation satellites.

  20. The First Six Months of the LLNL-CfPA-MSSSO Search for Baryonic Dark Matter in the Galaxy's Halo via its Gravitational Microlensing Signature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, K.; Alcock, C.; Allsman, R.; Axelrod, T.; Bennett, D.; Marshall, S.; Stubbs, C.; Griest, K.; Perlmutter, S.; Sutherland, W.; Freeman, K.; Peterson, B.; Quinn, P.; Rodgers, A.

    1992-12-01

    This collaboration, dubbed the MACHO Project (an acronym for MAssive Compact Halo Objects), has refurbished the 1.27-m, Great Melbourne Telescope at Mt. Stromlo and equipped it with a corrected {1°} FOV. The prime focus corrector yields a red and blue beam for simultaneous imaging in two passbands, 4500{ Angstroms}--6100{ Angstroms} and 6100{ Angstroms}--7900{ Angstroms}. Each beam is imaged by a 2x2 array of 2048x2048 pixel CCDs which are simultaneously read out from two amplifiers on each CCD. A 32 Megapixel dual-color image of 0.5 square degree is clocked directly into computer memory in less than 70 seconds. We are using this system to monitor more than 10(7) stars in the Magellanic Clouds for gravitational microlensing events and will soon monitor an additional 10(7) stars in the bulge of our galaxy. Image data goes directly into a reduction pipeline where photometry for stars in an image is determined and stored in a database. An early version of this pipeline has used a simple aperture photometry code and results from this will be presented. A more sophisticated PSF fitting photometry code is currently being installed in the pipeline and results should also be available at the meeting. The PSF fitting code has also been used to produce ~ 10(7) photometric measurements outside of the pipeline. This poster will present details of the instrumentation, data pipeline, observing conditions (weather and seeing), reductions and analyses for the first six months of dual-color observing. Eventually, we expect to be able to determine whether MACHOs are a significant component of the galactic halo in the mass range of \\(10^{-6} M_{\\sun} < M \\ {lower .5exhbox {\\: \\buildrel < \\over \\sim ;}} \\ 100 M_{\\sun}\\).

  1. Detection of rotation in a binary microlens : PLANET photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-41

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Albrow, MD; Beaulieu, JP; Caldwell, JAR; Dominik, M; Gaudi, BS; Gould, A; Greenhill, J; Hill, K; Kane, S; Martin, R; Menzies, J; Pollard, KR; Sackett, PD; Sahu, KC; Vermaak, P; Watson, R; Williams, A; Bond, HE; van Bemmel, IM

    2000-01-01

    We analyze PLANET collaboration data for MACHO 97-BLG-41, the only microlensing event observed to date in which the source transits two disjoint caustics. The PLANET data, consisting of 46 V-band and 325 I-band observations from five southern observatories, span a period from the initial alert until

  2. Search for brown dwarfs by gravitational microlensing effect with the pixels method. Analysis of AGAPE and EROS collaborations data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melchior, Anne-Laure

    1995-01-01

    This work is involved in baryonic dark matter search in galactic halos. An important collect of observational data has been initiated to test the hypothesis that this dark mass is made of compact objects such as brown dwarfs or small mass stars. The gravitational microlensing effect allows to probe this distribution of this mass type along the line of sight of nearby galaxies such as the Large Magellanic Cloud. A new way to detect these microlensing events has been proposed by P. Baillon et al.: the pixel method. The aim is to detect the amplification of stars which are unresolved or too faint to be seen by classical analysis. First, we present this method and the simulations which allow to establish its feasibility. Then, we describe the pixel analysis of the 91-92 EROS data on the Large Magellanic Cloud. The selection of luminosity variations with a shape compatible with microlensing events allows us to study the sensitivity of this analysis. We see how these results allow us to validate the pixel method applied on a large volume of data. This also shows the possibility to find luminosity variations which escape classical analysis research. Strengthened by these results, we finally describe the analysis of the AGAPE 94 data on the Andromeda galaxy which uses the same pixel method. Being ten times farther away than the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Andromeda galaxy has very few resolved stars, making the pixel method the only way of looking for microlensing events. (author) [fr

  3. Microlensing observations rapid search for exoplanets: MORSE code for GPUs

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDougall, Alistair; Albrow, Michael D.

    2016-02-01

    The rapid analysis of ongoing gravitational microlensing events has been integral to the successful detection and characterization of cool planets orbiting low-mass stars in the Galaxy. In this paper, we present an implementation of search and fit techniques on graphical processing unit (GPU) hardware. The method allows for the rapid identification of candidate planetary microlensing events and their subsequent follow-up for detailed characterization.

  4. A giant planet beyond the snow line in microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0251

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kains, N.; Street, R.A.; Choi, J.-Y.

    2013-01-01

    Aims. We present the analysis of the gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0251. This anomalous event was observed by several survey and follow-up collaborations conducting microlensing observations towards the Galactic bulge. Methods. Based on detailed modelling of the observed light cu...

  5. The meaning of EROS/MACHO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, M.S.; Chicago Univ., IL

    1993-01-01

    Most of the mass density in the Universe and in the halo of our own galaxy -- exists in the form of dark matter. Overall, the contribution of luminous matter (in stars) to the mass density of the Universe is less than 1%; primordial nucleosynthesis indicates that baryons contribute between 1% and 10% of the critical density (0.01h -2 approx-lt Ω B approx-lt 0.02h -2 ; h = the Hubble constant in units of 100 kms -1 Mpc -1 ); and other evidence indicates that the total mass density is at least 10% of critical density, and likely much greater. If the universal density is as low as 10% of the critical density there may be but one kind of dark matter. More likely, the universal density is greater than 10%. and there are two kinds of dark matter, and thus two dark matter problems: In what form does the baryonic dark matter exist? and In what form does the nonbaryonic dark matter exist? The MACHO and EROS collaborations have presented evidence for the microlensing of stars in the LMC by 10 -1±1 M circle-dot dark objects in the halo of our own galaxy and may well have solved one of the dark matter puzzles by identifying the form of the baryonic dark matter. It is too early to make precise statements about the fraction of the mass density in the halo of our galaxy contributed by lensing objects (= f m ), though the EROS/MACHO data suggest that f m is probably 0.1 or larger. Taking our galaxy to be typical and taking account a fraction f m of the mass in the portion of the halo that contributes most significantly to microlensing (within 20 kpc of the galactic center), I estimate that lensing objects contribute a fraction 0.008f m /h of the critical density, and clearly cannot account for the bulk of the dark matter if Ω 0 much-gt 0.1

  6. KMTNet: A Cold Exoplanet Census Through a Global Microlensing Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Calen B.; Gaudi, B. Scott; Han, Cheongho; Nataf, David; Skowron, Jan; Penny, Matthew; Gould, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    The unique sensitivity of gravitational microlensing to low-mass planets near and beyond the snow line makes it an indispensable tool for understanding the distribution and formation mechanisms of exoplanets. The Korean Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) consists of three 1.6m telescopes each with a 4 deg2 field of view and will be dedicated to monitoring the Galactic Bulge in order to detect exoplanets via gravitational microlensing. With its relatively large aperture, large field of view, high (~10-minute) cadence, and near-complete longitudinal coverage of the Galactic Bulge for 8 months a year, KMTNet is expected to increase the the annual detection rate of exoplanets via microlensing by a factor of ~5 over current surveys, pushing down to the mass of Earth for bound and unbound planets. I will summarize the predicted yields of KMTNet's survey based on detailed simulations, highlighting its sensitivity to low-mass planets and its expected haul of free-floating planets. I will also describe the prospects for characterization of the exoplanetary systems KMTNet will detect, focusing on the variety of techniques current and future high-resolution facilities such as VLT, GMT, and JWST can use to measure the flux from the host stars and ultimately derive planet masses.

  7. Microlensing planets in M 22: Free-floating or bound?

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Fuente Marcos, R.; de la Fuente Marcos, C.

    2001-12-01

    We use detailed numerical simulations and theoretical estimates to show that, if confirmed, the unusually brief microlensing events observed by Sahu et al. (\\cite{Sahu01}) in the field of the globular cluster M 22 might be explained as a result of microlensing by a population of clustered MACHOs, a dark cluster or RAMBO, not associated with the globular cluster. If real, this dark cluster would be located between M 22 and the Galactic bulge and could include at least 106 substellar members with a typical size of 1-3 pc. Bound planets in wide or/and eccentric orbits are also able to reproduce the observed microlensing behaviour, but only if multiplanet systems (including large Kuiper-belt-like objects) are abundant, although, our calculations argue against the latter scenario as the ionization rate in M 22 is very high. Dynamically ejected or lone planets are, in principle, incompatible with the observational findings as they either escape their parent cluster in a relatively short time-scale after ejection or segregate toward the outskirts of the cluster. We discuss additional implications of the dark cluster scenario, including the existence of a population of RAMBOs toward the Galactic bulge.

  8. Matching microlensing events with X-ray sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sartore, N.; Treves, A.

    2012-03-01

    Aims: The detection of old neutron stars and stellar mass black holes in isolation is one of the most sought after goals of compact object astrophysics. Microlensing surveys may help in achieving this aim because the lensing mechanism is independent of the emission properties of the lens. Several black hole candidates have indeed been detected by means of microlensing observations have been reported in the literature. The identification of counterparts, especially in the X-rays, would be a strong argument in favor of the compact nature of these lenses. Methods: We perform a cross-correlation between the catalogs of microlensing events produced by the OGLE, MACHO, and MOA teams, and those of X-rays sources from the data acquired by the XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites. On the basis of our previous work, we select only microlensing events with durations longer than one hundred days, which should contain a large fraction of lenses as compact objects. Our matching criterion takes into account the positional coincidence on the sky. Results: We find a single match between a microlensing event, OGLE-2004-BLG-081 (tE ~ 103 days), and the X-ray source 2XMM J180540.5-273427. The angular separation is ~0.5 arcsec, i.e. well within the 90% error box of the X-ray source. The hardness ratios reported in the 2XMM catalog imply that it has a hard spectrum with a peak between 2 keV and 4.5 keV or it has a softer but highly absorbed spectrum. Moreover, the microlensing event is not fully constrained, and other authors propose a possible association of the source star with either a flaring cataclysmic variable or a RS Canum Venaticorum-like star. Conclusions: The very small angular separation (within uncertainties) is a strong indicator that 2XMM J180540.5-273427 is the X-ray counterpart of the OGLE event. However, the uncertainties in the nature of both the lensed system and the lens itself challenge the interpretation of 2XMM J180540.5-273427 as the first confirmed isolated black

  9. Microlensing of quasar ultraviolet iron emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guerras, E.; Mediavilla, E. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea S/N, La Laguna 38200, Tenerife (Spain); Jimenez-Vicente, J. [Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, 18071 Granada (Spain); Kochanek, C. S. [Department of Astronomy and the Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 4055 McPherson Lab, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43221 (United States); Muñoz, J. A. [Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad de Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia (Spain); Falco, E. [Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Motta, V.; Rojas, K. [Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Avda. Gran Bretaña 1111, Valparaíso (Chile)

    2013-12-01

    We measure the differential microlensing of the UV Fe II and Fe III emission line blends between 14 quasar image pairs in 13 gravitational lenses. We find that the UV iron emission is strongly microlensed in four cases with amplitudes comparable to that of the continuum. Statistically modeling the magnifications, we infer a typical size of r{sub s}∼4√(M/M{sub ⊙}) light-days for the Fe line-emitting regions, which is comparable to the size of the region generating the UV continuum (∼3-7 light-days). This may indicate that a significant part of the UV Fe II and Fe III emission originates in the quasar accretion disk.

  10. Limits on compact halo objects as dark matter from gravitational microlensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jetzer Philippe

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Microlensing started with the seminal paper by Paczyński in 1986 [1], first with observations towards the Large Magellanic Cloud and the galactic bulge. Since then many other targets have been observed and new applications have been found. In particular, it turned out to be a powerful method to detect planets in our galaxy and even in the nearby M31. Here, we will present some results obtained so far by microlensing without being, however, exhaustive.

  11. A new direction for dark matter research: intermediate-mass compact halo objects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chapline, George F. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA (United States); Frampton, Paul H., E-mail: george.chapline@gmail.com, E-mail: paul.h.frampton@gmail.com [15 Summerheights, 29 Water Eaton Road, Oxford OX2 7PG (United Kingdom)

    2016-11-01

    The failure to find evidence for elementary particles that could serve as the constituents of dark matter brings to mind suggestions that dark matter might consist of massive compact objects (MACHOs). In particular, it has recently been argued that MACHOs with masses > 15 M {sub ⊙} may have been prolifically produced at the onset of the big bang. Although a variety of astrophysical signatures for primordial MACHOs with masses in this range have been discussed in the literature, we favor a strategy that uses the potential for magnification of stars outside our galaxy due to gravitational microlensing of these stars by MACHOs in the halo of our galaxy. We point out that the effect of the motion of the Earth on the shape of the micro-lensing brightening curves provides a promising approach to testing over the course of next several years the hypothesis that dark matter consists of massive compact objects.

  12. Difference Image Analysis of Galactic Microlensing. I. Data Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Griest, K. (and others)

    1999-08-20

    This is a preliminary report on the application of Difference Image Analysis (DIA) to Galactic bulge images. The aim of this analysis is to increase the sensitivity to the detection of gravitational microlensing. We discuss how the DIA technique simplifies the process of discovering microlensing events by detecting only objects that have variable flux. We illustrate how the DIA technique is not limited to detection of so-called ''pixel lensing'' events but can also be used to improve photometry for classical microlensing events by removing the effects of blending. We will present a method whereby DIA can be used to reveal the true unblended colors, positions, and light curves of microlensing events. We discuss the need for a technique to obtain the accurate microlensing timescales from blended sources and present a possible solution to this problem using the existing Hubble Space Telescope color-magnitude diagrams of the Galactic bulge and LMC. The use of such a solution with both classical and pixel microlensing searches is discussed. We show that one of the major causes of systematic noise in DIA is differential refraction. A technique for removing this systematic by effectively registering images to a common air mass is presented. Improvements to commonly used image differencing techniques are discussed. (c) 1999 The American Astronomical Society.

  13. Gravitational microlensing - Powerful combination of ray-shooting and parametric representation of caustics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wambsganss, J.; Witt, H. J.; Schneider, P.

    1992-01-01

    We present a combination of two very different methods for numerically calculating the effects of gravitational microlensing: the backward-ray-tracing that results in two-dimensional magnification patterns, and the parametric representation of caustic lines; they are in a way complementary to each other. The combination of these methods is much more powerful than the sum of its parts. It allows to determine the total magnification and the number of microimages as a function of source position. The mean number of microimages is calculated analytically and compared to the numerical results. The peaks in the lightcurves, as obtained from one-dimensional tracks through the magnification pattern, can now be divided into two groups: those which correspond to a source crossing a caustic, and those which are due to sources passing outside cusps. We determine the frequencies of those two types of events as a function of the surface mass density, and the probability distributions of their magnitudes. We find that for low surface mass density as many as 40 percent of all events in a lightcurve are not due to caustic crossings, but rather due to passings outside cusps.

  14. Constraint on Additional Planets in Planetary Systems Discovered Through the Channel of High-magnification Gravitational Microlensing Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, I.-G.; Han, C.; Choi, J.-Y.; Hwang, K.-H.; Jung, Y.-K.; Park, H.

    2015-04-01

    High-magnification gravitational microlensing events provide an important channel of detecting planetary systems with multiple giants located at their birth places. In order to investigate the potential existence of additional planets, we reanalyze the light curves of the eight high-magnification microlensing events, for each of which a single planet was previously detected. The analyzed events include OGLE-2005-BLG-071, OGLE-2005-BLG-169, MOA-2007-BLG-400, MOA-2008-BLG-310, MOA-2009-BLG-319, MOA-2009-BLG-387, MOA-2010-BLG-477, and MOA-2011-BLG-293. We find that including an additional planet improves fits with {Δ }{{χ }2}\\lt 80 for seven out of eight analyzed events. For MOA-2009-BLG-319, the improvement is relatively big with {Δ }{{χ }2}∼ 143. From inspection of the fits, we find that the improvement of the fits is attributed to systematics in data. Although no clear evidence of additional planets is found, it is still possible to constrain the existence of additional planets in the parameter space. For this purpose, we construct exclusion diagrams showing the confidence levels excluding the existence of an additional planet as a function of its separation and mass ratio. We also present the exclusion ranges of additional planets with 90% confidence level for Jupiter-, Saturn-, and Uranus-mass planets.

  15. Searching for dark matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateo, Mario

    1994-01-01

    Three teams of astronomers believe they have independently found evidence for dark matter in our galaxy. A brief history of the search for dark matter is presented. The use of microlensing-event observation for spotting dark matter is described. The equipment required to observe microlensing events and three groups working on dark matter detection are discussed. The three groups are the Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHO) Project team, the Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres (EROS) team, and the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) team. The first apparent detections of microlensing events by the three teams are briefly reported.

  16. AGAPEROS Searches for microlensing in the LMC with the Pixel Method; 1, Data treatment and pixel light curves production

    CERN Document Server

    Melchior, A.-L.; Ansari, R.; Aubourg, E.; Baillon, P.; Bareyre, P.; Bauer, F.; Beaulieu, J.-Ph.; Bouquet, A.; Brehin, S.; Cavalier, F.; Char, S.; Couchot, F.; Coutures, C.; Ferlet, R.; Fernandez, J.; Gaucherel, C.; Giraud-Heraud, Y.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Goldman, B.; Gondolo, P.; Gros, M.; Guibert, J.; Gry, C.; Hardin, D.; Kaplan, J.; de Kat, J.; Lachieze-Rey, M.; Laurent, B.; Lesquoy, E.; Magneville, Ch.; Mansoux, B.; Marquette, J.-B.; Maurice, E.; Milsztajn, A.; Moniez, M.; Moreau, O.; Moscoso, L.; Palanque-Delabrouille, N.; Perdereau, O.; Prevot, L.; Renault, C.; Queinnec, F.; Rich, J.; Spiro, M.; Vigroux, L.; Zylberajch, S.; Vidal-Madjar, A.; Magneville, Ch.

    1999-01-01

    The presence and abundance of MAssive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs) towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) can be studied with microlensing searches. The 10 events detected by the EROS and MACHO groups suggest that objects with 0.5 Mo could fill 50% of the dark halo. This preferred mass is quite surprising, and increasing the presently small statistics is a crucial issue. Additional microlensing of stars too dim to be resolved in crowded fields should be detectable using the Pixel Method. We present here an application of this method to the EROS 91-92 data (one tenth of the whole existing data set). We emphasize the data treatment required for monitoring pixel fluxes. Geometric and photometric alignments are performed on each image. Seeing correction and error estimates are discussed. 3.6" x 3.6" super-pixel light curves, thus produced, are very stable over the 120 days time-span. Fluctuations at a level of 1.8% of the flux in blue and 1.3% in red are measured on the pixel light curves. This level of stabil...

  17. Faint-Source-Star Planetary Microlensing: The Discovery of the Cold Gas-Giant Planet OGLE-2014-BLG-0676Lb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattenbury, N. J.; Bennett, D. P.; Sumi, T.; Koshimoto, N.; Bond, I. A.; Udalski, A.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Maoz, D.; Jorgensen, U. G.; Barry, R.; hide

    2016-01-01

    We report the discovery of a planet OGLE-2014-BLG-0676Lb via gravitational microlensing. Observations for the lensing event were made by the following groups: Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics; Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment; Wise Observatory; RoboNETLas Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope; Microlensing Network for the Detection of Small Terrestrial Exoplanets; and -FUN. All analyses of the light-curve data favoura lens system comprising a planetary mass orbiting a host star. The most-favoured binary lens model has a mass ratio between the two lens masses of (4.78 +/- 0.13) 10(exp -3). Subject to some important assumptions, a Bayesian probability density analysis suggests the lens system comprises a 3.09(+1.02/-1.12) MJ planet orbiting a 0.62(+0.20/-0.22) solar mass host star at a deprojected orbital separation of 4.40(+2.16/-1.46) au. The distance to the lens system is 2.22(+0.96/-0.83) kpc. Planet OGLE-2014-BLG-0676Lb provides additional data to the growing number of cool planets discover redusing gravitational microlensing against which planetary formation theories may be tested. Most of the light in the baseline of this event is expected to come from the lens and thus high-resolution imaging observations could confirm our planetary model interpretation.

  18. THE MICROLENSING PROPERTIES OF A SAMPLE OF 87 LENSED QUASARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosquera, A. M.; Kochanek, C. S.

    2011-01-01

    Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool for probing the physical properties of quasar accretion disks and properties of the lens galaxy such as its dark matter fraction and mean stellar mass. Unfortunately, the number of lensed quasars (∼90) exceeds our monitoring capabilities. Thus, estimating their microlensing properties is important for identifying good microlensing candidates as well as for the expectations of future surveys. In this work, we estimate the microlensing properties of a sample of 87 lensed quasars. While the median Einstein radius crossing timescale is 20.6 years, the median source crossing timescale is 7.3 months. Broadly speaking, this means that on ∼10 year timescales roughly half the lenses will be quiescent, with the source in a broad demagnified valley, and roughly half will be active with the source lying in the caustic ridges. We also found that the location of the lens system relative to the cosmic microwave background dipole has a modest effect on microlensing timescales, and in theory microlensing could be used to confirm the kinematic origin of the dipole. As a corollary of our study we analyzed the accretion rate parameters in a sub-sample of 32 lensed quasars. At fixed black hole mass, it is possible to sample a broad range of luminosities (i.e., Eddington factors) if it becomes feasible to monitor fainter lenses.

  19. Probing Extragalactic Planets Using Quasar Microlensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Xinyu; Guerras, Eduardo

    2018-02-01

    Previously, planets have been detected only in the Milky Way galaxy. Here, we show that quasar microlensing provides a means to probe extragalactic planets in the lens galaxy, by studying the microlensing properties of emission close to the event horizon of the supermassive black hole of the background quasar, using the current generation telescopes. We show that a population of unbound planets between stars with masses ranging from Moon to Jupiter masses is needed to explain the frequent Fe Kα line energy shifts observed in the gravitationally lensed quasar RXJ 1131–1231 at a lens redshift of z = 0.295 or 3.8 billion lt-yr away. We constrain the planet mass-fraction to be larger than 0.0001 of the halo mass, which is equivalent to 2000 objects ranging from Moon to Jupiter mass per main-sequence star.

  20. Structure formation and microlensing with axion miniclusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairbairn, Malcolm; Marsh, David J. E.; Quevillon, Jérémie; Rozier, Simon

    2018-04-01

    If the symmetry breaking responsible for axion dark matter production occurs during the radiation-dominated epoch in the early Universe, then this produces large amplitude perturbations that collapse into dense objects known as axion miniclusters. The characteristic minicluster mass, M0, is set by the mass inside the horizon when axion oscillations begin. For the QCD axion M0˜10-10 M⊙, however, for an axionlike particle, M0 can approach M⊙ or higher. Using the Press-Schechter formalism we compute the mass function of halos formed by hierarchical structure formation from these seeds. We compute the concentrations and collapse times of these halos and show that they can grow to be as massive as 1 06M0. Within the halos, miniclusters likely remain tightly bound, and we compute their gravitational microlensing signal taking the fraction of axion dark matter collapsed into miniclusters, fMC, as a free parameter. A large value of fMC severely weakens constraints on axion scenarios from direct detection experiments. We take into account the non-Gaussian distribution of sizes of miniclusters and determine how this affects the number of microlensing events. We develop the tools to consider microlensing by an extended mass function of nonpointlike objects, and we use microlensing data to place the first observational constraints on fMC. This opens a new window for the potential discovery of the axion.

  1. Discovery and Characterization of a Caustic Crossing Microlensing Event in the Small Magellanic Cloud

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R.A.; Alves, D.; Axelrod, T.S.; Becker, A.C.; Bennett, D.P.; Cook, K.H.; Drake, A.J.; Freeman, K.C.; Griest, K.; King, L.J.; Lehner, M.J.; Marshall, S.L.

    1999-01-01

    We present photometric observations and analysis of the second microlensing event detected toward the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), MACHO Alert 98-SMC-1. This event was detected early enough to allow intensive observation of the light curve. These observations revealed 98-SMC-1 to be the first caustic crossing binary microlensing event toward the Magellanic Clouds to be discovered in progress. Frequent coverage of the evolving light curve allowed an accurate prediction for the date of the source crossing out of the lens caustic structure. The caustic crossing temporal width, along with the angular size of the source star, measures the proper motion of the lens with respect to the source and thus allows an estimate of the location of the lens. Lenses located in the Galactic halo would have a velocity projected to the SMC of v∼1500 kms -1 , while an SMC lens would typically have v∼60 kms -1 . The event light curve allows us to obtain a unique fit to the parameters of the binary lens and to estimate the proper motion of the lensing system. We have performed a joint fit to the MACHO/GMAN data presented here, including recent EROS data of this event from Afonso and collaborators. These joint data are sufficient to constrain the time t * for the lens to move an angle equal to the source angular radius: t * =0.116±0.010 days. We estimate a radius for the lensed source of R * =1.1±0.1 R circle-dot from its unblended color and magnitude. This yields a projected velocity of v=76±10 kms -1 . Only 0.12% of halo lenses would be expected to have a v value at least as small as this, while 38% of SMC lenses would be expected to have v as large as this. This implies that the lensing system is more likely to reside in the SMC than in the Galactic halo. Similar observations of future Magellanic Cloud microlensing events will help to determine the contribution of MACHOS to the Galaxy's dark halo. copyright copyright 1999. The American Astronomical Society

  2. Beyond the Wobbles: Teaching Students About Detecting Planets with the Transit and Gravitational Microlensing Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prather, Edward E.; Wallace, Colin Scott; Chambers, Timothy G.; Brissenden, Gina; Traub, Wesley A.; Greene, W. M.; Biferno, Anya A.; Rodriguez, Joshua

    2015-01-01

    Members of the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory in collaboration with JPL scientists, visualization experts, and education and public outreach professionals with the Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) have recently completed classroom field-testing of a new suite of educational materials to help learners better understand how extrasolar planets are detected using the transit and gravitational microlensing techniques. This collaboration has created a set of evidence-based Think-Pair-Share questions, Lecture-Tutorials, animations, presentation slides, and instrucotrs guide that can be used together or separately to actively engage learners in reasoning about the data and scientific representations associated with these exciting new extrasolar planet detection methods. In this talk we present several of the conceptually challenging collaborative learning tasks that students encounter with this new suite of educational materials and some of the assessment questions we are using to assess the efficacy of their use in general education, college-level astronomy courses.

  3. Studies of relativistic effects with radioastron space mission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zakharov A.F.

    2007-01-01

    systems, one can speculate about the microlens contribution to the gravitational lens mass. Astrometric microlensing due to Galactic Macho's action is not very important because of low optical depths and long typical time scales. Therefore, the launch of the space interferometer Radioastron will give excellent new facilities to investigate microlensing in the radio band, allowing the possibility not only to resolve microimages but also to observe astrometric microlensing. Shadows around supermassive black holes can be detected with the RadioAstron space interferometer. .

  4. Direct detection of a microlens in the Milky Way.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcock, C; Allsman, R A; Alves, D R; Axelrod, T S; Becker, A C; Bennett, D P; Cook, K H; Drake, A J; Freeman, K C; Geha, M; Griest, K; Keller, S C; Lehner, M J; Marshall, S L; Minniti, D; Nelson, C A; Peterson, B A; Popowski, P; Pratt, M R; Quinn, P J; Stubbs, C W; Sutherland, W; Tomaney, A B; Vandehei, T; Welch, D

    2001-12-06

    The nature of dark matter remains mysterious, with luminous material accounting for at most approximately 25 per cent of the baryons in the Universe. We accordingly undertook a survey looking for the microlensing of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to determine the fraction of Galactic dark matter contained in massive compact halo objects (MACHOs). The presence of the dark matter would be revealed by gravitational lensing of the light from an LMC star as the foreground dark matter moves across the line of sight. The duration of the lensing event is the key observable parameter, but gives non-unique solutions when attempting to estimate the mass, distance and transverse velocity of the lens. The survey results to date indicate that between 8 and 50 per cent of the baryonic mass of the Galactic halo is in the form of MACHOs (ref. 3), but removing the degeneracy by identifying a lensing object would tighten the constraints on the mass in MACHOs. Here we report a direct image of a microlens, revealing it to be a nearby low-mass star in the disk of the Milky Way. This is consistent with the expected frequency of nearby stars acting as lenses, and demonstrates a direct determination of a lens mass from a microlensing event. Complete solutions such as this for halo microlensing events will probe directly the nature of the MACHOs.

  5. MICROLENSING OF QUASAR BROAD EMISSION LINES: CONSTRAINTS ON BROAD LINE REGION SIZE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guerras, E.; Mediavilla, E. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Via Lactea S/N, La Laguna E-38200, Tenerife (Spain); Jimenez-Vicente, J. [Departamento de Fisica Teorica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada (Spain); Kochanek, C. S. [Department of Astronomy and the Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 4055 McPherson Lab, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43221 (United States); Munoz, J. A. [Departamento de Astronomia y Astrofisica, Universidad de Valencia, E-46100 Burjassot, Valencia (Spain); Falco, E. [Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Motta, V. [Departamento de Fisica y Astronomia, Universidad de Valparaiso, Avda. Gran Bretana 1111, Valparaiso (Chile)

    2013-02-20

    We measure the differential microlensing of the broad emission lines between 18 quasar image pairs in 16 gravitational lenses. We find that the broad emission lines are in general weakly microlensed. The results show, at a modest level of confidence (1.8{sigma}), that high ionization lines such as C IV are more strongly microlensed than low ionization lines such as H{beta}, indicating that the high ionization line emission regions are more compact. If we statistically model the distribution of microlensing magnifications, we obtain estimates for the broad line region size of r{sub s} = 24{sup +22} {sub -15} and r{sub s} = 55{sup +150} {sub -35} lt-day (90% confidence) for the high and low ionization lines, respectively. When the samples are divided into higher and lower luminosity quasars, we find that the line emission regions of more luminous quasars are larger, with a slope consistent with the expected scaling from photoionization models. Our estimates also agree well with the results from local reveberation mapping studies.

  6. A ROBUST DETERMINATION OF THE SIZE OF QUASAR ACCRETION DISKS USING GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiménez-Vicente, J.; Mediavilla, E.; Muñoz, J. A.; Kochanek, C. S.

    2012-01-01

    Using microlensing measurements for a sample of 27 image pairs of 19 lensed quasars we determine a maximum likelihood estimate for the accretion disk size of an average quasar of r s = 4.0 +2.4 –3.1 lt-day at rest frame (λ) = 1736 Å for microlenses with a mean mass of (M) = 0.3 M ☉ . This value, in good agreement with previous results from smaller samples, is roughly a factor of five greater than the predictions of the standard thin disk model. The individual size estimates for the 19 quasars in our sample are also in excellent agreement with the results of the joint maximum likelihood analysis.

  7. Polarimetry Microlensing of Close-in Planetary Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sajadian, Sedighe; Hundertmark, Markus

    2017-01-01

    A close-in giant planetary (CGP) system has a net polarization signal whose value varies depending on the orbital phase of the planet. This polarization signal is either caused by the stellar occultation or by reflected starlight from the surface of the orbiting planet. When the CGP system is located in the Galactic bulge, its polarization signal becomes too weak to be measured directly. One method for detecting and characterizing these weak polarization signatures due to distant CGP systems is gravitational microlensing. In this work, we focus on potential polarimetric observations of highly magnified microlensing events of CGP systems. When the lens is passing directly in front of the source star with its planetary companion, the polarimetric signature caused by the transiting planet is magnified. As a result, some distinct features in the polarimetry and light curves are produced. In the same way, microlensing amplifies the reflection-induced polarization signal. While the planet-induced perturbations are magnified whenever these polarimetric or photometric deviations vanish for a moment, the corresponding magnification factor of the polarization component(s) is related to the planet itself. Finding these exact times in the planet-induced perturbations helps us to characterize the planet. In order to evaluate the observability of such systems through polarimetric or photometric observations of high-magnification microlensing events, we simulate these events by considering confirmed CGP systems as their source stars and conclude that the efficiency for detecting the planet-induced signal with the state-of-the-art polarimetric instrument (FORS2/VLT) is less than 0.1%. Consequently, these planet-induced polarimetry perturbations can likely be detected under favorable conditions by the high-resolution and short-cadence polarimeters of the next generation.

  8. Polarimetry Microlensing of Close-in Planetary Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sajadian, Sedighe [Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hundertmark, Markus, E-mail: s.sajadian@cc.iut.ac.ir [Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg (ZAH), D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2017-04-01

    A close-in giant planetary (CGP) system has a net polarization signal whose value varies depending on the orbital phase of the planet. This polarization signal is either caused by the stellar occultation or by reflected starlight from the surface of the orbiting planet. When the CGP system is located in the Galactic bulge, its polarization signal becomes too weak to be measured directly. One method for detecting and characterizing these weak polarization signatures due to distant CGP systems is gravitational microlensing. In this work, we focus on potential polarimetric observations of highly magnified microlensing events of CGP systems. When the lens is passing directly in front of the source star with its planetary companion, the polarimetric signature caused by the transiting planet is magnified. As a result, some distinct features in the polarimetry and light curves are produced. In the same way, microlensing amplifies the reflection-induced polarization signal. While the planet-induced perturbations are magnified whenever these polarimetric or photometric deviations vanish for a moment, the corresponding magnification factor of the polarization component(s) is related to the planet itself. Finding these exact times in the planet-induced perturbations helps us to characterize the planet. In order to evaluate the observability of such systems through polarimetric or photometric observations of high-magnification microlensing events, we simulate these events by considering confirmed CGP systems as their source stars and conclude that the efficiency for detecting the planet-induced signal with the state-of-the-art polarimetric instrument (FORS2/VLT) is less than 0.1%. Consequently, these planet-induced polarimetry perturbations can likely be detected under favorable conditions by the high-resolution and short-cadence polarimeters of the next generation.

  9. Microlensing discovery of a population of very tight, very low mass binary brown dwarfs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choi, J.-Y.; Han, C.; Udalski, A.

    2013-01-01

    the discovery via gravitational microlensing of two very low mass, very tight binary systems. These binaries have directly and precisely measured total system masses of 0.025 M ☉ and 0.034 M ☉, and projected separations of 0.31 AU and 0.19 AU, making them the lowest-mass and tightest field BD binaries known....... The discovery of a population of such binaries indicates that BD binaries can robustly form at least down to masses of ~0.02 M ☉. Future microlensing surveys will measure a mass-selected sample of BD binary systems, which can then be directly compared to similar samples of stellar binaries....

  10. Candidate gravitational microlensing events for future direct lens imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henderson, C. B.; Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S.; Park, H.; Han, C.; Sumi, T.; Koshimoto, N.; Udalski, A.; Tsapras, Y.; Bozza, V.; Abe, F.; Fukunaga, D.; Itow, Y.; Masuda, K.; Bennett, D. P.; Bond, I. A.; Ling, C. H.; Botzler, C. S.; Freeman, M.; Fukui, A.

    2014-01-01

    The mass of the lenses giving rise to Galactic microlensing events can be constrained by measuring the relative lens-source proper motion and lens flux. The flux of the lens can be separated from that of the source, companions to the source, and unrelated nearby stars with high-resolution images taken when the lens and source are spatially resolved. For typical ground-based adaptive optics (AO) or space-based observations, this requires either inordinately long time baselines or high relative proper motions. We provide a list of microlensing events toward the Galactic bulge with high relative lens-source proper motion that are therefore good candidates for constraining the lens mass with future high-resolution imaging. We investigate all events from 2004 to 2013 that display detectable finite-source effects, a feature that allows us to measure the proper motion. In total, we present 20 events with μ ≳ 8 mas yr –1 . Of these, 14 were culled from previous analyses while 6 are new, including OGLE-2004-BLG-368, MOA-2005-BLG-36, OGLE-2012-BLG-0211, OGLE-2012-BLG-0456, MOA-2012-BLG-532, and MOA-2013-BLG-029. In ≲12 yr from the time of each event the lens and source of each event will be sufficiently separated for ground-based telescopes with AO systems or space telescopes to resolve each component and further characterize the lens system. Furthermore, for the most recent events, comparison of the lens flux estimates from images taken immediately to those estimated from images taken when the lens and source are resolved can be used to empirically check the robustness of the single-epoch method currently being used to estimate lens masses for many events.

  11. Candidate gravitational microlensing events for future direct lens imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henderson, C. B.; Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S. [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Park, H.; Han, C. [Department of Physics, Institute for Astrophysics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Sumi, T.; Koshimoto, N. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Udalski, A. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Tsapras, Y. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Bozza, V. [Department of Physics, University of Salerno, I-84084 Fisciano (Italy); Abe, F.; Fukunaga, D.; Itow, Y.; Masuda, K. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan); Bennett, D. P. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Bond, I. A.; Ling, C. H. [Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland 0745 (New Zealand); Botzler, C. S.; Freeman, M. [Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland 1001 (New Zealand); Fukui, A. [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington 6140 (New Zealand); Collaboration: MOA Collaboration; OGLE Collaboration; μFUN Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; and others

    2014-10-10

    The mass of the lenses giving rise to Galactic microlensing events can be constrained by measuring the relative lens-source proper motion and lens flux. The flux of the lens can be separated from that of the source, companions to the source, and unrelated nearby stars with high-resolution images taken when the lens and source are spatially resolved. For typical ground-based adaptive optics (AO) or space-based observations, this requires either inordinately long time baselines or high relative proper motions. We provide a list of microlensing events toward the Galactic bulge with high relative lens-source proper motion that are therefore good candidates for constraining the lens mass with future high-resolution imaging. We investigate all events from 2004 to 2013 that display detectable finite-source effects, a feature that allows us to measure the proper motion. In total, we present 20 events with μ ≳ 8 mas yr{sup –1}. Of these, 14 were culled from previous analyses while 6 are new, including OGLE-2004-BLG-368, MOA-2005-BLG-36, OGLE-2012-BLG-0211, OGLE-2012-BLG-0456, MOA-2012-BLG-532, and MOA-2013-BLG-029. In ≲12 yr from the time of each event the lens and source of each event will be sufficiently separated for ground-based telescopes with AO systems or space telescopes to resolve each component and further characterize the lens system. Furthermore, for the most recent events, comparison of the lens flux estimates from images taken immediately to those estimated from images taken when the lens and source are resolved can be used to empirically check the robustness of the single-epoch method currently being used to estimate lens masses for many events.

  12. RoboTAP: Target priorities for robotic microlensing observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hundertmark, M.; Street, R. A.; Tsapras, Y.; Bachelet, E.; Dominik, M.; Horne, K.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; Cassan, A.; D'Ago, G.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Kains, N.; Ranc, C.; Schmidt, R. W.; Snodgrass, C.; Wambsganss, J.; Steele, I. A.; Mao, S.; Ment, K.; Menzies, J.; Li, Z.; Cross, S.; Maoz, D.; Shvartzvald, Y.

    2018-01-01

    Context. The ability to automatically select scientifically-important transient events from an alert stream of many such events, and to conduct follow-up observations in response, will become increasingly important in astronomy. With wide-angle time domain surveys pushing to fainter limiting magnitudes, the capability to follow-up on transient alerts far exceeds our follow-up telescope resources, and effective target prioritization becomes essential. The RoboNet-II microlensing program is a pathfinder project, which has developed an automated target selection process (RoboTAP) for gravitational microlensing events, which are observed in real time using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope network. Aims: Follow-up telescopes typically have a much smaller field of view compared to surveys, therefore the most promising microlensing events must be automatically selected at any given time from an annual sample exceeding 2000 events. The main challenge is to select between events with a high planet detection sensitivity, with the aim of detecting many planets and characterizing planetary anomalies. Methods: Our target selection algorithm is a hybrid system based on estimates of the planet detection zones around a microlens. It follows automatic anomaly alerts and respects the expected survey coverage of specific events. Results: We introduce the RoboTAP algorithm, whose purpose is to select and prioritize microlensing events with high sensitivity to planetary companions. In this work, we determine the planet sensitivity of the RoboNet follow-up program and provide a working example of how a broker can be designed for a real-life transient science program conducting follow-up observations in response to alerts; we explore the issues that will confront similar programs being developed for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and other time domain surveys.

  13. Searching gravitational microlensing events in the galaxy spiral arms by EROS II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Derue, Frederic

    1999-01-01

    The EROS II experiment is searching for microlensing events due to compact massive objects passing through the line-of-sight of luminous stars. These objects are candidates to explain the baryonic component of Dark Matter in our Galaxy. EROS II was dedicated to different lines-of-sight: Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, Galactic Centre and 4 directions towards the Spiral Arms of the Galaxy. This thesis presents the first search for microlensing towards these last lines-of-sight (about 9 million stars). Simple criteria based on the search for significant fluctuations allowed one to discover a low noise sample of 7 candidates to the microlensing effect, with an average timescale of 50 days. A detailed analysis of the light curve of one candidate allows us to give a confidence interval on its mass 2.7 x 10 -3 0 0 = 50 ± 3 days. To improve the knowledge of the distance of the target stars, we have combined observations of EROS II with bibliographic sources on associations of stars linked with the spiral arm features, and we have developed a program to find variable stars. Ten cepheids have thus been found. Distances obtained with different methods are in rough agreement with each other. The average optical depth measured towards the four directions is τ-bar = 0.45 0.11 +0.23 x 10 -6 . It is compatible with expectations from simple galactic models. The long duration of most events favours interpretation of lensing by objects belonging to the disk instead of the halo. It also seems that some events due to bulge lenses have influenced measurements towards the line-of-sight which is closest to the Galactic Centre. Observation continue towards spiral arms. More accurate measurements should be obtained with increase of statistics, allowing one to estimate the disk contribution to the optical depth towards the bulge and the Magellanic Clouds. (author)

  14. Gravitational lensing

    CERN Document Server

    Dodelson, Scott

    2017-01-01

    Gravitational lensing is a consequence of general relativity, where the gravitational force due to a massive object bends the paths of light originating from distant objects lying behind it. Using very little general relativity and no higher level mathematics, this text presents the basics of gravitational lensing, focusing on the equations needed to understand the phenomena. It then applies them to a diverse set of topics, including multiply imaged objects, time delays, extrasolar planets, microlensing, cluster masses, galaxy shape measurements, cosmic shear, and lensing of the cosmic microwave background. This approach allows undergraduate students and others to get quickly up to speed on the basics and the important issues. The text will be especially relevant as large surveys such as LSST and Euclid begin to dominate the astronomical landscape. Designed for a one semester course, it is accessible to anyone with two years of undergraduate physics background.

  15. The mirror world interpretation of the 1908 Tunguska event and other more recent events

    OpenAIRE

    Foot, R.

    2001-01-01

    Mirror matter is predicted to exist if parity (i.e. left-right symmetry) is a symmetry of nature. Remarkably mirror matter is capable of simply explaining a large number of contemporary puzzles in astrophysics and particle physics including: Explanation of the MACHO gravitational microlensing events, the existence of close-in extrasolar gas giant planets, apparently `isolated' planets, the solar, atmospheric and LSND neutrino anomalies, the orthopositronium lifetime anomaly and perhaps even g...

  16. Characterizing low-mass binaries from observation of long-timescale caustic-crossing gravitational microlensing events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shin, I.-G; Han, C.; Choi, J.-Y

    2012-01-01

    solution by follow-up radial-velocity observation. For both events, the caustic-crossing parts of the light curves, which are critical for determining the physical lens parameters, were resolved by high-cadence survey observations and thus it is expected that the number of microlensing binaries...

  17. Estimating Finite Source Effects in Microlensing Events due to Free-Floating Planets with the Euclid Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindita Hamolli

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years free-floating planets (FFPs have drawn a great interest among astrophysicists. Gravitational microlensing is a unique and exclusive method for their investigation which may allow obtaining precious information about their mass and spatial distribution. The planned Euclid space-based observatory will be able to detect a substantial number of microlensing events caused by FFPs towards the Galactic bulge. Making use of a synthetic population algorithm, we investigate the possibility of detecting finite source effects in simulated microlensing events due to FFPs. We find a significant efficiency for finite source effect detection that turns out to be between 20% and 40% for a FFP power law mass function index in the range [0.9, 1.6]. For many of such events it will also be possible to measure the angular Einstein radius and therefore constrain the lens physical parameters. These kinds of observations will also offer a unique possibility to investigate the photosphere and atmosphere of Galactic bulge stars.

  18. PERIODIC SIGNALS IN BINARY MICROLENSING EVENTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Xinyi; Stefano, Rosanne Di; Esin, Ann; Taylor, Jeffrey

    2015-01-01

    Gravitational microlensing events are powerful tools for the study of stellar populations. In particular, they can be used to discover and study a variety of binary systems. A large number of binary lenses have already been found through microlensing surveys and a few of these systems show strong evidence of orbital motion on the timescale of the lensing event. We expect that more binary lenses of this kind will be detected in the future. For binaries whose orbital period is comparable to the event duration, the orbital motion can cause the lensing signal to deviate drastically from that of a static binary lens. The most striking property of such light curves is the presence of quasi-periodic features, which are produced as the source traverses the same regions in the rotating lens plane. These repeating features contain information about the orbital period of the lens. If this period can be extracted, then much can be learned about the lensing system even without performing time-consuming, detailed light-curve modeling. However, the relative transverse motion between the source and the lens significantly complicates the problem of period extraction. To resolve this difficulty, we present a modification of the standard Lomb–Scargle periodogram analysis. We test our method for four representative binary lens systems and demonstrate its efficiency in correctly extracting binary orbital periods

  19. One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassan, A; Kubas, D; Beaulieu, J-P; Dominik, M; Horne, K; Greenhill, J; Wambsganss, J; Menzies, J; Williams, A; Jørgensen, U G; Udalski, A; Bennett, D P; Albrow, M D; Batista, V; Brillant, S; Caldwell, J A R; Cole, A; Coutures, Ch; Cook, K H; Dieters, S; Prester, D Dominis; Donatowicz, J; Fouqué, P; Hill, K; Kains, N; Kane, S; Marquette, J-B; Martin, R; Pollard, K R; Sahu, K C; Vinter, C; Warren, D; Watson, B; Zub, M; Sumi, T; Szymański, M K; Kubiak, M; Poleski, R; Soszynski, I; Ulaczyk, K; Pietrzyński, G; Wyrzykowski, L

    2012-01-11

    Most known extrasolar planets (exoplanets) have been discovered using the radial velocity or transit methods. Both are biased towards planets that are relatively close to their parent stars, and studies find that around 17-30% (refs 4, 5) of solar-like stars host a planet. Gravitational microlensing, on the other hand, probes planets that are further away from their stars. Recently, a population of planets that are unbound or very far from their stars was discovered by microlensing. These planets are at least as numerous as the stars in the Milky Way. Here we report a statistical analysis of microlensing data (gathered in 2002-07) that reveals the fraction of bound planets 0.5-10 AU (Sun-Earth distance) from their stars. We find that 17(+6)(-9)% of stars host Jupiter-mass planets (0.3-10 M(J), where M(J) = 318 M(⊕) and M(⊕) is Earth's mass). Cool Neptunes (10-30 M(⊕)) and super-Earths (5-10 M(⊕)) are even more common: their respective abundances per star are 52(+22)(-29)% and 62(+35)(-37)%. We conclude that stars are orbited by planets as a rule, rather than the exception.

  20. Results from the EROS microlensing survey

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beaulieu, JP; Lamers, HJGLM; Chu, YH; Suntzeff, NB; Hesser, JE; Bohlender, DA

    1999-01-01

    We present a status report of the original EROS and the on-going EROS-2 microlensing surveys, which were created to search for dark matter in the Galactic halo via microlensing effects on LMC/SMC stars. Microlensing surveys provide long-term systematic observations of millions of stars in both

  1. Fast, inexpensive, diffraction limited cylindrical microlenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Synder, J.J.; Reichert, P.

    1991-01-01

    We have developed a technique for fabricating fast, well corrected cylindrical microlenses. With this technique we have made a number of different microlenses with dimensions and focal lengths in the range of few hundred μm, and diffraction limited numerical apertures as high as 0.9. The microlenses are specifically designed for applications where they can increase the radiance or otherwise enhance the optical characteristics of laser diode light. The fabrication method we use is very versatile, and the microlenses produced this way would be very inexpensive in production quantities. 6 refs., 4 figs

  2. Korea Microlensing Telescope Network Microlensing Events from 2015: Event-finding Algorithm, Vetting, and Photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, D.-J.; Kim, H.-W.; Hwang, K.-H.; Albrow, M. D.; Chung, S.-J.; Gould, A.; Han, C.; Jung, Y. K.; Ryu, Y.-H.; Shin, I.-G.; Yee, J. C.; Zhu, W.; Cha, S.-M.; Kim, S.-L.; Lee, C.-U.; Lee, D.-J.; Lee, Y.; Park, B.-G.; Pogge, R. W.; The KMTNet Collaboration

    2018-02-01

    We present microlensing events in the 2015 Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) data and our procedure for identifying these events. In particular, candidates were detected with a novel “completed-event” microlensing event-finder algorithm. The algorithm works by making linear fits to a ({t}0,{t}{eff},{u}0) grid of point-lens microlensing models. This approach is rendered computationally efficient by restricting u 0 to just two values (0 and 1), which we show is quite adequate. The implementation presented here is specifically tailored to the commission-year character of the 2015 data, but the algorithm is quite general and has already been applied to a completely different (non-KMTNet) data set. We outline expected improvements for 2016 and future KMTNet data. The light curves of the 660 “clear microlensing” and 182 “possible microlensing” events that were found in 2015 are presented along with our policy for their public release.

  3. QUASI-STELLAR OBJECT SELECTION ALGORITHM USING TIME VARIABILITY AND MACHINE LEARNING: SELECTION OF 1620 QUASI-STELLAR OBJECT CANDIDATES FROM MACHO LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD DATABASE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dae-Won; Protopapas, Pavlos; Alcock, Charles; Trichas, Markos; Byun, Yong-Ik; Khardon, Roni

    2011-01-01

    We present a new quasi-stellar object (QSO) selection algorithm using a Support Vector Machine, a supervised classification method, on a set of extracted time series features including period, amplitude, color, and autocorrelation value. We train a model that separates QSOs from variable stars, non-variable stars, and microlensing events using 58 known QSOs, 1629 variable stars, and 4288 non-variables in the MAssive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) database as a training set. To estimate the efficiency and the accuracy of the model, we perform a cross-validation test using the training set. The test shows that the model correctly identifies ∼80% of known QSOs with a 25% false-positive rate. The majority of the false positives are Be stars. We applied the trained model to the MACHO Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) data set, which consists of 40 million light curves, and found 1620 QSO candidates. During the selection none of the 33,242 known MACHO variables were misclassified as QSO candidates. In order to estimate the true false-positive rate, we crossmatched the candidates with astronomical catalogs including the Spitzer Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution LMC catalog and a few X-ray catalogs. The results further suggest that the majority of the candidates, more than 70%, are QSOs.

  4. OGLE-IV: Fourth Phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Szymański, G.

    2015-03-01

    We present both the technical overview and main science drivers of the fourth phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (hereafter OGLE-IV). OGLE-IV is currently one of the largest sky variability surveys worldwide, targeting the densest stellar regions of the sky. The survey covers over 3000 square degrees in the sky and monitors regularly over a billion sources. The main targets include the inner Galactic Bulge and the Magellanic System. Their photometry spans the range of 12System and the Galactic disk. OGLE-IV provides the astronomical community with a number of real time services. The Early Warning System (EWS) contains information on two thousand gravitational microlensing events being discovered in real time annually, the OGLE Transient Detection System (OTDS) delivers over 200 supernovae a year. We also provide the real time photometry of unpredictable variables such as optical counterparts to the X-ray sources and R Coronae Borealis stars. Hundreds of thousands new variable stars have already been discovered and classified by the OGLE survey. The number of new detections will be at least doubled during the current OGLE-IV phase. The survey was designed and optimized primarily to conduct the second generation microlensing survey for exoplanets. It has already contributed significantly to the increase of the discovery rate of microlensing exoplanets and free-floating planets.

  5. Interpreting the Strongly Lensed Supernova iPTF16geu: Time Delay Predictions, Microlensing, and Lensing Rates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    More, Anupreeta; Oguri, Masamune; More, Surhud [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Suyu, Sherry H. [Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Lee, Chien-Hsiu, E-mail: anupreeta.more@ipmu.jp [Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 North Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    We present predictions for time delays between multiple images of the gravitationally lensed supernova, iPTF16geu, which was recently discovered from the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF). As the supernova is of Type Ia where the intrinsic luminosity is usually well known, accurately measured time delays of the multiple images could provide tight constraints on the Hubble constant. According to our lens mass models constrained by the Hubble Space Telescope F814W image, we expect the maximum relative time delay to be less than a day, which is consistent with the maximum of 100 hr reported by Goobar et al. but places a stringent upper limit. Furthermore, the fluxes of most of the supernova images depart from expected values suggesting that they are affected by microlensing. The microlensing timescales are small enough that they may pose significant problems to measure the time delays reliably. Our lensing rate calculation indicates that the occurrence of a lensed SN in iPTF is likely. However, the observed total magnification of iPTF16geu is larger than expected, given its redshift. This may be a further indication of ongoing microlensing in this system.

  6. OGLE-III MICROLENSING EVENTS AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE GALACTIC BULGE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wyrzykowski, Łukasz; Rynkiewicz, Alicja E.; Skowron, Jan; Kozłowski, Szymon; Udalski, Andrzej; Szymański, Michał K.; Kubiak, Marcin; Soszyński, Igor; Pietrzyński, Grzegorz; Poleski, Radosław; Pietrukowicz, Paweł; Pawlak, Michał, E-mail: lw@astrouw.edu.pl [Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland)

    2015-01-01

    We present and study the largest and most comprehensive catalog of microlensing events ever constructed. The sample of standard microlensing events comprises 3718 unique events from 2001-2009 with 1409 events that had not been detected before in real-time by the Early Warning System of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The search pipeline uses machine learning algorithms to help find rare phenomena among 150 million objects and to derive the detection efficiency. Applications of the catalog can be numerous, from analyzing individual events to large statistical studies of the Galactic mass, kinematics distributions, and planetary abundances. We derive maps of the mean Einstein ring crossing time of events spanning 31 deg{sup 2} toward the Galactic center and compare the observed distributions with the most recent models. We find good agreement within the observed region and we see the signature of the tilt of the bar in the microlensing data. However, the asymmetry of the mean timescales seems to rise more steeply than predicted, indicating either a somewhat different orientation of the bar or a larger bar width. The map of events with sources in the Galactic bulge shows a dependence of the mean timescale on the Galactic latitude, signaling an increasing contribution from disk lenses closer to the plane relative to the height of the disk. Our data present a perfect set for comparing and enhancing new models of the central parts of the Milky Way and creating a three-dimensional picture of the Galaxy.

  7. WFIRST: Microlensing Analysis Data Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Street, Rachel; WFIRST Microlensing Science Investigation Team

    2018-01-01

    WFIRST will produce thousands of high cadence, high photometric precision lightcurves of microlensing events, from which a wealth of planetary and stellar systems will be discovered. However, the analysis of such lightcurves has historically been very time consuming and expensive in both labor and computing facilities. This poses a potential bottleneck to deriving the full science potential of the WFIRST mission. To address this problem, the WFIRST Microlensing Science Investigation Team designing a series of data challenges to stimulate research to address outstanding problems of microlensing analysis. These range from the classification and modeling of triple lens events to methods to efficiently yet thoroughly search a high-dimensional parameter space for the best fitting models.

  8. Macho project photometry of RR Lyrae stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Allsman, R.A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Alves, D.R. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Axelrod, T.S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Becker, A.C. [Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)]|[Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Bennett, D.P.; Cook, K.H. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Freeman, K.C. [Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Griest, K. [Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)]|[Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Guern, J.A.; Lehner, M.J. [Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Marshall, S.L.; Minniti, D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Peterson, B.A. [Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Pratt, M.R.

    1997-01-01

    We report the discovery of 30 type a, b RR Lyrae (RRab) stars that are likely members of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). Accurate positions, periods, amplitudes, and magnitudes are presented. Their distances are determined with respect to RRab stars in the Galactic bulge found also in the MACHO 1993 data. For R{sub {circle_dot}}=8kpc, the mean distance to these stars is D=22{plus_minus}1kpc, smaller than previous determinations for this galaxy. This indicates that Sgr has an elongated main body extending for more than 10 kpc, which is inclined along the line of sight, with its northern part (in Galactic coordinates) closer to us. The size and shape of Sgr give clues about the past history of this galaxy. If the shape of Sgr follows the direction of its orbit, the observed spatial orientation suggests that Sgr is moving away from the Galactic plane. Also, Sgr stars may be the sources of some of the microlensing events seen toward the bulge. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Astronomical Society}

  9. Influence of chemical processing on the imaging properties of microlenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasiljevic, Darko; Muric, Branka; Pantelic, Dejan; Panic, Bratimir

    2009-01-01

    Microlenses are produced by irradiation of a layer of tot'hema and eosin sensitized gelatin (TESG) by using a laser beam (Nd:YAG 2nd harmonic; 532 nm). All the microlenses obtained are concave with a parabolic profile. After the production, the microlenses are chemically processed with various concentrations of alum. The following imaging properties of microlenses were calculated and analyzed: the root mean square (rms) wavefront aberration, the geometric encircled energy and the spot diagram. The microlenses with higher concentrations of alum in solution had a greater effective focal length and better image quality. The microlenses chemically processed with 10% alum solution had near-diffraction-limited performance.

  10. Astrophysical tests for the Novello-De Lorenci-Luciane theory of gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosquera Cuesta, H.J.

    2001-01-01

    The Novello-DeLorenci-Luciane (NDL) field theory of gravitation predicts that gravitational waves (GWs) follow geodesics of a modified (effective) geometry with a speed lower than the velocity of light. The theory also demonstrates that GWs exhibit the phenomenon of birefringence, formerly believed to be exclusive of electromagnetic waves. Here prospective astrophysical tests of these predictions are proposed. I point out that future measurements of gravitational waves in coincidence with a non-gravitational process such as a neutrino burst (and likely a burst of gamma-rays) may prove useful to discriminate among all the existing theories of gravity. It is also stressed that microlensing of gravitational waves emitted by known galactic sources (i.e., pulsars) in the bulge, lensed by either the Galaxy's central black hole (Sgr A*) or a MACHO object adrift among the Milky Way's stars, may provide a clean test of the birefringence phenomenon implied by the NDL gravity theory. (author)

  11. Theory of dispersive microlenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herman, B.; Gal, George

    1993-01-01

    A dispersive microlens is a miniature optical element which simultaneously focuses and disperses light. Arrays of dispersive mircolenses have potential applications in multicolor focal planes. They have a 100 percent optical fill factor and can focus light down to detectors of diffraction spot size, freeing up areas on the focal plane for on-chip analog signal processing. Use of dispersive microlenses allows inband color separation within a pixel and perfect scene registration. A dual-color separation has the potential for temperature discrimination. We discuss the design of dispersive microlenses and present sample results for efficient designs.

  12. REANALYSES OF ANOMALOUS GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS IN THE OGLE-III EARLY WARNING SYSTEM DATABASE WITH COMBINED DATA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, J.; Park, H.; Han, C. [Department of Physics, Institute for Astrophysics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of); Gould, A.; Poleski, R. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Ulaczyk, K.; Wyrzykowski, Ł. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Abe, F.; Fukunaga, D.; Itow, Y. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601 (Japan); Bennett, D. P. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Bond, I. A. [Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland (New Zealand); Botzler, C. S.; Freeman, M. [Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland 1001 (New Zealand); Fukui, A. [Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Asakuchi, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan); Koshimoto, N. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Collaboration: (The OGLE Collaboration); (The MOA Collaboration); (The PLANET Collaboration); (The μFUN Collaboration); (The RoboNet Collaboration); and others

    2015-05-01

    We reanalyze microlensing events in the published list of anomalous events that were observed from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) lensing survey conducted during the 2004–2008 period. In order to check the existence of possible degenerate solutions and extract extra information, we conduct analyses based on combined data from other survey and follow-up observation and consider higher-order effects. Among the analyzed events, we present analyses of eight events for which either new solutions are identified or additional information is obtained. We find that the previous binary-source interpretations of five events are better interpreted by binary-lens models. These events include OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2007-BLG-159, OGLE-2007-BLG-491, OGLE-2008-BLG-143, and OGLE-2008-BLG-210. With additional data covering caustic crossings, we detect finite-source effects for six events including OGLE-2006-BLG-215, OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2006-BLG-450, OGLE-2008-BLG-143, OGLE-2008-BLG-210, and OGLE-2008-BLG-513. Among them, we are able to measure the Einstein radii of three events for which multi-band data are available. These events are OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2008-BLG-210, and OGLE-2008-BLG-513. For OGLE-2008-BLG-143, we detect higher-order effects induced by the changes of the observer’s position caused by the orbital motion of the Earth around the Sun. In addition, we present degenerate solutions resulting from the known close/wide or ecliptic degeneracy. Finally, we note that the masses of the binary companions of the lenses of OGLE-2006-BLG-450 and OGLE-2008-BLG-210 are in the brown-dwarf regime.

  13. REANALYSES OF ANOMALOUS GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS IN THE OGLE-III EARLY WARNING SYSTEM DATABASE WITH COMBINED DATA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, J.; Park, H.; Han, C.; Gould, A.; Poleski, R.; Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Ulaczyk, K.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; Abe, F.; Fukunaga, D.; Itow, Y.; Bennett, D. P.; Bond, I. A.; Botzler, C. S.; Freeman, M.; Fukui, A.; Koshimoto, N.

    2015-01-01

    We reanalyze microlensing events in the published list of anomalous events that were observed from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) lensing survey conducted during the 2004–2008 period. In order to check the existence of possible degenerate solutions and extract extra information, we conduct analyses based on combined data from other survey and follow-up observation and consider higher-order effects. Among the analyzed events, we present analyses of eight events for which either new solutions are identified or additional information is obtained. We find that the previous binary-source interpretations of five events are better interpreted by binary-lens models. These events include OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2007-BLG-159, OGLE-2007-BLG-491, OGLE-2008-BLG-143, and OGLE-2008-BLG-210. With additional data covering caustic crossings, we detect finite-source effects for six events including OGLE-2006-BLG-215, OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2006-BLG-450, OGLE-2008-BLG-143, OGLE-2008-BLG-210, and OGLE-2008-BLG-513. Among them, we are able to measure the Einstein radii of three events for which multi-band data are available. These events are OGLE-2006-BLG-238, OGLE-2008-BLG-210, and OGLE-2008-BLG-513. For OGLE-2008-BLG-143, we detect higher-order effects induced by the changes of the observer’s position caused by the orbital motion of the Earth around the Sun. In addition, we present degenerate solutions resulting from the known close/wide or ecliptic degeneracy. Finally, we note that the masses of the binary companions of the lenses of OGLE-2006-BLG-450 and OGLE-2008-BLG-210 are in the brown-dwarf regime

  14. The gravitational microlens influence on X-ray spectral line generated by an AGN accretion disc

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popović L.Č.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The influence of gravitational microlensing on the X-ray spectral line profiles originated from a relativistic accretion disc has been studied. Using a disc model, we show that microlensing can induce noticeable changes in the line shapes when the Einstein ring radius associated with the microlens is of a size comparable to that of the accretion disc. Taking into account the relatively small size of the X-ray accretion disc, we found that compact objects (of about a Solar mass which belong to the bulge of the host galaxy can produce significant changes in the X-ray line profile of AGN.

  15. Microlensing by multiple planets in high-magnification events

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gaudi, BS; Sackett, PD

    1998-01-01

    Microlensing is increasingly gaining recognition as a powerful method for the detection and characterization of extrasolar planetary systems. Naively, one might expect that the probability of detecting the influence of more than one planet on any single microlensing light curve would be small.

  16. Space based microlensing planet searches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tisserand Patrick

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The discovery of extra-solar planets is arguably the most exciting development in astrophysics during the past 15 years, rivalled only by the detection of dark energy. Two projects unite the communities of exoplanet scientists and cosmologists: the proposed ESA M class mission EUCLID and the large space mission WFIRST, top ranked by the Astronomy 2010 Decadal Survey report. The later states that: “Space-based microlensing is the optimal approach to providing a true statistical census of planetary systems in the Galaxy, over a range of likely semi-major axes”. They also add: “This census, combined with that made by the Kepler mission, will determine how common Earth-like planets are over a wide range of orbital parameters”. We will present a status report of the results obtained by microlensing on exoplanets and the new objectives of the next generation of ground based wide field imager networks. We will finally discuss the fantastic prospect offered by space based microlensing at the horizon 2020–2025.

  17. Application of tot’hema eosin sensitized gelatin film for adaptive microlenses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murić Branka D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we showed that tot’hema eosin sensitized gelatin (TESG film can be used for adaptive microlenses fabriacation. The mechanical properties of a pure gelatin film were improved by adding tot’hema solution. We found that the elasticity of TESG film depend on the tot’hema concentration. By stretching the film, the microlenses were deformed uniaxially, and microlenses focal length can be tuned. The achieved microlenses focal lengths range from 0.05 to 0.2 mm.

  18. Synthesizing exoplanet demographics from radial velocity and microlensing surveys. I. Methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clanton, Christian; Gaudi, B. Scott

    2014-01-01

    Motivated by the order of magnitude difference in the frequency of giant planets orbiting M dwarfs inferred by microlensing and radial velocity (RV) surveys, we present a method for comparing the statistical constraints on exoplanet demographics inferred from these methods. We first derive the mapping from the observable parameters of a microlensing-detected planet to those of an analogous planet orbiting an RV-monitored star. Using this mapping, we predict the distribution of RV observables for the planet population inferred from microlensing surveys, taking care to adopt reasonable priors for, and properly marginalize over, the unknown physical parameters of microlensing-detected systems. Finally, we use simple estimates of the detection limits for a fiducial RV survey to predict the number and properties of analogs of the microlensing planet population such an RV survey should detect. We find that RV and microlensing surveys have some overlap, specifically for super-Jupiter mass planets (m p ≳ 1 M Jup ) with periods between ∼3-10 yr. However, the steeply falling planetary mass function inferred from microlensing implies that, in this region of overlap, RV surveys should infer a much smaller frequency than the overall giant planet frequency (m p ≳ 0.1 M Jup ) inferred by microlensing. Our analysis demonstrates that it is possible to statistically compare and synthesize data sets from multiple exoplanet detection techniques in order to infer exoplanet demographics over wider regions of parameter space than are accessible to individual methods. In a companion paper, we apply our methodology to several representative microlensing and RV surveys to derive the frequency of planets around M dwarfs with orbits of ≲ 30 yr.

  19. Optimal survey strategies and predicted planet yields for the Korean microlensing telescope network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henderson, Calen B.; Gaudi, B. Scott; Skowron, Jan; Penny, Matthew T.; Gould, Andrew P.; Han, Cheongho; Nataf, David

    2014-01-01

    The Korean Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) will consist of three 1.6 m telescopes each with a 4 deg 2 field of view (FoV) and will be dedicated to monitoring the Galactic Bulge to detect exoplanets via gravitational microlensing. KMTNet's combination of aperture size, FoV, cadence, and longitudinal coverage will provide a unique opportunity to probe exoplanet demographics in an unbiased way. Here we present simulations that optimize the observing strategy for and predict the planetary yields of KMTNet. We find preferences for four target fields located in the central Bulge and an exposure time of t exp = 120 s, leading to the detection of ∼2200 microlensing events per year. We estimate the planet detection rates for planets with mass and separation across the ranges 0.1 ≤ M p /M ⊕ ≤ 1000 and 0.4 ≤ a/AU ≤ 16, respectively. Normalizing these rates to the cool-planet mass function of Cassan et al., we predict KMTNet will be approximately uniformly sensitive to planets with mass 5 ≤ M p /M ⊕ ≤ 1000 and will detect ∼20 planets per year per dex in mass across that range. For lower-mass planets with mass 0.1 ≤ M p /M ⊕ < 5, we predict KMTNet will detect ∼10 planets per year. We also compute the yields KMTNet will obtain for free-floating planets (FFPs) and predict KMTNet will detect ∼1 Earth-mass FFP per year, assuming an underlying population of one such planet per star in the Galaxy. Lastly, we investigate the dependence of these detection rates on the number of observatories, the photometric precision limit, and optimistic assumptions regarding seeing, throughput, and flux measurement uncertainties.

  20. SIZES AND TEMPERATURE PROFILES OF QUASAR ACCRETION DISKS FROM CHROMATIC MICROLENSING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blackburne, Jeffrey A.; Pooley, David; Rappaport, Saul; Schechter, Paul L.

    2011-01-01

    Microlensing perturbations to the flux ratios of gravitationally lensed quasar images can vary with wavelength because of the chromatic dependence of the accretion disk's apparent size. Multiwavelength observations of microlensed quasars can thus constrain the temperature profiles of their accretion disks, a fundamental test of an important astrophysical process which is not currently possible using any other method. We present single-epoch broadband flux ratios for 12 quadruply lensed quasars in 8 bands ranging from 0.36 to 2.2 μm, as well as Chandra 0.5-8 keV flux ratios for five of them. We combine the optical/IR and X-ray ratios, together with X-ray ratios from the literature, using a Bayesian approach to constrain the half-light radii of the quasars in each filter. Comparing the overall disk sizes and wavelength slopes to those predicted by the standard thin accretion disk model, we find that on average the disks are larger than predicted by nearly an order of magnitude, with sizes that grow with wavelength with an average slope of ∼0.2 rather than the slope of 4/3 predicted by the standard thin disk theory. Though the error bars on the slope are large for individual quasars, the large sample size lends weight to the overall result. Our results present severe difficulties for a standard thin accretion disk as the main source of UV/optical radiation from quasars.

  1. Astrometric vs. photometric microlensing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dominik, M; Brainerd, TG; Kochanek, CS

    2001-01-01

    I discuss the differences between the properties of astrometric and photometric microlensing and between the arising prospects for survey and follow-up experiments based on these two different signatures. In particular, the prospects for binary stars and extra-solar planets are considered.

  2. Weak deflection gravitational lensing for photons coupled to Weyl tensor in a Schwarzschild black hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Wei-Guang; Xie, Yi

    2018-03-01

    Beyond the Einstein-Maxwell model, electromagnetic field might couple with gravitational field through the Weyl tensor. In order to provide one of the missing puzzles of the whole physical picture, we investigate weak deflection lensing for photons coupled to the Weyl tensor in a Schwarzschild black hole under a unified framework that is valid for its two possible polarizations. We obtain its coordinate-independent expressions for all observables of the geometric optics lensing up to the second order in the terms of ɛ which is the ratio of the angular gravitational radius to angular Einstein radius of the lens. These observables include bending angle, image position, magnification, centroid and time delay. The contributions of such a coupling on some astrophysical scenarios are also studied. We find that, in the cases of weak deflection lensing on a star orbiting the Galactic Center Sgr A*, Galactic microlensing on a star in the bulge and astrometric microlensing by a nearby object, these effects are beyond the current limits of technology. However, measuring the variation of the total flux of two weak deflection lensing images caused by the Sgr A* might be a promising way for testing such a coupling in the future.

  3. CHARACTERIZING LENSES AND LENSED STARS OF HIGH-MAGNIFICATION SINGLE-LENS GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS WITH LENSES PASSING OVER SOURCE STARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, J.-Y.; Shin, I.-G.; Park, S.-Y.; Han, C.; Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S.; Henderson, C. B.; Sumi, T.; Udalski, A.; Beaulieu, J.-P.; Street, R.; Dominik, M.; Allen, W.; Almeida, L. A.; Bos, M.; Christie, G. W.; Depoy, D. L.; Dong, S.; Drummond, J.; Gal-Yam, A.

    2012-01-01

    We present the analysis of the light curves of nine high-magnification single-lens gravitational microlensing events with lenses passing over source stars, including OGLE-2004-BLG-254, MOA-2007-BLG-176, MOA-2007-BLG-233/OGLE-2007-BLG-302, MOA-2009-BLG-174, MOA-2010-BLG-436, MOA-2011-BLG-093, MOA-2011-BLG-274, OGLE-2011-BLG-0990/MOA-2011-BLG-300, and OGLE-2011-BLG-1101/MOA-2011-BLG-325. For all of the events, we measure the linear limb-darkening coefficients of the surface brightness profile of source stars by measuring the deviation of the light curves near the peak affected by the finite-source effect. For seven events, we measure the Einstein radii and the lens-source relative proper motions. Among them, five events are found to have Einstein radii of less than 0.2 mas, making the lenses very low mass star or brown dwarf candidates. For MOA-2011-BLG-274, especially, the small Einstein radius of θ E ∼ 0.08 mas combined with the short timescale of t E ∼ 2.7 days suggests the possibility that the lens is a free-floating planet. For MOA-2009-BLG-174, we measure the lens parallax and thus uniquely determine the physical parameters of the lens. We also find that the measured lens mass of ∼0.84 M ☉ is consistent with that of a star blended with the source, suggesting that the blend is likely to be the lens. Although we did not find planetary signals for any of the events, we provide exclusion diagrams showing the confidence levels excluding the existence of a planet as a function of the separation and mass ratio.

  4. CHARACTERIZING LENSES AND LENSED STARS OF HIGH-MAGNIFICATION SINGLE-LENS GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS WITH LENSES PASSING OVER SOURCE STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, J.-Y.; Shin, I.-G.; Park, S.-Y.; Han, C. [Department of Physics, Institute for Astrophysics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S.; Henderson, C. B. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Sumi, T. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Udalski, A. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Beaulieu, J.-P. [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS-Universite Pierre and Marie Curie, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Street, R. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740B Cortona Dr, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Dominik, M. [School of Physics and Astronomy, SUPA, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Allen, W. [Vintage Lane Observatory, Blenheim (New Zealand); Almeida, L. A. [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais/MCTI, Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Bos, M. [Molehill Astronomical Observatory, North Shore (New Zealand); Christie, G. W. [Auckland Observatory, P.O. Box 24-180, Auckland (New Zealand); Depoy, D. L. [Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX (United States); Dong, S. [Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Drummond, J. [Possum Observatory, Patutahi (New Zealand); Gal-Yam, A. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute (Israel); Collaboration: muFUN Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; OGLE Collaboration; PLANET Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; MiNDSTEp Consortium; and others

    2012-05-20

    We present the analysis of the light curves of nine high-magnification single-lens gravitational microlensing events with lenses passing over source stars, including OGLE-2004-BLG-254, MOA-2007-BLG-176, MOA-2007-BLG-233/OGLE-2007-BLG-302, MOA-2009-BLG-174, MOA-2010-BLG-436, MOA-2011-BLG-093, MOA-2011-BLG-274, OGLE-2011-BLG-0990/MOA-2011-BLG-300, and OGLE-2011-BLG-1101/MOA-2011-BLG-325. For all of the events, we measure the linear limb-darkening coefficients of the surface brightness profile of source stars by measuring the deviation of the light curves near the peak affected by the finite-source effect. For seven events, we measure the Einstein radii and the lens-source relative proper motions. Among them, five events are found to have Einstein radii of less than 0.2 mas, making the lenses very low mass star or brown dwarf candidates. For MOA-2011-BLG-274, especially, the small Einstein radius of {theta}{sub E} {approx} 0.08 mas combined with the short timescale of t{sub E} {approx} 2.7 days suggests the possibility that the lens is a free-floating planet. For MOA-2009-BLG-174, we measure the lens parallax and thus uniquely determine the physical parameters of the lens. We also find that the measured lens mass of {approx}0.84 M{sub Sun} is consistent with that of a star blended with the source, suggesting that the blend is likely to be the lens. Although we did not find planetary signals for any of the events, we provide exclusion diagrams showing the confidence levels excluding the existence of a planet as a function of the separation and mass ratio.

  5. Microlensing and Its Degeneracy Breakers: Parallax, Finite Source, High-Resolution Imaging, and Astrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien-Hsiu Lee

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available First proposed by Paczynski in 1986, microlensing has been instrumental in the search for compact dark matter as well as discovery and characterization of exoplanets. In this article, we provide a brief history of microlensing, especially on the discoveries of compact objects and exoplanets. We then review the basics of microlensing and how astrometry can help break the degeneracy, providing a more robust determination of the nature of the microlensing events. We also outline prospects that will be made by on-going and forth-coming experiments/observatories.

  6. Microlensing Binaries Discovered through High-magnification Channel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shin, I.-G.; Choi, J.-Y.; Park, S.-Y.

    2012-01-01

    Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturba......Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010...

  7. Liquid Crystal Microlenses for Autostereoscopic Displays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Francisco Algorri

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional vision has acquired great importance in the audiovisual industry in the past ten years. Despite this, the first generation of autostereoscopic displays failed to generate enough consumer excitement. Some reasons are little 3D content and performance issues. For this reason, an exponential increase in three-dimensional vision research has occurred in the last few years. In this review, a study of the historical impact of the most important technologies has been performed. This study is carried out in terms of research manuscripts per year. The results reveal that research on spatial multiplexing technique is increasing considerably and today is the most studied. For this reason, the state of the art of this technique is presented. The use of microlenses seems to be the most successful method to obtain autostereoscopic vision. When they are fabricated with liquid crystal materials, extended capabilities are produced. Among the numerous techniques for manufacturing liquid crystal microlenses, this review covers the most viable designs for its use in autostereoscopic displays. For this reason, some of the most important topologies and their relation with autostereoscopic displays are presented. Finally, the challenges in some recent applications, such as portable devices, and the future of three-dimensional displays based on liquid crystal microlenses are outlined.

  8. Measuring the Microlensing Parallax from Various Space Observatories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachelet, E.; Hinse, T. C.; Street, R.

    2018-05-01

    A few observational methods allow the measurement of the mass and distance of the lens-star for a microlensing event. A first estimate can be obtained by measuring the microlensing parallax effect produced by either the motion of the Earth (annual parallax) or the contemporaneous observation of the lensing event from two (or more) observatories (space or terrestrial parallax) sufficiently separated from each other. Further developing ideas originally outlined by Gould as well as Mogavero & Beaulieu, we review the possibility of measuring systematically the microlensing parallax using a telescope based on the Moon surface and other space-based observing platforms, including the upcoming WFIRST space-telescope. We first generalize the Fisher matrix formulation and present results demonstrating the advantage for each observing scenario. We conclude by outlining the limitation of the Fisher matrix analysis when submitted to a practical data modeling process. By considering a lunar-based parallax observation, we find that parameter correlations introduce a significant loss in detection efficiency of the probed lunar parallax effect.

  9. Observational Evidence for the Effect of Amplification Bias in Gravitational Microlensing Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Cheongho; Jeong, Youngjin; Kim, Ho-Il

    1998-11-01

    Recently Alard, Mao, & Guibert and Alard proposed to detect the shift of a star's image centroid, δx, as a method to identify the lensed source among blended stars. Goldberg & Woźniak actually applied this method to the OGLE-1 database and found that seven of 15 events showed significant centroid shifts of δx >~ 0.2". The amount of centroid shift has been estimated theoretically by Goldberg; however, he treated the problem in general and did not apply it to a particular survey or field and therefore based his estimate on simple toy model luminosity functions (i.e., power laws). In this paper, we construct the expected distribution of δx for Galactic bulge events based on the precise stellar luminosity function observed by Holtzman et al. using the Hubble Space Telescope. Their luminosity function is complete up to MI ~ 9.0 (MV ~ 12), which corresponds to faint M-type stars. In our analysis we find that regular blending cannot produce a large fraction of events with measurable centroid shifts. By contrast, a significant fraction of events would have measurable centroid shifts if they are affected by amplification-bias blending. Therefore, the measurements of large centroid shifts for an important fraction of microlensing events of Goldberg & Woźniak confirm the prediction of Han & Alard that a large fraction of Galactic bulge events are affected by amplification-bias blending.

  10. Investigation of some galactic and extragalactic gravitational phenomena

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanović P.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Here we present a short overview of the most important results of our investigations of the following galactic and extragalactic gravitational phenomena: supermassive black holes in centers of galaxies and quasars, supermassive black hole binaries, gravitational lenses and dark matter. For the purpose of these investigations, we developed a model of a relativistic accretion disk around a supermassive black hole, based on the ray-tracing method in the Kerr metric, a model of a bright spot in an accretion disk and three different models of gravitational microlenses. All these models enabled us to study physics, spacetime geometry and effects of strong gravity in the vicinity of supermassive black holes, variability of some active galaxies and quasars, different effects in the lensed quasars with multiple images, as well as the dark matter fraction in the Universe. We also found an observational evidence for the first spectroscopically resolved sub-parsec orbit of a supermassive black hole binary system in the core of active galaxy NGC 4151. Besides, we studied applications of one potential alternative to dark matter in the form of a modified theory of gravity on Galactic scales, to explain the recently observed orbital precession of some S-stars, which are orbiting around a massive black hole at the Galactic center. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 176003: Gravitation and the Large Scale Structure of the Universe

  11. WFIRST: The Exoplanet Microlensing Survey Tells Us Where We Can Find the Cool Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, David; Gaudi, B. Scott; WFIRST Microlensing Science Investigation Team

    2018-01-01

    The WFIRST Exoplanet microlensing survey will complete a demographic survey of all types of planets ranging from ~0.5 AU to planets that have become unbound from the stellar systems of their birth. WFIRST's sensitivity extends down below the mass of Mars (or 0.1 Earth masses,and it is sensitive to analogs of all the planets in the Solar System, except for Mercury. When combined with Kepler's statistical census of hot and warm planets in short period orbits, WFIRST's exoplanet microlensing survey will give us a complete picture the mass and separation distribution of all types of planets. The current plans for this survey are presented, and recent developments relating to the WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey will be presented, including recent ground-based microlensing results that challenge current theories of planet formation. Opportunities for community involvement in the WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey will be mentioned.

  12. WFIRST Microlensing Exoplanet Characterization with HST Follow up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Aparna; David Bennett, Jay Anderson, J.P. Beaulieu.

    2018-01-01

    More than 50 planets are discovered with the different ground based telescopes available for microlensing. But the analysis of ground based data fails to provide a complete solution. To fulfill that gap, space based telescopes, like Hubble space telescope and Spitzer are used. My research work focuses on extracting the planet mass, host star mass, their separation and their distance in physical units from HST Follow-up observations. I will present the challenges faced in developing this method.This is the primary method to be used for NASA's top priority project (according to 2010 decadal survey) Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Exoplanet microlensing space observatory, to be launched in 2025. The unique ability of microlensing is that with WFIRST it can detect sub-earth- mass planets beyond the reach of Kepler at separation 1 AU to infinity. This will provide us the necessary statistics to study the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This will also provide us with necessary initial conditions to model the formation of planets and the habitable zones around M dwarf stars.

  13. Constraints on the Primordial Black Hole Abundance from the First Advanced LIGO Observation Run Using the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sai; Wang, Yi-Fan; Huang, Qing-Guo; Li, Tjonnie G. F.

    2018-05-01

    Advanced LIGO's discovery of gravitational-wave events is stimulating extensive studies on the origin of binary black holes. Assuming that the gravitational-wave events can be explained by binary primordial black hole mergers, we utilize the upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background given by Advanced LIGO as a new observational window to independently constrain the abundance of primordial black holes in dark matter. We show that Advanced LIGO's first observation run gives the best constraint on the primordial black hole abundance in the mass range 1 M⊙≲MPBH≲100 M⊙, pushing the previous microlensing and dwarf galaxy dynamics constraints tighter by 1 order of magnitude. Moreover, we discuss the possibility to detect the stochastic gravitational-wave background from primordial black holes, in particular from subsolar mass primordial black holes, by Advanced LIGO in the near future.

  14. Constraints on the Primordial Black Hole Abundance from the First Advanced LIGO Observation Run Using the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sai; Wang, Yi-Fan; Huang, Qing-Guo; Li, Tjonnie G F

    2018-05-11

    Advanced LIGO's discovery of gravitational-wave events is stimulating extensive studies on the origin of binary black holes. Assuming that the gravitational-wave events can be explained by binary primordial black hole mergers, we utilize the upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background given by Advanced LIGO as a new observational window to independently constrain the abundance of primordial black holes in dark matter. We show that Advanced LIGO's first observation run gives the best constraint on the primordial black hole abundance in the mass range 1M_{⊙}≲M_{PBH}≲100M_{⊙}, pushing the previous microlensing and dwarf galaxy dynamics constraints tighter by 1 order of magnitude. Moreover, we discuss the possibility to detect the stochastic gravitational-wave background from primordial black holes, in particular from subsolar mass primordial black holes, by Advanced LIGO in the near future.

  15. CTQ 327: A New Gravitational Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, N. D.; Gregg, M. D.; Wisotzki, L.; Becker, R.; Maza, J.; Schechter, P. L.; White, R. L.

    2003-08-01

    We present the second gravitationally lensed quasar discovered during the course of a Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph snapshot survey for small-separation gravitational lenses. CTQ 327 is a double quasar with an image separation of 1.22" and a g-band flux ratio of roughly 5 to 1. Spectra reveal both components to be z=1.37 quasars, and the lensing galaxy is clearly visible after point-spread function subtraction of the two quasar components. The light profile of the lensing galaxy is well modeled by an r1/4 law, indicative of an early-type elliptical galaxy. An estimate of the lens galaxy redshift is z~0.4-0.6, based on the Faber-Jackson relationship and photometric considerations, although values outside this range are still consistent with the present data. Resolved spectra of the two quasars show similar, but not identical, continuum and emission-line features: component A exhibits weaker emission lines with respect to the continuum than does component B, and there is evidence of intrinsic differences in the emission-line profiles between the two components. Optical monitoring of the quasar pair also shows a change in the g-band flux ratio of 0.14 mag over a 3 month period. These spectral and photometric differences may be due to microlensing fluctuations from stars in the lensing galaxy, intrinsic quasar variability coupled with the system's differential time delay, or some combination of the two. The observed variability makes CTQ 327 an attractive target for future flux monitoring, aimed at time-delay or microlensing studies. Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the Magellan Consortium's Walter Baade Telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The W. M. Keck Observatory is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of

  16. The chemical evolution of the Galactic Bulge seen through micro-lensing events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucatello S.

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Galactic bulges are central to understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Here we report on recent studies using micro-lensing events to obtain spectra of high resolution and moderately high signal-to-noise ratios of dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge. Normally this is not feasible for the faint turn-off stars in the Galactic bulge, but micro-lensing offers this possibility. Elemental abundance trends in the Galactic bulge as traced by dwarf stars are very similar to those seen for dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood. We discuss the implications of the ages and metallicity distribution function derived for the micro-lensed dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge.

  17. Astrophysical Applications of Gravitational Lensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mediavilla, Evencio; Muñoz, Jose A.; Garzón, Francisco; Mahoney, Terence J.

    2016-10-01

    Contributors; Participants; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Lensing basics Sherry H. Suyu; 2. Exoplanet microlensing Andrew Gould; 3. Case studies of microlensing Veronica Motta and Emilio Falco; 4. Microlensing of quasars and AGN Joachim Wambsganss; 5. DM in clusters and large-scale structure Peter Schneider; 6. The future of strong lensing Chris Fassnacht; 7. Methods for strong lens modelling Charles Keeton; 8. Tutorial on inverse ray shooting Jorge Jimenez-Vicente.

  18. The MACHO Project LMC Variable Star Inventory. VIII. The Recent Star Formation History of the Large Magellanic Cloud from the Cepheid Period Distribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R.A.; Alves, D.R.; Axelrod, T.S.; Becker, A.C.; Bennett, D.P.; Bersier, D.F.; Cook, K.H.; Freeman, K.C.; Griest, K.; Guern, J.A.; Lehner, M.; Marshall, S.L.; Minniti, D.; Peterson, B.A.; Pratt, M.R.; Quinn, P.J.; Rodgers, A.W.; Stubbs, C.W.

    1999-01-01

    We present an analysis of the period distribution of about 1800 Cepheids in the LMC, based on data obtained by the MACHO microlensing experiment and on a previous catalog by C. H. Payne Gaposchkin. Using stellar evolution and pulsation models, we construct theoretical period-frequency distributions that are compared with the observations. These models reveal that a significant burst of star formation has occurred recently in the LMC (∼1.15x10 8 yr). We also show that during the last ∼10 8 yr, the main center of star formation has been propagating from southeast to northwest along the bar. We find that the evolutionary masses of Cepheids are still smaller than pulsation masses by ∼7% and that the red edge of the Cepheid instability strip could be slightly bluer than indicated by theory. There are approximately 600 Cepheids with periods below ∼2.5 days that cannot be explained by evolution theory. We suggest that they are anomalous Cepheids and that a number of these stars are double-mode Cepheids. copyright copyright 1999. The American Astronomical Society

  19. Integration of polystyrene microlenses with both convex and concave profiles in a polymer-based microfluidic system

    KAUST Repository

    Fan, Yiqiang

    2013-12-20

    This paper reports a new technique of fabricating polystyrene microlenses with both convex and concave profiles that are integrated in polymer-based microfluidic system. The polystyrene microlenses, or microlens array, are fabricated using the free-surface thermal compression molding method. The laser fabricated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sheet is used as the mold for the thermal compression molding process. With different surface treatment methods of the PMMA mold, microlenses with either convex or concave profiles could be achieved during the thermal molding process. By integrating the microlenses in the microfluidic systems, observing the flow inside the microchannels is easier. This new technique is rapid, low cost, and it does not require cleanroom facilities. Microlenses with both convex and concave profiles can be easily fabricated and integrated in microfluidic system with this technique. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  20. RXJ 0921+4529: A BINARY QUASAR OR A GRAVITATIONAL LENS?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popovic, L. C.; Jovanovic, P.; Kovacevic, J.; Moiseev, A. V.; Mediavilla, E.; Ilic, D.; Munoz, J. A.

    2010-01-01

    We report the new spectroscopic observations of the gravitational lens RXJ 021+4529 with the multi-mode focal reducer SCORPIO of the SAO RAS 6 m telescope. The new spectral observations were compared with the previously observed spectra of components A and B of RXJ 0921+4529, i.e., the same components observed in different epochs. We found a significant difference in the spectrum between the components that cannot be explained with microlensing and/or spectral variation. We conclude that RXJ 0921+4529 is a binary quasar system, where redshifts of quasars A and B are 1.6535 ± 0.0005 and 1.6625 ± 0.0015, respectively.

  1. Fabrication and characterization of InP fresnel microlenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diadiuk, V.; Walpole, J.N.; Liau, Z.L.

    1987-01-01

    Since diode lasers typically have a beam divergence of a few tens of degrees, collimating the laser outputs leads to greatly far-field patterns, which, in turn translates into more power in the main lobe of the combined output. Achieving this collimation in the case of a diode laser array, with its small device-to-device distance, requires an array of similarly spaced microlenses with very short focal length, small diameter and small F number. In this paper, the authors describe the fabrication and performance of a Fresnel microlens array etched directly in InP wafers; these microlenses have been used successfully to collimate the output of GainAsP/InP buried-heterostructure (BH) diode lasers

  2. Spectroscopic Characterisation of Microlensing Events: Towards a New Interpretation of OGLE-2011-BLG-0417

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santerne, A.; Beaulieu, J.-P.; Rojas Ayala, B.; Boisse, I.; Schlawin, E.; Almenara, J.-M.; Batista, V.; Bennett, D.; Diaz, R. F.; Figueira, P.; hide

    2016-01-01

    The microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0417 is an exceptionally bright lens binary that was predicted to present radial velocity variation at the level of several km s1. Pioneer radial velocity follow-up observations with the UVES spectrograph at the ESOVLT of this system clearly ruled out the large radial velocity variation, leaving a discrepancy between the observation and the prediction. In this paper, we further characterise the microlensing system by analysing its spectral energy distribution (SED) derived using the UVES spectrum and new observations with the ARCoIRIS (CTIO) near-infrared spectrograph and the Keck adaptive optics instrumentNIRC2 in the J, H, and Ks-bands. We determine the mass and distance of the stars independently from the microlensing modelling. We find that the SED is compatible with a giant star in the Galactic bulge and a foreground star with a mass of 0.94 +/- 0.09 M solar mass at a distance of 1.07 +/- 0.24 kpc. We find that this foreground star is likely the lens. Its parameters are not compatible with the onespreviously reported in the literature (0.52 +/- 0.04 M solar mass at 0.95 +/- 0.06 kpc), based on the microlensing light curve. A thoughtful reanalysis of the microlensing event is mandatory to fully understand the reason of this new discrepancy. More importantly, this paper demonstrates that spectroscopic follow-up observations of microlensing events are possible and provide independent constraints on the parameters of the lens and source stars, hence breaking some degeneracies in the analysis. UV-to-NIR low-resolution spectrographs like X-shooter (ESOVLT) could substantially contribute to this follow-up efforts, with magnitude limits above all microlensing events detected so far.

  3. The gravitational-optical methods for examination of the hypothesis about galaxies and antigalaxies in the Universe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gribov, I. A.; Trigger, S. A.

    2018-01-01

    The optical-gravitational methods for distinction between photons and antiphotons (galaxies, emitting photons and antigalaxies, emitting antiphotons) in the proposed hypothesis of totally gravitationally neutral (TGN)-Universe are considered. These methods are based on the extension of the earlier proposed the gravitationally neutral Universe concept, including now gravitational neutrality of vacuum. This concept contains (i) enlarged unbroken baryon-like, charge, parity and time and full ±M gr gravitational symmetries between all massive elementary particles-antiparticles, including (ia) ordinary matter (OM)-ordinary antimatter (OAM), (ib) dark matter (DM)-dark antimatter (DAM) and (ii) the resulting gravitational repulsion between equally presented (OM+DM)-galactic and (OAM+DAM)-antigalactic clusters, what spatially isolates and preserves their mutual annihilations in the large-scale TGN-Universe. It is assumed the gravitational balance not only between positive and negative gravitational masses of elementary particles and antiparticles, but also between all massless fields of the quantum field theory (QFT), including the opposite gravitational properties of photons and antiphotons, etc, realizing the totally gravitationally neutral vacuum in the QFT. These photons and antiphotons could be distinguishable optically-gravitationally, if one can observe a massive, deviating OM-star or a deviating (OM+DM)-galaxy from our galactic group, moving fast enough on the heavenly sphere, crossing the line directed to spatially separated far-remote galactic clusters (with the visible OM-markers, emitting photons) or antigalactic cluster (with the visible OAM-markers, emitting antiphotons). The deviations and gravitational microlensing with temporarily increased or decreased brightness of their OM and OAM rays will be opposite, indicating the galaxies and antigalaxies in the Universe.

  4. Fabrication of Polydimethylsiloxane Microlenses Utilizing Hydrogel Shrinkage and a Single Molding Step

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bader Aldalali

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available We report on polydimethlysiloxane (PDMS microlenses and microlens arrays on flat and curved substrates fabricated via a relatively simple process combining liquid-phase photopolymerization and a single molding step. The mold for the formation of the PDMS lenses is fabricated by photopolymerizing a polyacrylamide (PAAm pre-hydrogel. The shrinkage of PAAm after its polymerization forms concave lenses. The lenses are then transferred to PDMS by a single step molding to form PDMS microlens array on a flat substrate. The PAAm concave lenses are also transferred to PDMS and another flexible polymer, Solaris, to realize artificial compound eyes. The resultant microlenses and microlens arrays possess good uniformity and optical properties. The focal length of the lenses is inversely proportional to the shrinkage time. The microlens mold can also be rehydrated to change the focal length of the ultimate PDMS microlenses. The spherical aberration is 2.85 μm and the surface roughness is on the order of 204 nm. The microlenses can resolve 10.10 line pairs per mm (lp/mm and have an f-number range between f/2.9 and f/56.5. For the compound eye, the field of view is 113°.

  5. EDITORIAL: Focus on Gravitational Lensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Bhuvnesh

    2007-11-01

    Gravitational lensing emerged as an observational field following the 1979 discovery of a doubly imaged quasar lensed by a foreground galaxy. In the 1980s and '90s dozens of other multiply imaged systems were observed, as well as time delay measurements, weak and strong lensing by galaxies and galaxy clusters, and the discovery of microlensing in our galaxy. The rapid pace of advances has continued into the new century. Lensing is currently one of best techniques for finding and mapping dark matter over a wide range of scales, and also addresses broader cosmological questions such as understanding the nature of dark energy. This focus issue of New Journal of Physics presents a snapshot of current research in some of the exciting areas of lensing. It provides an occasion to look back at the advances of the last decade and ahead to the potential of the coming years. Just about a decade ago, microlensing was discovered through the magnification of stars in our galaxy by invisible objects with masses between that of Jupiter and a tenth the mass of the Sun. Thus a new component of the mass of our galaxy, dubbed MACHOs, was established (though a diffuse, cold dark matter-like component is still needed to make up most of the galaxy mass). More recently, microlensing led to another exciting discovery—of extra-solar planets with masses ranging from about five times that of Earth to that of Neptune. We can expect many more planets to be discovered through ongoing surveys. Microlensing is the best technique for finding Earth mass planets, though it is not as productive overall as other methods and does not allow for follow up observations. Beyond planet hunting, microlensing has enabled us to observe previously inaccessible systems, ranging from the surfaces of other stars to the accretion disks around the black holes powering distant quasars. Galaxies and galaxy clusters at cosmological distances can produce dramatic lensing effects: multiple images of background galaxies

  6. The POINT-AGAPE Survey: Comparing Automated Searches of Microlensing Events toward M31

    CERN Document Server

    Tsapras, Y; Weston, M J; Kerins, E; Baillon, P; Gould, A; Paulin-Henriksson, S

    2010-01-01

    Searching for microlensing in M31 using automated superpixel surveys raises a number of difficulties which are not present in more conventional techniques. Here we focus on the problem that the list of microlensing candidates is sensitive to the selection criteria or "cuts" imposed and some subjectivity is involved in this. Weakening the cuts will generate a longer list of microlensing candidates but with a greater fraction of spurious ones; strengthening the cuts will produce a shorter list but may exclude some genuine events. We illustrate this by comparing three analyses of the same data-set obtained from a 3-year observing run on the INT in La Palma. The results of two of these analyses have been already reported: Belokurov et al. (2005) obtained between 3 and 22 candidates, depending on the strength of their cuts, while Calchi Novati et al. (2005) obtained 6 candidates. The third analysis is presented here for the first time and reports 10 microlensing candidates, 7 of which are new. Only two of the cand...

  7. Microlensing and the physics of stellar atmospheres

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sackett, PD; Menzies, JW; Sackett, PD

    2001-01-01

    The simple physics of microlensing provides a well understood tool with which to probe the atmospheres of distant stars in the Galaxy and Local Group with high magnification and resolution. Recent results in measuring stellar surface structure through broad band photometry and spectroscopy of high

  8. A Neptune-mass Free-floating Planet Candidate Discovered by Microlensing Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mróz, Przemek; Ryu, Y.-H.; Skowron, J.; Udalski, A.; Gould, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Soszyński, I.; Poleski, R.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Kozłowski, S.; Pawlak, M.; Ulaczyk, K.; OGLE Collaboration; Albrow, M. D.; Chung, S.-J.; Jung, Y. K.; Han, C.; Hwang, K.-H.; Shin, I.-G.; Yee, J. C.; Zhu, W.; Cha, S.-M.; Kim, D.-J.; Kim, H.-W.; Kim, S.-L.; Lee, C.-U.; Lee, D.-J.; Lee, Y.; Park, B.-G.; Pogge, R. W.; KMTNet Collaboration

    2018-03-01

    Current microlensing surveys are sensitive to free-floating planets down to Earth-mass objects. All published microlensing events attributed to unbound planets were identified based on their short timescale (below two days), but lacked an angular Einstein radius measurement (and hence lacked a significant constraint on the lens mass). Here, we present the discovery of a Neptune-mass free-floating planet candidate in the ultrashort (t E = 0.320 ± 0.003 days) microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-1540. The event exhibited strong finite-source effects, which allowed us to measure its angular Einstein radius of θ E = 9.2 ± 0.5 μas. There remains, however, a degeneracy between the lens mass and distance. The combination of the source proper motion and source-lens relative proper motion measurements favors a Neptune-mass lens located in the Galactic disk. However, we cannot rule out that the lens is a Saturn-mass object belonging to the bulge population. We exclude stellar companions up to ∼15 au.

  9. GERLUMPH DATA RELEASE 1: HIGH-RESOLUTION COSMOLOGICAL MICROLENSING MAGNIFICATION MAPS AND eResearch TOOLS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vernardos, G.; Fluke, C. J.; Croton, D.; Bate, N. F.

    2014-01-01

    As synoptic all-sky surveys begin to discover new multiply lensed quasars, the flow of data will enable statistical cosmological microlensing studies of sufficient size to constrain quasar accretion disk and supermassive black hole properties. In preparation for this new era, we are undertaking the GPU-Enabled, High Resolution cosmological MicroLensing parameter survey (GERLUMPH). We present here the GERLUMPH Data Release 1, which consists of 12,342 high resolution cosmological microlensing magnification maps and provides the first uniform coverage of the convergence, shear, and smooth matter fraction parameter space. We use these maps to perform a comprehensive numerical investigation of the mass-sheet degeneracy, finding excellent agreement with its predictions. We study the effect of smooth matter on microlensing induced magnification fluctuations. In particular, in the minima and saddle-point regions, fluctuations are enhanced only along the critical line, while in the maxima region they are always enhanced for high smooth matter fractions (≈0.9). We describe our approach to data management, including the use of an SQL database with a Web interface for data access and online analysis, obviating the need for individuals to download large volumes of data. In combination with existing observational databases and online applications, the GERLUMPH archive represents a fundamental component of a new microlensing eResearch cloud. Our maps and tools are publicly available at http://gerlumph.swin.edu.au/

  10. GERLUMPH DATA RELEASE 1: HIGH-RESOLUTION COSMOLOGICAL MICROLENSING MAGNIFICATION MAPS AND eResearch TOOLS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vernardos, G.; Fluke, C. J.; Croton, D. [Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122 (Australia); Bate, N. F. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 (Australia)

    2014-03-01

    As synoptic all-sky surveys begin to discover new multiply lensed quasars, the flow of data will enable statistical cosmological microlensing studies of sufficient size to constrain quasar accretion disk and supermassive black hole properties. In preparation for this new era, we are undertaking the GPU-Enabled, High Resolution cosmological MicroLensing parameter survey (GERLUMPH). We present here the GERLUMPH Data Release 1, which consists of 12,342 high resolution cosmological microlensing magnification maps and provides the first uniform coverage of the convergence, shear, and smooth matter fraction parameter space. We use these maps to perform a comprehensive numerical investigation of the mass-sheet degeneracy, finding excellent agreement with its predictions. We study the effect of smooth matter on microlensing induced magnification fluctuations. In particular, in the minima and saddle-point regions, fluctuations are enhanced only along the critical line, while in the maxima region they are always enhanced for high smooth matter fractions (≈0.9). We describe our approach to data management, including the use of an SQL database with a Web interface for data access and online analysis, obviating the need for individuals to download large volumes of data. In combination with existing observational databases and online applications, the GERLUMPH archive represents a fundamental component of a new microlensing eResearch cloud. Our maps and tools are publicly available at http://gerlumph.swin.edu.au/.

  11. Integration of polystyrene microlenses with both convex and concave profiles in a polymer-based microfluidic system

    KAUST Repository

    Fan, Yiqiang; Li, Huawei; Foulds, Ian G.

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports a new technique of fabricating polystyrene microlenses with both convex and concave profiles that are integrated in polymer-based microfluidic system. The polystyrene microlenses, or microlens array, are fabricated using the free

  12. Microlensing Signature of Binary Black Holes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnittman, Jeremy; Sahu, Kailash; Littenberg, Tyson

    2012-01-01

    We calculate the light curves of galactic bulge stars magnified via microlensing by stellar-mass binary black holes along the line-of-sight. We show the sensitivity to measuring various lens parameters for a range of survey cadences and photometric precision. Using public data from the OGLE collaboration, we identify two candidates for massive binary systems, and discuss implications for theories of star formation and binary evolution.

  13. The Impact of Microlensing on the Standardisation of Strongly Lensed Type Ia Supernovae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foxley-Marrable, Max; Collett, Thomas E.; Vernardos, Georgios; Goldstein, Daniel A.; Bacon, David

    2018-05-01

    We investigate the effect of microlensing on the standardisation of strongly lensed Type Ia supernovae (GLSNe Ia). We present predictions for the amount of scatter induced by microlensing across a range of plausible strong lens macromodels. We find that lensed images in regions of low convergence, shear and stellar density are standardisable, where the microlensing scatter is ≲ 0.15 magnitudes, comparable to the intrinsic dispersion of for a typical SN Ia. These standardisable configurations correspond to asymmetric lenses with an image located far outside the Einstein radius of the lens. Symmetric and small Einstein radius lenses (≲ 0.5 arcsec) are not standardisable. We apply our model to the recently discovered GLSN Ia iPTF16geu and find that the large discrepancy between the observed flux and the macromodel predictions from More et al. (2017) cannot be explained by microlensing alone. Using the mock GLSNe Ia catalogue of Goldstein et al. (2017), we predict that ˜ 22% of GLSNe Ia discovered by LSST will be standardisable, with a median Einstein radius of 0.9 arcseconds and a median time-delay of 41 days. By breaking the mass-sheet degeneracy the full LSST GLSNe Ia sample will be able to detect systematics in H0 at the 0.5% level.

  14. Searching gravitational microlensing events in the galaxy spiral arms by EROS II; Recherche d'evenements de microlentille gravitationnelle dans les bras spiraux de la galaxie avec EROS II

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Derue, Frederic [Paris-11 Univ., 91 Orsay (France)

    1999-04-15

    The EROS II experiment is searching for microlensing events due to compact massive objects passing through the line-of-sight of luminous stars. These objects are candidates to explain the baryonic component of Dark Matter in our Galaxy. EROS II was dedicated to different lines-of-sight: Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, Galactic Centre and 4 directions towards the Spiral Arms of the Galaxy. This thesis presents the first search for microlensing towards these last lines-of-sight (about 9 million stars). Simple criteria based on the search for significant fluctuations allowed one to discover a low noise sample of 7 candidates to the microlensing effect, with an average timescale of 50 days. A detailed analysis of the light curve of one candidate allows us to give a confidence interval on its mass 2.7 x 10{sup -3} < M/M{sub 0} < 0.84 at 95% CL. The amplification curve of another candidate shows a modulation which can be interpreted as a microlensing effect acting on a binary source, with an orbital period of P{sub 0} = 50 {+-} 3 days. To improve the knowledge of the distance of the target stars, we have combined observations of EROS II with bibliographic sources on associations of stars linked with the spiral arm features, and we have developed a program to find variable stars. Ten cepheids have thus been found. Distances obtained with different methods are in rough agreement with each other. The average optical depth measured towards the four directions is {tau}-bar = 0.45{sub 0.11}{sup +0.23} x 10{sup -6}. It is compatible with expectations from simple galactic models. The long duration of most events favours interpretation of lensing by objects belonging to the disk instead of the halo. It also seems that some events due to bulge lenses have influenced measurements towards the line-of-sight which is closest to the Galactic Centre. Observation continue towards spiral arms. More accurate measurements should be obtained with increase of statistics, allowing one to

  15. Predictions for microlensing planetary events from core accretion theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Wei; Mao, Shude; Penny, Matthew; Gould, Andrew; Gendron, Rieul

    2014-01-01

    We conduct the first microlensing simulation in the context of a planet formation model. The planet population is taken from the Ida and Lin core accretion model for 0.3 M ☉ stars. With 6690 microlensing events, we find that for a simplified Korea Microlensing Telescopes Network (KMTNet), the fraction of planetary events is 2.9%, out of which 5.5% show multiple-planet signatures. The numbers of super-Earths, super-Neptunes, and super-Jupiters detected are expected to be almost equal. Our simulation shows that high-magnification events and massive planets are favored by planet detections, which is consistent with previous expectation. However, we notice that extremely high-magnification events are less sensitive to planets, which is possibly because the 10 minute sampling of KMTNet is not intensive enough to capture the subtle anomalies that occur near the peak. This suggests that while KMTNet observations can be systematically analyzed without reference to any follow-up data, follow-up observations will be essential in extracting the full science potential of very high magnification events. The uniformly high-cadence observations expected for KMTNet also result in ∼55% of all detected planets not being caustic crossing, and more low-mass planets even down to Mars mass being detected via planetary caustics. We also find that the distributions of orbital inclinations and planet mass ratios in multiple-planet events agree with the intrinsic distributions.

  16. Predictions for microlensing planetary events from core accretion theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Wei; Mao, Shude [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012 (China); Penny, Matthew; Gould, Andrew [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Gendron, Rieul, E-mail: weizhu@astronomy.ohio-state.edu [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Alan Turing Building, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

    2014-06-10

    We conduct the first microlensing simulation in the context of a planet formation model. The planet population is taken from the Ida and Lin core accretion model for 0.3 M {sub ☉} stars. With 6690 microlensing events, we find that for a simplified Korea Microlensing Telescopes Network (KMTNet), the fraction of planetary events is 2.9%, out of which 5.5% show multiple-planet signatures. The numbers of super-Earths, super-Neptunes, and super-Jupiters detected are expected to be almost equal. Our simulation shows that high-magnification events and massive planets are favored by planet detections, which is consistent with previous expectation. However, we notice that extremely high-magnification events are less sensitive to planets, which is possibly because the 10 minute sampling of KMTNet is not intensive enough to capture the subtle anomalies that occur near the peak. This suggests that while KMTNet observations can be systematically analyzed without reference to any follow-up data, follow-up observations will be essential in extracting the full science potential of very high magnification events. The uniformly high-cadence observations expected for KMTNet also result in ∼55% of all detected planets not being caustic crossing, and more low-mass planets even down to Mars mass being detected via planetary caustics. We also find that the distributions of orbital inclinations and planet mass ratios in multiple-planet events agree with the intrinsic distributions.

  17. Discovery of the First Quadruple Gravitationally Lensed Quasar Candidate with Pan-STARRS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berghea, C. T.; Nelson, George J.; Dudik, R. P. [U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO), 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20392 (United States); Rusu, C. E. [Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, CA 95616 (United States); Keeton, C. R., E-mail: ciprian.t.berghea@navy.mil [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)

    2017-08-01

    We report the serendipitous discovery of the first gravitationally lensed quasar candidate from Pan-STARRS. The grizy images reveal four point-like images with magnitudes between 14.9 and 18.1 mag. The colors of the point sources are similar, and they are more consistent with quasars than with stars or galaxies. The lensing galaxy is detected in the izy bands, with an inferred photometric redshift of ∼0.6, lower than that of the point sources. We successfully model the system with a singular isothermal ellipsoid with shear, using the relative positions of the five objects as constraints. While the brightness ranking of the point sources is consistent with that of the model, we find discrepancies between the model-predicted and observed fluxes, likely due to microlensing by stars and millilensing due to the dark matter substructure. In order to fully confirm the gravitational lens nature of this system and add it to the small but growing number of the powerful probes of cosmology and astrophysics represented by quadruply lensed quasars, we require further spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging.

  18. Microlensing Binaries with Candidate Brown Dwarf Companions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shin, I.-G; Han, C.; Gould, A.

    2012-01-01

    masses of the brown dwarf companions are 0.02 ± 0.01 M⊙ and 0.019 ± 0.002 M⊙ for MOA-2011-BLG-104/OGLE-2011-BLG-0172 and MOA-2011-BLG-149, respectively, and both companions are orbiting low-mass M dwarf host stars. More microlensing brown dwarfs are expected to be detected as the number of lensing events...

  19. Microlensing discovery of a tight, low-mass-ratio planetary-mass object around an old field brown dwarf

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, C.; Jung, Y. K. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Kubiak, M.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Skowron, J.; Kozłowski, S.; Poleski, R.; Ulaczyk, K.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; Pietrukowicz, P. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Sumi, T. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Gaudi, B. S.; Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Bennett, D. P. [University of Notre Dame, Department of Physics, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Tsapras, Y. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740B Cortona Dr, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Abe, F. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan); Bond, I. A. [Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland (New Zealand); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; μFUN Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; and others

    2013-11-20

    Observations of accretion disks around young brown dwarfs (BDs) have led to the speculation that they may form planetary systems similar to normal stars. While there have been several detections of planetary-mass objects around BDs (2MASS 1207-3932 and 2MASS 0441-2301), these companions have relatively large mass ratios and projected separations, suggesting that they formed in a manner analogous to stellar binaries. We present the discovery of a planetary-mass object orbiting a field BD via gravitational microlensing, OGLE-2012-BLG-0358Lb. The system is a low secondary/primary mass ratio (0.080 ± 0.001), relatively tightly separated (∼0.87 AU) binary composed of a planetary-mass object with 1.9 ± 0.2 Jupiter masses orbiting a BD with a mass 0.022 M {sub ☉}. The relatively small mass ratio and separation suggest that the companion may have formed in a protoplanetary disk around the BD host in a manner analogous to planets.

  20. Theory of pixel lensing towards M31 II, The velocity anisotropy and flattening of the MACHO distribution

    CERN Document Server

    Kerins, E; Evans, N W; Baillon, Paul; Carr, B J; Giraud-Héraud, Yannick; Gould, A; Hewett, P C; Kaplan, J; Paulin-Henriksson, S; Smartt, S J; Tsapras, Y; Valls-Gabaud, D

    2003-01-01

    The POINT-AGAPE collaboration is currently searching for massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) towards the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The survey aims to exploit the high inclination of the M31 disk, which causes an asymmetry in the spatial distribution of M31 MACHOs. Here, we investigate the effects of halo velocity anisotropy and flattening on the asymmetry signal using simple halo models. For a spherically symmetric and isotropic halo, we find that the underlying pixel-lensing rate in far-disk M31 MACHOs is more than 5 times the rate of near-disk events. We find that the asymmetry is increased further by about 30% if the MACHOs occupy radial orbits rather than tangential orbits, but is substantially reduced if the MACHOs lie in a flattened halo. However, even for haloes with a minor-to-major axis ratio q = 0.3, the numbers of M31 MACHOs in the far-side outnumber those in the near-side by a factor of ~2. We show that, if positional information is exploited in addition to number counts, then the number of candid...

  1. CAN THE MASSES OF ISOLATED PLANETARY-MASS GRAVITATIONAL LENSES BE MEASURED BY TERRESTRIAL PARALLAX?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freeman, M.; Botzler, C. S.; Bray, J. C.; Cherrie, J. M.; Rattenbury, N. J. [Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand); Philpott, L. C. [Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 (Canada); Abe, F.; Muraki, Y. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan); Albrow, M. D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, P.O. Box 4800, Christchurch 8020 (New Zealand); Bennett, D. P. [Department of Physics, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Bond, I. A. [Institute for Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, Auckland 1330 (New Zealand); Christie, G. W.; Natusch, T. [Auckland Observatory, PO Box 180, Royal Oak, Auckland 1345 (New Zealand); Dionnet, Z. [Université d' Orsay, bat 470, F-91400 Orsay (France); Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, 410 Seongbong-Rho, Hungduk-Gu, Chongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Heyrovský, D. [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, V Holesovickach 2, 18000 Prague (Czech Republic); McCormick, J. M. [Farm Cove Observatory, 2/24 Rapallo Place, Pakuranga, Auckland 2012 (New Zealand); Moorhouse, D. M. [Kumeu Observatory, Kumeu (New Zealand); Skowron, J., E-mail: mfre070@aucklanduni.ac.nz [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478, Warszawa (Poland); and others

    2015-02-01

    Recently Sumi et al. reported evidence for a large population of planetary-mass objects (PMOs) that are either unbound or orbit host stars in orbits ≥10 AU. Their result was deduced from the statistical distribution of durations of gravitational microlensing events observed by the MOA collaboration during 2006 and 2007. Here we study the feasibility of measuring the mass of an individual PMO through microlensing by examining a particular event, MOA-2011-BLG-274. This event was unusual as the duration was short, the magnification high, the source-size effect large, and the angular Einstein radius small. Also, it was intensively monitored from widely separated locations under clear skies at low air masses. Choi et al. concluded that the lens of the event may have been a PMO but they did not attempt a measurement of its mass. We report here a re-analysis of the event using re-reduced data. We confirm the results of Choi et al. and attempt a measurement of the mass and distance of the lens using the terrestrial parallax effect. Evidence for terrestrial parallax is found at a 3σ level of confidence. The best fit to the data yields the mass and distance of the lens as 0.80 ± 0.30 M {sub J} and 0.80 ± 0.25 kpc respectively. We exclude a host star to the lens out to a separation ∼40 AU. Drawing on our analysis of MOA-2011-BLG-274 we propose observational strategies for future microlensing surveys to yield sharper results on PMOs including those down to super-Earth mass.

  2. Statistical searches for microlensing events in large, non-uniformly sampled time-domain surveys: A test using palomar transient factory data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price-Whelan, Adrian M.; Agüeros, Marcel A. [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Fournier, Amanda P. [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Street, Rachel [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc., 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (United States); Ofek, Eran O. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot (Israel); Covey, Kevin R. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Levitan, David; Sesar, Branimir [Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Laher, Russ R.; Surace, Jason, E-mail: adrn@astro.columbia.edu [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2014-01-20

    Many photometric time-domain surveys are driven by specific goals, such as searches for supernovae or transiting exoplanets, which set the cadence with which fields are re-imaged. In the case of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), several sub-surveys are conducted in parallel, leading to non-uniform sampling over its ∼20,000 deg{sup 2} footprint. While the median 7.26 deg{sup 2} PTF field has been imaged ∼40 times in the R band, ∼2300 deg{sup 2} have been observed >100 times. We use PTF data to study the trade off between searching for microlensing events in a survey whose footprint is much larger than that of typical microlensing searches, but with far-from-optimal time sampling. To examine the probability that microlensing events can be recovered in these data, we test statistics used on uniformly sampled data to identify variables and transients. We find that the von Neumann ratio performs best for identifying simulated microlensing events in our data. We develop a selection method using this statistic and apply it to data from fields with >10 R-band observations, 1.1 × 10{sup 9} light curves, uncovering three candidate microlensing events. We lack simultaneous, multi-color photometry to confirm these as microlensing events. However, their number is consistent with predictions for the event rate in the PTF footprint over the survey's three years of operations, as estimated from near-field microlensing models. This work can help constrain all-sky event rate predictions and tests microlensing signal recovery in large data sets, which will be useful to future time-domain surveys, such as that planned with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  3. Chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge as traced by microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars

    OpenAIRE

    Bensby, T.; Johnson, J. A.; Cohen, J.; Feltzing, S.; Udalski, A.; Gould, A.; Huang, W.; Thompson, I.; Simmerer, J.; Adén, D.

    2009-01-01

    Aims. Our aims are twofold. First we aim to evaluate the robustness and accuracy of stellar parameters and detailed elemental abundances that can be derived from high-resolution spectroscopic observations of microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. We then aim to use microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars to investigate the abundance structure and chemical evolution of the Milky Way Bulge. Contrary to the cool giant stars, with their extremely crowded spectra, the dwarf stars are hotter, their spe...

  4. The Mirror World Interpretation of the 1908 Tunguska Event and other More Recent Events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foot, R.

    2001-01-01

    Mirror matter is predicted to exist if parity ( i.e. left-right symmetry) is a symmetry of nature. Remarkably mirror matter is capable of simply explaining a large number of contemporary puzzles in astrophysics and particle physics including: Explanation of the MACHO gravitational microlensing events, the existence of close-in extrasolar gas giant planets, apparently 'isolated' planets, the solar, atmospheric and LSND neutrino anomalies, the orthopositronium lifetime anomaly and perhaps even gamma ray bursts. One fascinating possibility is that our solar system contains small mirror matter space bodies (asteroid or comet sized objects), which are too small to be revealed from their gravitational effects but nevertheless have explosive implications when they collide with the Earth. We examine the possibility that the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia was the result of the collision of a mirror matter space body with the Earth. We point out that if this catastrophic event and many other similar smaller events are manifestations of the mirror world then these impact sites should be a good place to start digging for mirror matter. Mirror matter could potentially be extracted and purified using a centrifuge and have many useful industrial applications. (author)

  5. The First Simultaneous Microlensing Observations by Two Space telescopes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shvartzvald, Y.; Li, Z.; Udalski, A.

    2016-01-01

    study the region of microlensing parameter space to which Swift is sensitive, finding that though Swift could not measure the microlens parallax with respect to ground-based observations for this event, it can be important for other events. Specifically, it is important for detecting nearby brown dwarfs...

  6. Bright Single-Photon Sources Based on Anti-Reflection Coated Deterministic Quantum Dot Microlenses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Schnauber

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We report on enhancing the photon-extraction efficiency (PEE of deterministic quantum dot (QD microlenses via anti-reflection (AR coating. The AR-coating deposited on top of the curved microlens surface is composed of a thin layer of Ta2O5, and is found to effectively reduce back-reflection of light at the semiconductor-vacuum interface. A statistical analysis of spectroscopic data reveals, that the AR-coating improves the light out-coupling of respective microlenses by a factor of 1.57 ± 0.71, in quantitative agreement with numerical calculations. Taking the enhancement factor into account, we predict improved out-coupling of light with a PEE of up to 50%. The quantum nature of emission from QDs integrated into AR-coated microlenses is demonstrated via photon auto-correlation measurements revealing strong suppression of two-photon emission events with g(2(0 = 0.05 ± 0.02. As such, these bright non-classical light sources are highly attractive with respect to applications in the field of quantum cryptography.

  7. Fabrication of polymer-based reflowed microlenses on optical fibre ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. Thermal reflow of polymer to generate spherical profile has been used to fabricate microlenses in this paper. A simple model based on the volume conservation (before and after reflow) and geometrical consideration of lens profile, shows that the focal length of the microlens produced by reflow technique is a.

  8. OGLE-2017-BLG-0329L: A Microlensing Binary Characterized with Dramatically Enhanced Precision Using Data from Space-based Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, C.; Calchi Novati, S.; Udalski, A.; Lee, C.-U.; Gould, A.; Bozza, V.; Mróz, P.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Skowron, J.; Szymański, M. K.; Poleski, R.; Soszyński, I.; Kozłowski, S.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M.; Rybicki, K.; Iwanek, P.; The OGLE Collaboration; Albrow, M. D.; Chung, S.-J.; Hwang, K.-H.; Jung, Y. K.; Ryu, Y.-H.; Shin, I.-G.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Yee, J. C.; Zang, W.; Zhu, W.; Cha, S.-M.; Kim, D.-J.; Kim, H.-W.; Kim, S.-L.; Lee, D.-J.; Lee, Y.; Park, B.-G.; Pogge, R. W.; Kim, W.-T.; The KMTNet Collaboration; Beichman, C.; Bryden, G.; Carey, S.; Gaudi, B. S.; Henderson, C. B.; The Spitzer Team; Dominik, M.; Helling, C.; Hundertmark, M.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Longa-Peña, P.; Lowry, S.; Sajadian, S.; Burgdorf, M. J.; Campbell-White, J.; Ciceri, S.; Evans, D. F.; Haikala, L. K.; Hinse, T. C.; Rahvar, S.; Rabus, M.; Snodgrass, C.; The MiNDSTEp Collaboration

    2018-06-01

    Mass measurements of gravitational microlenses require one to determine the microlens parallax π E, but precise π E measurement, in many cases, is hampered due to the subtlety of the microlens-parallax signal combined with the difficulty of distinguishing the signal from those induced by other higher-order effects. In this work, we present the analysis of the binary-lens event OGLE-2017-BLG-0329, for which π E is measured with a dramatically improved precision using additional data from space-based Spitzer observations. We find that while the parallax model based on the ground-based data cannot be distinguished from a zero-π E model at the 2σ level, the addition of the Spitzer data enables us to identify two classes of solutions, each composed of a pair of solutions according to the well-known ecliptic degeneracy. It is found that the space-based data reduce the measurement uncertainties of the north and east components of the microlens-parallax vector {{\\boldsymbol{π }}}{{E}} by factors ∼18 and ∼4, respectively. With the measured microlens parallax combined with the angular Einstein radius measured from the resolved caustic crossings, we find that the lens is composed of a binary with component masses of either (M 1, M 2) ∼ (1.1, 0.8) M ⊙ or ∼(0.4, 0.3) M ⊙ according to the two solution classes. The first solution is significantly favored but the second cannot be securely ruled out based on the microlensing data alone. However, the degeneracy can be resolved from adaptive optics observations taken ∼10 years after the event.

  9. Predicting gravitational lensing by stellar remnants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harding, Alexander J.; Stefano, R. Di; Lépine, S.; Urama, J.; Pham, D.; Baker, C.

    2018-03-01

    Gravitational lensing provides a means to measure mass that does not rely on detecting and analysing light from the lens itself. Compact objects are ideal gravitational lenses, because they have relatively large masses and are dim. In this paper, we describe the prospects for predicting lensing events generated by the local population of compact objects, consisting of 250 neutron stars, five black holes, and ≈35 000 white dwarfs. By focusing on a population of nearby compact objects with measured proper motions and known distances from us, we can measure their masses by studying the characteristics of any lensing event they generate. Here, we concentrate on shifts in the position of a background source due to lensing by a foreground compact object. With Hubble Space Telescope, JWST, and Gaia, measurable centroid shifts caused by lensing are relatively frequent occurrences. We find that 30-50 detectable events per decade are expected for white dwarfs. Because relatively few neutron stars and black holes have measured distances and proper motions, it is more difficult to compute realistic rates for them. However, we show that at least one isolated neutron star has likely produced detectable events during the past several decades. This work is particularly relevant to the upcoming data releases by the Gaia mission and also to data that will be collected by JWST. Monitoring predicted microlensing events will not only help to determine the masses of compact objects, but will also potentially discover dim companions to these stellar remnants, including orbiting exoplanets.

  10. pyLIMA: An Open-source Package for Microlensing Modeling. I. Presentation of the Software and Analysis of Single-lens Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachelet, E.; Norbury, M.; Bozza, V.; Street, R.

    2017-11-01

    Microlensing is a unique tool, capable of detecting the “cold” planets between ˜1 and 10 au from their host stars and even unbound “free-floating” planets. This regime has been poorly sampled to date owing to the limitations of alternative planet-finding methods, but a watershed in discoveries is anticipated in the near future thanks to the planned microlensing surveys of WFIRST-AFTA and Euclid's Extended Mission. Of the many challenges inherent in these missions, the modeling of microlensing events will be of primary importance, yet it is often time-consuming, complex, and perceived as a daunting barrier to participation in the field. The large scale of future survey data products will require thorough but efficient modeling software, but, unlike other areas of exoplanet research, microlensing currently lacks a publicly available, well-documented package to conduct this type of analysis. We present version 1.0 of the python Lightcurve Identification and Microlensing Analysis (pyLIMA). This software is written in Python and uses existing packages as much as possible to make it widely accessible. In this paper, we describe the overall architecture of the software and the core modules for modeling single-lens events. To verify the performance of this software, we use it to model both real data sets from events published in the literature and generated test data produced using pyLIMA's simulation module. The results demonstrate that pyLIMA is an efficient tool for microlensing modeling. We will expand pyLIMA to consider more complex phenomena in the following papers.

  11. Inicio de la época reproductiva y tiempo de defensa del territorio en machos de Colinus leucopogon (Galliformes: Odontophoridae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Sandoval

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Los factores que determinan el inicio de la época reproductiva, y la relación entre el tiempo que un macho de Colinus leucopogon defiende su territorio con el éxito reproductivo del mismo son desconocidos. Por lo tanto aquí se reporta el efecto de variables climáticas sobre el inicio de la época reproductiva, y el efecto de la duración de los machos en su territorio con el éxito de adquirir pareja. También se analiza la relación entre la duración de los machos en su territorio con las características del canto y el territorio. Precipitaciones superiores a 14.3mm en marzo determinaron el inicio de la época reproductiva. Esto favoreció el incremento de alimento y sitios para anidar, lo que podría incrementar el éxito reproductivo de la especie. La duración de los machos dentro de su territorio no se asoció con la adquisición de pareja, debido a que machos que logran emparejarse duraron un tiempo similar en sus territorios, que machos que no se emparejaron. Las características del canto y el territorio tampoco se relacionaron con la duración del macho dentro de su territorio. Por lo tanto esto puede ser otra causa para que no se haya encontrado una relación entre la duración del macho en su territorio con la formación de parejas, ya que las características del canto son las que más influyen en la formación de parejas en esta especie.

  12. ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMS FOR STRONG GRAVITATIONAL LENSING IN KERR SPACE-TIME INCLUDING POLARIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Bin; Maddumage, Prasad [Research Computing Center, Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States); Kantowski, Ronald; Dai, Xinyu; Baron, Eddie, E-mail: bchen3@fsu.edu [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 (United States)

    2015-05-15

    Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars are important astrophysical objects to understand. Recently, microlensing observations have constrained the size of the quasar X-ray emission region to be of the order of 10 gravitational radii of the central supermassive black hole. For distances within a few gravitational radii, light paths are strongly bent by the strong gravity field of the central black hole. If the central black hole has nonzero angular momentum (spin), then a photon’s polarization plane will be rotated by the gravitational Faraday effect. The observed X-ray flux and polarization will then be influenced significantly by the strong gravity field near the source. Consequently, linear gravitational lensing theory is inadequate for such extreme circumstances. We present simple algorithms computing the strong lensing effects of Kerr black holes, including the effects on polarization. Our algorithms are realized in a program “KERTAP” in two versions: MATLAB and Python. The key ingredients of KERTAP are a graphic user interface, a backward ray-tracing algorithm, a polarization propagator dealing with gravitational Faraday rotation, and algorithms computing observables such as flux magnification and polarization angles. Our algorithms can be easily realized in other programming languages such as FORTRAN, C, and C++. The MATLAB version of KERTAP is parallelized using the MATLAB Parallel Computing Toolbox and the Distributed Computing Server. The Python code was sped up using Cython and supports full implementation of MPI using the “mpi4py” package. As an example, we investigate the inclination angle dependence of the observed polarization and the strong lensing magnification of AGN X-ray emission. We conclude that it is possible to perform complex numerical-relativity related computations using interpreted languages such as MATLAB and Python.

  13. ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMS FOR STRONG GRAVITATIONAL LENSING IN KERR SPACE-TIME INCLUDING POLARIZATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Bin; Maddumage, Prasad; Kantowski, Ronald; Dai, Xinyu; Baron, Eddie

    2015-01-01

    Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars are important astrophysical objects to understand. Recently, microlensing observations have constrained the size of the quasar X-ray emission region to be of the order of 10 gravitational radii of the central supermassive black hole. For distances within a few gravitational radii, light paths are strongly bent by the strong gravity field of the central black hole. If the central black hole has nonzero angular momentum (spin), then a photon’s polarization plane will be rotated by the gravitational Faraday effect. The observed X-ray flux and polarization will then be influenced significantly by the strong gravity field near the source. Consequently, linear gravitational lensing theory is inadequate for such extreme circumstances. We present simple algorithms computing the strong lensing effects of Kerr black holes, including the effects on polarization. Our algorithms are realized in a program “KERTAP” in two versions: MATLAB and Python. The key ingredients of KERTAP are a graphic user interface, a backward ray-tracing algorithm, a polarization propagator dealing with gravitational Faraday rotation, and algorithms computing observables such as flux magnification and polarization angles. Our algorithms can be easily realized in other programming languages such as FORTRAN, C, and C++. The MATLAB version of KERTAP is parallelized using the MATLAB Parallel Computing Toolbox and the Distributed Computing Server. The Python code was sped up using Cython and supports full implementation of MPI using the “mpi4py” package. As an example, we investigate the inclination angle dependence of the observed polarization and the strong lensing magnification of AGN X-ray emission. We conclude that it is possible to perform complex numerical-relativity related computations using interpreted languages such as MATLAB and Python

  14. Light-focusing human micro-lenses generated from pluripotent stem cells model lens development and drug-induced cataract in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Patricia; Kabir, Md Humayun; Srivastava, Tarini; Mason, Michele E; Dewi, Chitra U; Lim, Seakcheng; Yang, Andrian; Djordjevic, Djordje; Killingsworth, Murray C; Ho, Joshua W K; Harman, David G; O'Connor, Michael D

    2018-01-09

    Cataracts cause vision loss and blindness by impairing the ability of the ocular lens to focus light onto the retina. Various cataract risk factors have been identified, including drug treatments, age, smoking and diabetes. However, the molecular events responsible for these different forms of cataract are ill-defined, and the advent of modern cataract surgery in the 1960s virtually eliminated access to human lenses for research. Here, we demonstrate large-scale production of light-focusing human micro-lenses from spheroidal masses of human lens epithelial cells purified from differentiating pluripotent stem cells. The purified lens cells and micro-lenses display similar morphology, cellular arrangement, mRNA expression and protein expression to human lens cells and lenses. Exposing the micro-lenses to the emergent cystic fibrosis drug Vx-770 reduces micro-lens transparency and focusing ability. These human micro-lenses provide a powerful and large-scale platform for defining molecular disease mechanisms caused by cataract risk factors, for anti-cataract drug screening and for clinically relevant toxicity assays. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  15. Low-cost, high-precision micro-lensed optical fiber providing deep-micrometer to deep-nanometer-level light focusing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Sy-Bor; Sundaram, Vijay M; McBride, Daniel; Yang, Yu

    2016-04-15

    A new type of micro-lensed optical fiber through stacking appropriate high-refractive microspheres at designed locations with respect to the cleaved end of an optical fiber is numerically and experimentally demonstrated. This new type of micro-lensed optical fiber can be precisely constructed with low cost and high speed. Deep micrometer-scale and submicrometer-scale far-field light spots can be achieved when the optical fibers are multimode and single mode, respectively. By placing an appropriate teardrop dielectric nanoscale scatterer at the far-field spot of this new type of micro-lensed optical fiber, a deep-nanometer near-field spot can also be generated with high intensity and minimum joule heating, which is valuable in high-speed, high-resolution, and high-power nanoscale detection compared with traditional near-field optical fibers containing a significant portion of metallic material.

  16. Strong chromatic microlensing in HE0047–1756 and SDSS1155+6346

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rojas, K.; Motta, V. [Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Avda. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 2360102 (Chile); Mediavilla, E. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Avda. Vía Lactea s/n, La Laguna, E-38200 Tenerife (Spain); Falco, E. [Whipple Observatory, Smithsonian Institution, 670 Mt. Hopkins Road, PO Box 6369, Amado, AZ 85645 (United States); Jiménez-Vicente, J. [Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada (Spain); Muñoz, J. A., E-mail: karina.rojas@uv.cl, E-mail: veronica.motta@uv.cl, E-mail: emg@iac.es, E-mail: falco@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: jjimenez@ugr.es, E-mail: jmunoz@uv.es [Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad de Valencia, Burjassot, E-46100 Valencia (Spain)

    2014-12-10

    We use spectra of the double-lensed quasars HE0047–1756 and SDSS1155+6346 to study their unresolved structure through the impact of microlensing. There is no significant evidence of microlensing in the emission line profiles except for the Lyα line of SDSS1155+6346, which shows strong differences in the shapes for images A and B. However, the continuum of the B image spectrum in SDSS1155+6346 is strongly contaminated by the lens galaxy, and these differences should be considered with caution. Using the flux ratios of the emission lines for image pairs as a baseline to remove macro-magnification and extinction, we have detected strong chromatic microlensing in the continuum measured by CASTLES (www.cfa.harvard.edu/castles/) in both lens systems, with amplitudes 0.09(λ16000) ≲ |Δm| ≲ 0.8(λ5439) for HE0047–1756, and 0.2(λ16000) ≲ |Δm| ≲ 0.8(λ5439) for SDSS1155+6346. Using magnification maps to simulate microlensing and modeling the accretion disk as a Gaussian source (I ∝ exp(–R {sup 2}/2r {sub s}{sup 2})) of size r {sub s} ∝ λ {sup p}, we find r {sub s} = 2.5{sub −1.4}{sup +3.0} √(M/0.3M{sub ⊙}) lt-day and p = 2.3 ± 0.8 at the rest frame for λ = 2045 for HE0047–1756 (log prior) and r {sub s} = 5.5{sub −3.3}{sup +8.2} √(M/0.3M{sub ⊙}) lt-day and p = 1.5 ± 0.6 at the rest frame of λ = 1398 for SDSS1155+6346 (log prior). Contrary to other studied lens systems, the chromaticity detected in HE0047–1756 and SDSS1155+6346 is large enough to fulfill the thin disk prediction. The inferred sizes, however, are very large compared to the predictions of this model, especially in the case of SDSS1155+6346.

  17. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Variable stars in LMC MACHO fields 1 & 79 (Szulagyi+, 2009)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szulagyi, J.; Kovacs, G.; Welch, D. L.

    2009-06-01

    Tables 1 and 2 give the brief summary of the variables found in the course of the analysis. Main properties are listed and preliminary classifications are given (this latter is ambiguous in some cases, as indicated by question marks). Time series (original, published by the MACHO project and TFA-filtered) can be accessed at: http://www.konkoly.hu/staff/kovacs/macho_tfa/ (2 data files).

  18. Finite source sizes and the information content of macho-type lens search light curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemiroff, Robert J.; Wickramasinghe, W. A. D. T.

    1994-01-01

    If the dark halo matter is primarily composed of Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs) toward the lower end of the possible detection range (less than 10(exp -3) solar mass) a fraction of the lens detection events should involve the lens crossing directly in front of the disk of the background star. Previously, Nemiroff has shown that each crossing would create an inflection point in the light curve of the MACHO event. Such inflection points would allow a measure of the time it took for the lens to cross the stellar disk. Given an independent estimate of the stellar radius by other methods, one could then obtain a more accurate estimate of the velocity of the lens. This velocity could then, in turn, be used to obtain a more accurate estimate of the mass range for the MACHO or disk star doing the lensing.

  19. Elemental abundances in the Galactic bulge from microlensed dwarf stars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bensby, T.; Feltzing, S.; Johnson, J.A.; Gould, A.; Sana, H.; Gal-Yam, A.; Asplund, M.; Lucatello, S.; Melendez, J.; Udalski, A.; Kubas, D.; James, G.; Adén, D.; Simmerer, J.

    2010-01-01

    We present elemental abundances of 13 microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge, which constitute the largest sample to date. We show that these stars span the full range of metallicity from Fe/H= −0.8 to +0.4, and that they follow well-defined abundance trends, coincident with

  20. Refractive microlenses produced by excimer laser machining of poly(methyl methacrylate)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin Frøhling; Krühne, Ulrich; H., L.

    2005-01-01

    A method has been developed whereby refractive microlenses can be produced in poly (methyl methacrylate) by excimer laser irradiation at λ = 248 nm. The lenses are formed by a combined photochemical and thermal process. The lenses are formed as depressions in the substrate material (negative foca...

  1. TWO STARS TWO WAYS: CONFIRMING A MICROLENSING BINARY LENS SOLUTION WITH A SPECTROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT OF THE ORBIT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yee, Jennifer C.; Johnson, John Asher; Eastman, Jason; Vanderburg, Andrew [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Skowron, Jan [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Gould, Andrew [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Pineda, J. Sebastian [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Howard, Andrew, E-mail: jyee@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: jjohnson@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: jason.eastman@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: avanderburg@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822-1839 (United States)

    2016-04-20

    Light curves of microlensing events involving stellar binaries and planetary systems can provide information about the orbital elements of the system due to orbital modulations of the caustic structure. Accurately measuring the orbit in either the stellar or planetary case requires detailed modeling of subtle deviations in the light curve. At the same time, the natural, Cartesian parameterization of a microlensing binary is partially degenerate with the microlens parallax. Hence, it is desirable to perform independent tests of the predictions of microlens orbit models using radial velocity (RV) time series of the lens binary system. To this end, we present 3.5 years of RV monitoring of the binary lens system OGLE-2009-BLG-020 L, for which Skowron et al. constrained all internal parameters of the 200–700 day orbit. Our RV measurements reveal an orbit that is consistent with the predictions of the microlens light curve analysis, thereby providing the first confirmation of orbital elements inferred from microlensing events.

  2. OGLE-2016-BLG-0168 Binary Microlensing Event: Prediction and Confirmation of the Microlens Parallax Effect from Space-based Observations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, I.-G.; Yee, J. C.; Jung, Y. K. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Udalski, A.; Skowron, J.; Mróz, P.; Soszyński, I.; Poleski, R.; Szymański, M. K.; Kozłowski, S.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4,00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Novati, S. Calchi [IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Albrow, M. D. [University of Canterbury, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8020 (New Zealand); Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Chung, S.-J.; Hwang, K.-H.; Ryu, Y.-H. [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 34055 (Korea, Republic of); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; KMTNet Group; Spitzer Team; and others

    2017-11-01

    The microlens parallax is a crucial observable for conclusively identifying the nature of lens systems in microlensing events containing or composed of faint (even dark) astronomical objects such as planets, neutron stars, brown dwarfs, and black holes. With the commencement of a new era of microlensing in collaboration with space-based observations, the microlens parallax can be routinely measured. In addition, space-based observations can provide opportunities to verify the microlens parallax measured from ground-only observations and to find a unique solution to the lensing light-curve analysis. Furthermore, since most space-based observations cannot cover the full light curves of lensing events, it is also necessary to verify the reliability of the information extracted from fragmentary space-based light curves. We conduct a test based on the microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0168, created by a binary lens system consisting of almost equal mass M-dwarf stars, to demonstrate that it is possible to verify the microlens parallax and to resolve degeneracies using the space-based light curve even though the observations are fragmentary. Since space-based observatories will frequently produce fragmentary light curves due to their short observing windows, the methodology of this test will be useful for next-generation microlensing experiments that combine space-based and ground-based collaboration.

  3. Development of 3D out-of-plane SU-8 microlenses using modified micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC) technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llobera, A.; Wilke, R.; Johnson, D. W.; Büttgenbach, S.

    2006-04-01

    This paper describes a modification of the standard MIMIC technology, solving its main drawbacks, to define arrays of spherical or ellipsoidal microlenses. Perfectly symmetrical meniscuses have been obtained by using a XP SU-8 NO-2 layer beneath the PDMS mold. Moreover, the photostructurable properties of this polymer allow obtaining self-alignment structures for adequate fiber optics positioning. Microchannels ended with these meniscuses have been filled with standard SU-8 to obtain 3D microlenses. Agreement between theory and experimental results allows confirming the validity of the proposed technology.

  4. Uso do feromônio sexual sintético para captura de machos da traça-das-crucíferas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MICHEREFF MIRIAN FERNANDES FURTADO

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a atração dos machos da traça-das-crucíferas (Plutella xylostella L., Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae por diferentes formulações do feromônio sexual sintético. Os tratamentos consistiram em: 1 formulação comercial; 2 Z11,16:Ald; 3 Z11,16:Ac; 4 mistura 7:3 de 2+3; 5 mistura 5:5 de 2+3; 6 septos de borracha com hexano (testemunha; e 7 cinco fêmeas virgens. A formulação comercial do feromônio sexual sintético propiciou maior captura de machos, não diferindo significativamente de fêmeas virgens e da mistura 5:5 utilizadas como isca. Os componentes isoladamente foram pouco atrativos aos machos. Foram testados cinco modelos de armadilhas. A armadilha Pherocon 1 CP (33,2 machos/armadilha/noite foi a mais eficiente na captura de machos, seguida pelas armadilhas Cilíndrica Aberta, Cilíndrica Fechada, Delta e Redonda Aberta. Três alturas de instalação da armadilha foram avaliadas. Ocorreu significativamente maior captura de machos na altura do ápice das plantas (30 cm do solo. As alturas de 5 e 60 cm não diferiram entre si.

  5. Gaia16aye binary microlensing event is rising for the 5th time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyrzykowski, L.; Mroz, P.; Rybicki, K.; Altavilla, G.; Bakis, V.; Bendjoya, P.; Birenbaum, G.; Blagorodnova, N.; Blanco-Cuaresma, S.; Bonanos, A.; Bozza, V.; Britavskiy, N.; Burgaz, U.; Butterley, T.; Capuozzo, P.; Carrasco, J. M.; Chruslinska, M.; Damljanovic, G.; Dapergolas, T.; Dennefeld, M.; Dhillon, V. S.; Dominik, M.; Esenoglu, H.; Fossey, S.; Gomboc, A.; Hallokoun, N.; Hamanowicz, A.; Hardy, L. K.; Hudec, R.; Khamitov, I.; Klencki, J.; Kolaczkowski, Z.; Kolb, U.; Leonini, S.; Leto, G.; Lewis, F.; Liakos, A.; Littlefair, S. P.; Maoz, D.; Maund, J. R.; Mikolajczyk, P.; Palaversa, L.; Pawlak, M.; Penny, M.; Piascik, A.; Reig, P.; Rhodes, L.; Russell, D.; Sanchez, R. Z.; Shappee, B.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Sitek, M.; Sniegowska, M.; Sokolovsky, K.; Steele, I.; Street, R.; Tomasella, L.; Trascinelli, L.; Wiersema, K.; Wilson, R. W.; Zharkov, I.; Zola, S.; Zubareva, A.

    2017-05-01

    Gaia16aye, nicknamed Ayers Rock (19:40:01.13 +30:07:53.4, J2000) was detected in August 2016 and continue on-going, becoming the longest microlensing event found in the Galactic Disk (ATEL #9376, #9507).

  6. Accessing the dark exciton spin in deterministic quantum-dot microlenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heindel, Tobias; Thoma, Alexander; Schwartz, Ido; Schmidgall, Emma R.; Gantz, Liron; Cogan, Dan; Strauß, Max; Schnauber, Peter; Gschrey, Manuel; Schulze, Jan-Hindrik; Strittmatter, Andre; Rodt, Sven; Gershoni, David; Reitzenstein, Stephan

    2017-12-01

    The dark exciton state in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) constitutes a long-lived solid-state qubit which has the potential to play an important role in implementations of solid-state-based quantum information architectures. In this work, we exploit deterministically fabricated QD microlenses which promise enhanced photon extraction, to optically prepare and read out the dark exciton spin and observe its coherent precession. The optical access to the dark exciton is provided via spin-blockaded metastable biexciton states acting as heralding states, which are identified by deploying polarization-sensitive spectroscopy as well as time-resolved photon cross-correlation experiments. Our experiments reveal a spin-precession period of the dark exciton of (0.82 ± 0.01) ns corresponding to a fine-structure splitting of (5.0 ± 0.7) μeV between its eigenstates |↑ ⇑ ±↓ ⇓ ⟩. By exploiting microlenses deterministically fabricated above pre-selected QDs, our work demonstrates the possibility to scale up implementations of quantum information processing schemes using the QD-confined dark exciton spin qubit, such as the generation of photonic cluster states or the realization of a solid-state-based quantum memory.

  7. Preparing for the WFIRST Microlensing Survey: Simulations, Requirements, Survey Strategies, and Precursor Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudi, Bernard

    As one of the four primary investigations of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission, the microlensing survey will monitor several square degrees of the Galactic bulge for a total of roughly one year. Its primary science goal is to "Complete the statistical census of planetary systems in the Galaxy, from the outer habitable zone to free floating planets, including analogs of all of the planets in our Solar System with the mass of Mars or greater.'' WFIRST will therefore (a) measure the mass function of cold bound planets with masses greater than that of roughly twice the mass of the moon, including providing an estimate of the frequency of sub-Mars-mass embryos, (b) determine the frequency of free-floating planets with masses down to the Earth and below, (c) inform the frequency and habitability of potentially habitable worlds, and (d) revolutionize our understanding of the demographics of cold planets with its exquisite sensitivity to, and large expected yield of, planets in a broad and unexplored region of parameter space. In order for the microlensing survey to be successful, we must develop a plan to go from actual survey observations obtained by the WFIRST telescope and hardware to the final science products. This plan will involve many steps, the development of software, data reduction, and analysis tools at each step, and a list of requirements for each of these components. The overarching goal of this proposal is thus to develop a complete flowdown from the science goals of the microlensing survey to the mission design and hardware components. We have assembled a team of scientists with the breadth of expertise to achieve this primary goal. Our specific subgoals are as follows. Goal 1: We will refine the input Galactic models in order to provide improved microlensing event rates in the WFIRST fields. Goal 2: We will use the improved event rate estimates, along with improvements in our simulation methodology, to provide higher

  8. AGB nucleosynthesis in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Detailed abundance analysis of the RV Tauri star MACHO 47.2496.8

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reyniers, M.; Abia, C.; van Winckel, H.; Lloyd Evans, T.; Decin, L.K.E.; Eriksson, K.; Pollard, K.R.

    2007-01-01

    Context: .Abundance analysis of post-AGB objects as probes of AGB nucleosynthesis. Aims: .A detailed photospheric abundance study is performed on the carbon-rich post-AGB candidate MACHO 47.2496.8 in the LMC. Methods: .High-resolution, high signal-to-noise ESO VLT-UVES spectra of MACHO 47.2496.8 are

  9. RED NOISE VERSUS PLANETARY INTERPRETATIONS IN THE MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2013-BLG-446

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bachelet, E.; Bramich, D. M.; AlSubai, K. [Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha (Qatar); Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of); Greenhill, J. [School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 37, Hobart, TAS 7001 (Australia); Street, R. A.; Tsapras, Y. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Gould, A.; Batista, V. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); D’Ago, G. [Dipartimento di Fisica “E.R. Caianiello,” Università di Salerno, Via Ponte Don Melillo, I-84084-Fisciano (Italy); Dominik, M.; Jaimes, R. Figuera; Horne, K.; Hundertmark, M. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Kains, N. [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Snodgrass, C. [Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37077 Gttingen (Germany); Steele, I. A. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool CH41 1LD (United Kingdom); Albrow, M. D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8020 (New Zealand); Beaulieu, J.-P. [UPMC-CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut dAstrophysique de Paris, 98bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Bennett, D. P., E-mail: c.botzler@auckland.ac.nz, E-mail: p.yock@auckland.ac.nz, E-mail: bennett@nd.edu, E-mail: abe@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp, E-mail: furusawa@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp, E-mail: itow@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Collaboration: RoboNet collaboration; PLANET collaboration; μFUN collaboration; MOA collaboration; MiNDSTEp collaboration; and others

    2015-10-20

    For all exoplanet candidates, the reliability of a claimed detection needs to be assessed through a careful study of systematic errors in the data to minimize the false positives rate. We present a method to investigate such systematics in microlensing data sets using the microlensing event OGLE-2013-BLG-0446 as a case study. The event was observed from multiple sites around the world and its high magnification (A{sub max} ∼ 3000) allowed us to investigate the effects of terrestrial and annual parallax. Real-time modeling of the event while it was still ongoing suggested the presence of an extremely low-mass companion (∼3M{sub ⨁}) to the lensing star, leading to substantial follow-up coverage of the light curve. We test and compare different models for the light curve and conclude that the data do not favor the planetary interpretation when systematic errors are taken into account.

  10. OGLE-2013-BLG-0102LA,B: MICROLENSING BINARY WITH COMPONENTS AT STAR/BROWN DWARF AND BROWN DWARF/PLANET BOUNDARIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Y. K.; Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Udalski, A.; Skowron, J.; Kozłowski, S.; Poleski, R.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; Szymański, M. K.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Mróz, P.; Kubiak, M. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Sumi, T. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Abe, F. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan); Bennett, D. P. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Bond, I. A. [Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland (New Zealand); Botzler, C. S., E-mail: cheongho@astroph.chungbuk.ac.kr [Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland 1001 (New Zealand); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; μFUN Collaboration; and others

    2015-01-10

    We present an analysis of the gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2013-BLG-0102. The light curve of the event is characterized by a strong short-term anomaly superposed on a smoothly varying lensing curve with a moderate magnification A {sub max} ∼ 1.5. It is found that the event was produced by a binary lens with a mass ratio between the components of q = 0.13 and the anomaly was caused by the passage of the source trajectory over a caustic located away from the barycenter of the binary. Based on the analysis of the effects on the light curve due to the finite size of the source and the parallactic motion of the Earth, we determine the physical parameters of the lens system. The measured masses of the lens components are M {sub 1} = 0.096 ± 0.013 M {sub ☉} and M {sub 2} = 0.012 ± 0.002 M {sub ☉}, which correspond to near the hydrogen-burning and deuterium-burning mass limits, respectively. The distance to the lens is 3.04 ± 0.31 kpc and the projected separation between the lens components is 0.80 ± 0.08 AU.

  11. Teatro Indio Precolombino. El Bailete del Güegüence o Macho Ratón

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Henríquez Puentes

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available El Bailete del Güegüence o Macho Ratón es una obra de teatro cuyos orígenes se remontan a la cultural náhuatl del siglo XVI aproximadamente. Es también un discurso del período colonial que ha llegado hasta el siglo XX, gracias al trabajo de apropiación y revitalización hecha por recuperadores del siglo XVI que, en un momento determinado de sus historias literarias, lo incorporaron a la estructura cultural que dominaba en su época. El Bailete del Güegüence o Macho Ratón pone en escena una crítica a la administración colonial a través de unos personajes, acción, expresión e intención farsesca y satírica. La crítica de El Bailete del Güegüence o Macho Ratón apunta a una sociedad en la cual sus gobernantes hacen 'uso y abuso de su autoridad'. Al parecer, el carácter farsesco y satírico de la obra impidió la aplicación de la censura. A diferencia de los Entremeses, el Bailete del Güegüence o Macho Ratón incorpora como personaje principal a un ingenioso nativo, tal vez criollo, que propone como forma de resistir al poder de la autoridad colonial, la estrategia de "hacerse el sordo", la burla, los equívocos discursivos y, en general, la vida festiva.   "Bailete de Güegüence" or "Macho Ratón" is a play whose origins date back to its Náhuatle culture of the I 6'h Century, approximately. It is also a colonial period discourse come to the XX Century through the work of appropiation and revitalization undertaken by experts in the I61h Century, which, at a determinate moment in their literary histories, incorporated it to the cultural structure deminating in their own epoch. This play stages a criticisim of colonial administration through ome characters, dramatic action, expression, and farcical and satírical slant. The criticicim in the play points to a society in which its governors make use and abuse of their authority. The satirical and farcical character of this work seems to have prevented the application of

  12. OGLE-2017-BLG-0482Lb: A Microlensing Super-Earth Orbiting a Low-mass Host Star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, C.; Hirao, Y.; Udalski, A.; Lee, C.-U.; Bozza, V.; Gould, A.; and; Abe, F.; Barry, R.; Bond, I. A.; Bennett, D. P.; Bhattacharya, A.; Donachie, M.; Evans, P.; Fukui, A.; Itow, Y.; Kawasaki, K.; Koshimoto, N.; Li, M. C. A.; Ling, C. H.; Matsubara, Y.; Miyazaki, S.; Munakata, H.; Muraki, Y.; Nagakane, M.; Ohnishi, K.; Ranc, C.; Rattenbury, N.; Saito, T.; Sharan, A.; Sullivan, D. J.; Sumi, T.; Suzuki, D.; Tristram, P. J.; Yamada, T.; Yonehara, A.; The MOA Collaboration; Mróz, P.; Poleski, R.; Kozłowski, S.; Soszyński, I.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Skowron, J.; Szymański, M. K.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M.; Rybicki, K.; Iwanek, P.; The OGLE Collaboration; Albrow, M. D.; Chung, S.-J.; Hwang, K.-H.; Jung, Y. K.; Kim, D.; Kim, W.-T.; Kim, H.-W.; Ryu, Y.-H.; Shin, I.-G.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Yee, J. C.; Zhu, W.; Cha, S.-M.; Kim, S.-L.; Kim, D.-J.; Lee, D.-J.; Lee, Y.; Park, B.-G.; Pogge, R. W.; The KMTNet Collaboration

    2018-05-01

    We report the discovery of a planetary system in which a super-Earth orbits a late M-dwarf host. The planetary system was found from the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-0482, wherein the planet signal appears as a short-term anomaly to the smooth lensing light curve produced by the host. Despite its weak signal and short duration, the planetary signal was firmly detected from the dense and continuous coverage by three microlensing surveys. We find a planet/host mass ratio of q ∼ 1.4 × 10‑4. We measure the microlens parallax {π }{{E}} from the long-term deviation in the observed lensing light curve, but the angular Einstein radius {θ }{{E}} cannot be measured because the source trajectory did not cross the planet-induced caustic. Using the measured event timescale and the microlens parallax, we find that the masses of the planet and the host are {M}{{p}}={9.0}-4.5+9.0 {M}\\oplus and {M}host}={0.20}-0.10+0.20 {M}ȯ , respectively, and the projected separation between them is {a}\\perp ={1.8}-0.7+0.6 au. The estimated distance to the lens is {D}{{L}}={5.8}-2.1+1.8 kpc. The discovery of the planetary system demonstrates that microlensing provides an important method to detect low-mass planets orbiting low-mass stars.

  13. MASS MEASUREMENTS OF ISOLATED OBJECTS FROM SPACE-BASED MICROLENSING

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Wei; Novati, S. Calchi; Gould, A.

    2016-01-01

    lies behind the same amount of dust as the Bulge red clump, we find the lens is a 45 ± 7 {M}{{J}} BD at 5.9 ± 1.0 kpc. The lens of of the second event, OGLE-2015-BLG-0763, is a 0.50 ± 0.04 {M}⊙ star at 6.9 ± 1.0 kpc. We show that the probability to definitively measure the mass of isolated microlenses...... is dramatically increased once simultaneous ground- and space-based observations are conducted....

  14. Designing Fresnel microlenses for focusing astigmatic multi-Gaussian beams by using fractional order Fourier transforms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patino, A; Durand, P-E; Fogret, E; Pellat-Finet, P

    2011-01-01

    According to a scalar theory of diffraction, light propagation can be expressed by two-dimensional fractional order Fourier transforms. Since the fractional Fourier transform of a chirp function is a Dirac distribution, focusing a light beam is optically achieved by using a diffractive screen whose transmission function is a two-dimensional chirp function. This property is applied to designing Fresnel microlenses, and the orders of the involved Fourier fractional transforms depend on diffraction distances as well as on emitter and receiver radii of curvature. If the emitter is astigmatic (with two principal radii of curvature), the diffraction phenomenon involves two one-dimensional fractional Fourier transforms whose orders are different. This degree of freedom allows us to design microlenses that can focus astigmatic Gaussian beams, as produced by a line-shaped laser diode source.

  15. About microlensing optical depth and rates for free-floating planets towards the Kepler's field of view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hafizi, M; Hamolli, L

    2012-01-01

    In this work we examine the possibility of observing microlensing events in the Kepler space observatory field of view, caused by brown dwarfs or free-floating planets. We calculate the optical depth towards the field of view of the Kepler satellite and the rate of these events based on latest results about mass distribution of astrophysical objects from brown dwarf down to Earth mass order. With the current data, the probability of such events is insignificant, due to the small number of stars observed by this instrument compared to other experiments devoted to the microlensing method. Nevertheless, this probability may increase significantly in the case of a higher presence of free-floating planets, whose number is poorly defined so far.

  16. The First Simultaneous Microlensing Observations by Two Space Telescopes: Spitzer and Swift Reveal a Brown Dwarf in Event OGLE-2015-BLG-1319

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shvartzvald, Y.; Li, Z.; Udalski, A.; Gould, A.; Sumi, T.; Street, R. A.; Calchi Novati, S.; Hundertmark, M.; Bozza, V.; Beichman, C.; hide

    2016-01-01

    Simultaneous observations of microlensing events from multiple locations allow for the breaking of degeneracies between the physical properties of the lensing system, specifically by exploring different regions of the lens plane and by directly measuring the "microlens parallax". We report the discovery of a 30-65M J brown dwarf orbiting a K dwarf in the microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-1319. The system is located at a distance of approximately 5 kpc toward the Galactic Bulge. The event was observed by several ground-based groups as well as by Spitzer and Swift, allowing a measurement of the physical properties. However, the event is still subject to an eight-fold degeneracy, in particular the well-known close-wide degeneracy, and thus the projected separation between the two lens components is either approximately 0.25 au or approximately 45 au. This is the first microlensing event observed by Swift, with the UVOT camera. We study the region of microlensing parameter space to which Swift is sensitive, finding that though Swift could not measure the microlens parallax with respect to ground-based observations for this event, it can be important for other events. Specifically, it is important for detecting nearby brown dwarfs and free-floating planets in high magnification events.

  17. Optical-Gravitation Nonlinearity: A Change of Gravitational Coefficient G induced by Gravitation Field

    OpenAIRE

    R. Vlokh; M. Kostyrko

    2006-01-01

    Nonlinear effect of the gravitation field of spherically symmetric mass on the gravitational coefficient G has been analysed. In frame of the approaches of parametric optics and gravitation nonlinearity we have shown that the gravitation field of spherically symmetric mass can lead to changes in the gravitational coefficient G.

  18. The mass function of primordial rogue planet MACHOs in quasar nano-lensing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schild, R.E; Nieuwenhuizen, T.M.; Gibson, C.H.

    2012-01-01

    The recent Sumi et al (2010 Astrophys. J. 710 1641; 2011 Nature 473 349) detection of free roaming planet mass MACHOs in cosmologically significant numbers recalls their original detection in quasar microlening studies (Colley and Schild 2003 Astrophys. J. 594 97; Schild R E 1996 Astrophys. J. 464

  19. Predicting the 4th caustic crossing in Gaia16aye binary microlensing event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mroz, P.; Wyrzykowski, L.; Rybicki, K.; Altavilla, G.; Bakis, V.; Bendjoya, P.; Birenbaum, G.; Blagorodnova, N.; Blanco-Cuaresma, S.; Bonanos, A.; Bozza, V.; Britavskiy, N.; Burgaz, U.; Butterley, T.; Capuozzo, P.; Carrasco, J. M.; Chruslinska, M.; Damljanovic, G.; Dennefeld, M.; Dhillon, V. S.; Dominik, M.; Esenoglu, H.; Fossey, S.; Gomboc, A.; Hallokoun, N.; Hamanowicz, A.; Hardy, L. K.; Hudec, R.; Khamitov, I.; Klencki, J.; Kolaczkowski, Z.; Kolb, U.; Leonini, S.; Leto, G.; Lewis, F.; Liakos, A.; Littlefair, S. P.; Maoz, D.; Maund, J. R.; Mikolajczyk, P.; Palaversa, L.; Pawlak, M.; Penny, M.; Piascik, A.; Reig, P.; Rhodes, L.; Russell, D.; Sanchez, R. Z.; Shappee, B.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Sitek, M.; Sniegowska, M.; Sokolovsky, K.; Steele, I.; Street, R.; Tomasella, L.; Trascinelli, L.; Wiersema, K.; Wilson, R. W.; Zharkov, I.; Zola, S.; Zubareva, A.

    2016-11-01

    Gaia16aye, nicknamed Ayers Rock (19:40:01.13 +30:07:53.4, J2000) is a spectacular binary microlensing event in the Northern Galactic Plane. The event has been observed by Gaia, ASAS-SN survey and a network of follow-up telescopes, coordinated by the Time Domain WP of the EC's OPTICON grant.

  20. Searching for habitable exoplanets by using combined microlensing and radial velocity facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joergensen, Uffe Graae

    2008-01-01

    The habitable planetary regime, where life as we know it from the Earth in principle can exist, has long been among the technically most difficult to search for the existence of exoplanets. It spans the inner and outer orbital range, where liquid water in principle can exist on a planetary surface (the habitable zone), and the planetary mass range from the lowest mass where an atmosphere is bound over biological timescales to the upper mass limit where a nebula gas-collapse transforms a solid planet into a gas planet. With a prober equipment, microlensing is sensitive to this regime for most stellar types, including solar-type stars, while the radial velocity technique complements the detection regime by being sensitive to such planets around the lowest mass stars. By combining microlensing with radial velocity measurements, it is possible to cover the complete habitable region from the ground. I outline here the theory that in principle will make it possible to perform an efficient survey throughout the habitable regime of the most common types of stars in our galaxy over the next few years, and describe how it can be done in practise for a relatively low cost

  1. The MACHO Project Sample of Galactic Bulge High-Amplitude Scuti Stars: Pulsation Behavior and Stellar Properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, D.P.; Cook, K.H.; Freeman, K.C.; Geha, M.; Griest, K.; Lehner, M.J.; Marshall, S.L.; McNamara, B.J.; Minniti, D.; Nelson, C.; Peterson, B.A.; Popowski, P.; Pratt, M.R.; Quinn, P.J.; Rodgers, A.W.; Sutherland, W.; Templeton, M.R.; Vandehei, T.; Welch, D.L.

    1999-01-01

    We have detected 90 objects with periods and lightcurve structure similar to those of field(delta) Scuti stars, using the Massive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) Project database of Galactic bulge photometry. If we assume similar extinction values for all candidates and absolute magnitudes similar to those of other field high-amplitude(delta) Scuti stars (HADS), the majority of these objects lie in or near the Galactic bulge. At least two of these objects are likely foreground(delta) Scuti stars, one of which may be an evolved nonradial pulsator, similar to other evolved, disk-population(delta) Scuti stars. We have analyzed the light curves of these objects and find that they are similar to the light curves of field(delta) Scuti stars and the(delta) Scuti stars found by the Optical Gravitational Lens Experiment (OGLE). However, the amplitude distribution of these sources lies between those of low- and high-amplitude(delta) Scuti stars, which suggests that they may be an intermediate population. We have found nine double-mode HADS with frequency ratios ranging from 0.75 to 0.79, four probable double- and multiple-mode objects, and another four objects with marginal detections of secondary modes. The low frequencies (5-14 cycles d(sup -1)) and the observed period ratios of(approx)0.77 suggest that the majority of these objects are evolved stars pulsating in fundamental or first overtone radial modes

  2. Genotipagem de polimorfismos associados com sistemas de macho-esterilidade em acessos de cebola adaptados ao Brasil.

    OpenAIRE

    RAGASSI, C. F.; SANTOS, M. do D. M dos; FONSECA, M. E. de N.; OLIVEIRA, V. R.; BUZAR, A. G. R.; COSTA, C. P. da; BOITEUX, L. S.

    2017-01-01

    A produção em escala comercial de sementes híbridas de cebola (Allium cepa) tem sido conduzida com o emprego de dois sistemas de macho-esterilidade do tipo genética-citoplasmática (CMS-S e CMS-T) em associação ao citoplasma normal (macho-fértil). No entanto, a análise molecular desses diferentes tipos citoplasmáticos ainda não está disponível para um grande número de acessos de cebola adaptados para cultivo em regiões tropicais. Além de adaptação às condições edafoclimáticas do Brasil, muitos...

  3. Chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge as traced by microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. Detailed abundance analysis of OGLE-2008-BLG-209S

    OpenAIRE

    Bensby, T.; Johnson, J. A.; Cohen, J.; Feltzing, S.; Udalski, A.; Gould, A.; Huang, W.; Thompson, I.; Simmerer, J.; Adén, D.

    2009-01-01

    AIMS. Our aims are twofold. First we aim to evaluate the robustness and accuracy of stellar parameters and detailed elemental abundances that can be derived from high-resolution spectroscopic observations of microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. We then aim to use microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars to investigate the abundance structure and chemical evolution of the Milky Way Bulge. [ABRIDGED] METHODS. We present a detailed elemental abundance analysis of OGLE-2008-BLG-209S, the source star...

  4. NÃveis de isoleucina digestÃvel para suÃnos machos castrados dos 15 aos 30 kg

    OpenAIRE

    Doglas Batista Lazzeri

    2011-01-01

    Com o objetivo de determinar a exigÃncia de isoleucina digestÃvel para suÃnos machos castrados dos 15 aos 30 kg de peso vivo, foram realizados dois experimentos, um de digestibilidade e outro de desempenho. Para determinar o coeficiente de digestibilidade ileal dos aminoÃcidos da raÃÃo basal, foram utilizados 10 suÃnos, machos castrados, mestiÃos, com peso mÃdio inicial de 15,00Â0,27 kg, alojados individualmente em gaiolas de metabolismo, em um delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, com dois tra...

  5. Augmenting WFIRST Microlensing with a Ground-Based Telescope Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Wei; Gould, Andrew

    2016-06-01

    Augmenting the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) microlensing campaigns with intensive observations from a ground-based network of wide-field survey telescopes would have several major advantages. First, it would enable full two-dimensional (2-D) vector microlens parallax measurements for a substantial fraction of low-mass lenses as well as planetary and binary events that show caustic crossing features. For a significant fraction of the free-floating planet (FFP) events and all caustic-crossing planetary/binary events, these 2-D parallax measurements directly lead to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) of the lens object (or lens system). For even more events, the complementary ground-based observations will yield 1-D parallax measurements. Together with the 1-D parallaxes from WFIRST alone, they can probe the entire mass range M > M_Earth. For luminous lenses, such 1-D parallax measurements can be promoted to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) by high-resolution imaging. This would provide crucial information not only about the hosts of planets and other lenses, but also enable a much more precise Galactic model. Other benefits of such a survey include improved understanding of binaries (particularly with low mass primaries), and sensitivity to distant ice-giant and gas-giant companions of WFIRST lenses that cannot be detected by WFIRST itself due to its restricted observing windows. Existing ground-based microlensing surveys can be employed if WFIRST is pointed at lower-extinction fields than is currently envisaged. This would come at some cost to the event rate. Therefore the benefits of improved characterization of lenses must be weighed against these costs.

  6. U.S. Joint Special Operations Forces: Two Few, Overworked, Young, Homogenous & Macho to Fulfill the Unconventional Demands of the Long War?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-05-28

    OVERWORKED , YOUNG, HOMOGENOUS, & MACHO TO FULFILL THE UNCONVENTIONAL DEMANDS OF THE LONG WAR? SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR...U.S. Joint Special Operations Forces: Two Few, Overworked , Young, Homogenous & Macho to Fulfill the Unconventional Demands of the Long War? 5a...to be the targets of nearly daily mortar, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and occasional suicide vehicle-borne IED (SVBIED) attacks. It

  7. Gravitational Waves from Gravitational Collapse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris L. Fryer

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Gravitational-wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for nearly four decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars.

  8. Gravitational waves from gravitational collapse

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fryer, Christopher L [Los Alamos National Laboratory; New, Kimberly C [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2008-01-01

    Gravitational wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for nearly four decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars.

  9. OGLE‐2008‐BLG‐510: first automated real‐time detection of a weak microlensing anomaly – brown dwarf or stellar binary?★

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bozza, V.; Dominik, M.; Rattenbury, N. J.

    2012-01-01

    , efficient and sensitive, (2) rather common weak features intrinsically come with ambiguities that are not easily resolved from photometric light curves, (3) a modelling approach that finds all features of parameter space rather than just the ‘favourite model’ is required and (4) the data quality is most......The microlensing event OGLE‐2008‐BLG‐510 is characterized by an evident asymmetric shape of the peak, promptly detected by the Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search (ARTEMiS) system in real time. The skewness of the light curve appears to be compatible both with binary...

  10. Problems with the sources of the observed gravitational waves and their resolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolgov A.D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent direct registration of gravitational waves by LIGO and astronomical observations of the universe at redshifts 5-10 demonstrate that the standard astrophysics and cosmology are in tension with the data. The origin of the source of the GW150914 event, which presumably is a binary of coalescing black holes with masses about 30 solar masses, each with zero spin, as well as the densely populated universe at z= 5-10 by superheavy black holes, blight galaxies, supernovae, and dust does not fit the standard astrophysical picture. It is shown here that the model of primordial black hole (PBH formation, suggested in 1993, nicely explains all these and more puzzles, including those in contemporary universe, such as MACHOs and the mass spectrum of the observed solar mass black holes.. The mass spectrum and density of PBH is predicted. The scenario may possibly lead to abundant antimatter in the universe and even in the Galaxy.

  11. Quasar Microlensing at High Magnification and the Role of Dark Matter: Enhanced Fluctuations and Suppressed Saddle Points

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schechter, Paul L.; Wambsganss, Joachim

    2002-12-01

    Contrary to naive expectation, diluting the stellar component of the lensing galaxy in a highly magnified system with smoothly distributed ``dark'' matter increases rather than decreases the microlensing fluctuations caused by the remaining stars. For a bright pair of images straddling a critical curve, the saddle point (of the arrival time surface) is much more strongly affected than the associated minimum. With a mass ratio of smooth matter to microlensing matter of 4:1, a saddle point with a macromagnification of μ=9.5 will spend half of its time more than a magnitude fainter than predicted. The anomalous flux ratio observed for the close pair of images in MG 0414+0534 is a factor of 5 more likely than computed by Witt, Mao, & Schechter, if the smooth matter fraction is as high as 93%. The magnification probability histograms for macroimages exhibit a distinctly different structure that varies with the smooth matter content, providing a handle on the smooth matter fraction. Enhanced fluctuations can manifest themselves either in the temporal variations of a light curve or as flux ratio anomalies in a single epoch snapshot of a multiply imaged system. While the millilensing simulations of Metcalf & Madau also give larger anomalies for saddle points than for minima, the effect appears to be less dramatic for extended subhalos than for point masses. Moreover, microlensing is distinguishable from millilensing because it will produce noticeable changes in the magnification on a timescale of a decade or less.

  12. Gravitational Waves from Gravitational Collapse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fryer, Chris L; New, Kimberly C B

    2011-01-01

    Gravitational-wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for nearly four decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-2011-1.

  13. Microlensing of unresolved stars as a brown dwarf detection method

    CERN Document Server

    Bouquet, Alain; Melchior, Anne-Laure; Giraud-Heraud, Yannick; Baillon, Paul

    1993-01-01

    We describe a project of brown dwarf detection in the dark halo of a galaxy using the microlensing effect. We argue that monitoring pixels instead of stars could provide an enhancement in the number of detectable events. We estimate the detection efficiency with a Monte-Carlo simulation. We expect a ten-fold increase with respect to current experiments. To assess the feasibility of this method we have determined the photometric precision of a pixel by comparing several pictures of a same field in the LMC. To be published in the Proceeding of the workshop 'The dark side of the universe...', Roma, Juin 1993,

  14. A POSSIBLE BINARY SYSTEM OF A STELLAR REMNANT IN THE HIGH-MAGNIFICATION GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2007-BLG-514

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyake, N.; Abe, F.; Furusawa, K.; Itow, Y.; Udalski, A.; Kubiak, M.; Szymański, M. K.; Pietrzyński, G.; Soszyński, I.; Ulaczyk, K.; Wyrzykowski, L.; Sumi, T.; Bennett, D. P.; Dong, S.; Gould, A.; Street, R. A.; Greenhill, J.; Bond, I. A.; Fukui, A.; Holderness, S.

    2012-01-01

    We report the extremely high-magnification (A > 1000) binary microlensing event OGLE-2007-BLG-514. We obtained good coverage around the double peak structure in the light curve via follow-up observations from different observatories. The binary lens model that includes the effects of parallax (known orbital motion of the Earth) and orbital motion of the lens yields a binary lens mass ratio of q = 0.321 ± 0.007 and a projected separation of s = 0.072 ± 0.001 in units of the Einstein radius. The parallax parameters allow us to determine the lens distance D L = 3.11 ± 0.39 kpc and total mass M L = 1.40 ± 0.18 M ☉ ; this leads to the primary and secondary components having masses of M 1 = 1.06 ± 0.13 M ☉ and M 2 = 0.34 ± 0.04 M ☉ , respectively. The parallax model indicates that the binary lens system is likely constructed by the main-sequence stars. On the other hand, we used a Bayesian analysis to estimate probability distributions by the model that includes the effects of xallarap (possible orbital motion of the source around a companion) and parallax (q = 0.270 ± 0.005, s = 0.083 ± 0.001). The primary component of the binary lens is relatively massive, with M 1 = 0.9 +4.6 –0.3 M ☉ and it is at a distance of D L = 2.6 +3.8 –0.9 kpc. Given the secure mass ratio measurement, the companion mass is therefore M 2 = 0.2 +1.2 –0.1 M ☉ . The xallarap model implies that the primary lens is likely a stellar remnant, such as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

  15. A POSSIBLE BINARY SYSTEM OF A STELLAR REMNANT IN THE HIGH-MAGNIFICATION GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2007-BLG-514

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyake, N.; Abe, F.; Furusawa, K.; Itow, Y. [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan); Udalski, A.; Kubiak, M.; Szymanski, M. K.; Pietrzynski, G.; Soszynski, I.; Ulaczyk, K.; Wyrzykowski, L. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Sumi, T. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Bennett, D. P. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Dong, S.; Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Street, R. A. [Las Cumbres Observatory, 6740B Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Greenhill, J. [School of Maths and Physics, University of Tasmania, Private bag 37, GPO Hobart, Tasmania 7001 (Australia); Bond, I. A. [Institute for Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, Auckland 1330 (New Zealand); Fukui, A. [Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan); Holderness, S., E-mail: nmiyake@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Computer Science Department, University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; muFUN Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; PLANET Collaboration; and others

    2012-06-20

    We report the extremely high-magnification (A > 1000) binary microlensing event OGLE-2007-BLG-514. We obtained good coverage around the double peak structure in the light curve via follow-up observations from different observatories. The binary lens model that includes the effects of parallax (known orbital motion of the Earth) and orbital motion of the lens yields a binary lens mass ratio of q = 0.321 {+-} 0.007 and a projected separation of s = 0.072 {+-} 0.001 in units of the Einstein radius. The parallax parameters allow us to determine the lens distance D{sub L} = 3.11 {+-} 0.39 kpc and total mass M{sub L} = 1.40 {+-} 0.18 M{sub Sun }; this leads to the primary and secondary components having masses of M{sub 1} = 1.06 {+-} 0.13 M{sub Sun} and M{sub 2} = 0.34 {+-} 0.04 M{sub Sun }, respectively. The parallax model indicates that the binary lens system is likely constructed by the main-sequence stars. On the other hand, we used a Bayesian analysis to estimate probability distributions by the model that includes the effects of xallarap (possible orbital motion of the source around a companion) and parallax (q = 0.270 {+-} 0.005, s = 0.083 {+-} 0.001). The primary component of the binary lens is relatively massive, with M{sub 1} = 0.9{sup +4.6}{sub -0.3} M{sub Sun} and it is at a distance of D{sub L} = 2.6{sup +3.8}{sub -0.9} kpc. Given the secure mass ratio measurement, the companion mass is therefore M{sub 2} = 0.2{sup +1.2}{sub -0.1} M{sub Sun }. The xallarap model implies that the primary lens is likely a stellar remnant, such as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

  16. INFLUENCE OF THE GALACTIC GRAVITATIONAL FIELD ON THE POSITIONAL ACCURACY OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larchenkova, Tatiana I.; Lutovinov, Alexander A.; Lyskova, Natalya S.

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the influence of random variations of the Galactic gravitational field on the apparent celestial positions of extragalactic sources. The basic statistical characteristics of a stochastic process (first-order moments, an autocorrelation function and a power spectral density) are used to describe a light ray deflection in a gravitational field of randomly moving point masses as a function of the source coordinates. We map a 2D distribution of the standard deviation of the angular shifts in positions of distant sources (including reference sources of the International Celestial Reference Frame) with respect to their true positions. For different Galactic matter distributions the standard deviation of the offset angle can reach several tens of μ as (microarcsecond) toward the Galactic center, decreasing down to 4–6 μ as at high galactic latitudes. The conditional standard deviation (“jitter”) of 2.5 μ as is reached within 10 years at high galactic latitudes and within a few months toward the inner part of the Galaxy. The photometric microlensing events are not expected to be disturbed by astrometric random variations anywhere except the inner part of the Galaxy as the Einstein–Chvolson times are typically much shorter than the jittering timescale. While a jitter of a single reference source can be up to dozens of μ as over some reasonable observational time, using a sample of reference sources would reduce the error in relative astrometry. The obtained results can be used for estimating the physical upper limits on the time-dependent accuracy of astrometric measurements.

  17. INFLUENCE OF THE GALACTIC GRAVITATIONAL FIELD ON THE POSITIONAL ACCURACY OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larchenkova, Tatiana I. [ASC of P.N.Lebedev Physical Institute, Leninskiy prospect 53, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Lutovinov, Alexander A.; Lyskova, Natalya S. [Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 84/32, 117997 Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2017-01-20

    We investigate the influence of random variations of the Galactic gravitational field on the apparent celestial positions of extragalactic sources. The basic statistical characteristics of a stochastic process (first-order moments, an autocorrelation function and a power spectral density) are used to describe a light ray deflection in a gravitational field of randomly moving point masses as a function of the source coordinates. We map a 2D distribution of the standard deviation of the angular shifts in positions of distant sources (including reference sources of the International Celestial Reference Frame) with respect to their true positions. For different Galactic matter distributions the standard deviation of the offset angle can reach several tens of μ as (microarcsecond) toward the Galactic center, decreasing down to 4–6 μ as at high galactic latitudes. The conditional standard deviation (“jitter”) of 2.5 μ as is reached within 10 years at high galactic latitudes and within a few months toward the inner part of the Galaxy. The photometric microlensing events are not expected to be disturbed by astrometric random variations anywhere except the inner part of the Galaxy as the Einstein–Chvolson times are typically much shorter than the jittering timescale. While a jitter of a single reference source can be up to dozens of μ as over some reasonable observational time, using a sample of reference sources would reduce the error in relative astrometry. The obtained results can be used for estimating the physical upper limits on the time-dependent accuracy of astrometric measurements.

  18. AGAPE a search for dark matter towards M31 by microlensing effects on unresolved stars

    CERN Document Server

    Ansari, R; Baillon, Paul; Bouquet, A; Coupinot, G; Coutures, C; Ghesquière, C; Gondolo, P; Hecquet, J; Kaplan, J; Le Du, Y; Melchior, A L; Moniez, M; Picat, J P; Soucail, G

    1996-01-01

    M31 is a very tempting target for a microlensing search of compact objects in galactic haloes. It is the nearest large galaxy, it probably has its own dark halo, and its tilted position with respect to the line of sight provides an unmistakable signature of microlensing. However most stars of M31 are not resolved and one has to use the ``pixel method'': monitor the pixels of the image rather than the stars. AGAPE is the implementation of this idea. Data have been collected and treated during two autumns of observation at the 2 metre telescope of Pic du Midi. The process of geometric and photometric alignment, which must be performed before constructing pixel light curves, is described. Seeing variations are minimised by working with large super-pixels (2.1 ") compared with the average seeing. A high level of stability of pixel fluxes, crucial to the approach, is reached. Fluctuations of super-pixels do not exceed 1.7 times the photon noise which is 0.1\\% of the intensity for the brightest ones. With such stab...

  19. Machos y brujas en la Patagonia”. Trabajo, masculinidad y espacio de la reproducción

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hernán M. Palermo

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The title "Machos and Witches in Patagonia" illustrates the core debate of this article and attempts to problematize the processes emphasized by social class and gender relations. "Machos" refers to the social construction of the oil worker as imposed by the production system. Meanwhile, "witches” refers to the witch-hunts of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the practice in which women were confined to the domestic sphere and their reproductive role of the workforce. Therefore, we want to analyze the link between the production process of the oil workforce inside the production system and outside of their work experiences in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentinian Patagonia. Given that masculinity and femininity are relational gender positions, we will discuss the role of men and women in the organization of work, as a whole.

  20. Fabrication of high performance microlenses for an integrated capillary channel electrochromatograph with fluorescence detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendt, J. R.; Warren, M. E.; Sweatt, W. C.; Bailey, C. G.; Matzke, C. M.; Arnold, D. W.; Allerman, A. A.; Carter, T. R.; Asbill, R. E.; Samora, S.

    1999-01-01

    We describe the microfabrication of an extremely compact optical system as a key element in an integrated capillary channel electrochromatograph with fluorescence detection. The optical system consists of a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), two high performance microlenses, and a commercial photodetector. The microlenses are multilevel diffractive optics patterned by electron beam lithography and etched by reactive ion etching in fused silica. The design uses substrate-mode propagation within the fused silica substrate. Two generations of optical subsystems are described. The first generation design has a 6 mm optical length and is integrated directly onto the capillary channel-containing substrate. The second generation design separates the optical system onto its own substrate module and the optical path length is further compressed to 3.5 mm. The first generation design has been tested using direct fluorescence detection with a 750 nm VCSEL pumping a 10 -4 M solution of CY-7 dye. The observed signal-to-noise ratio of better than 100:1 demonstrates that the background signal from scattered pump light is low despite the compact size of the optical system and is adequate for system sensitivity requirements. (c) 1999 American Vacuum Society

  1. Variación en loci isoenzimáticos entre machos y hembras de Lutzomyia shannoni (Dyar (Diptera: Psychodidae de Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Estrella Cárdenas

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Se analizaron por sexo poblaciones silvestres de Lutzomyia shannoni de tres localidades distantes entre si: Palambi (Nariño, Cimitarra (Santander y Chinácota (Norte de Santander, con el fin de establecer la variación en 11 isoenzimas. Estas muestras se compararon con ejemplares de una colonia mantenida en el Laboratorio de Entomologia del INS desde 1992. Se utilizó el sistema de electroforesis vertical en geles de poliacrilarnida al 6%. Se encontró una heterocigosidad promedio entre 18.5 y 24,7% en las hembras silvestres y entre 13,5 y 19.4% entre los machos silvestres. La heterocigosidad promedio en las hembras de la colonia fue de 14,8% mientras que en los machos fue de 20.1%. Se detectaron entre 2,0 y 2,5 alelos por locus. La distancia genética de Nei entre las poblaciones fue baja y osciló entre 0,005 y 0,073. En la muestra de la colonia de 79 individuos. el locus Gpifue homocigoto en todas las hembras y heterocigoto en todos los machos. Aunque esta observación es probablemente una consecuencia de la colonización, indica que el locus Gpi está fuertemente unido a los cromosomas que determinan el sexo, con el alelo Gpi0,62 unido al locus que determina hembras y el alelo Gpi0,72 asociado con el locus que determina machos.

  2. The MACHO Project Sample of Galactic Bulge High-Amplitude {delta} Scuti Stars: Pulsation Behavior and Stellar Properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M.; Griest, K. (and others)

    2000-06-20

    We have detected 90 objects with periods and light-curve structures similar to those of field {delta} Scuti stars using the Massive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) Project database of Galactic bulge photometry. If we assume similar extinction values for all candidates and absolute magnitudes similar to those of other field high-amplitude {delta} Scuti stars (HADS), the majority of these objects lie in or near the Galactic bulge. At least two of these objects are likely foreground {delta} Scuti stars, one of which may be an evolved nonradial pulsator, similar to other evolved, disk-population {delta} Scuti stars. We have analyzed the light curves of these objects and find that they are similar to the light curves of field {delta} Scuti stars and the {delta} Scuti stars found by the Optical Gravitational Lens Experiment (OGLE). However, the amplitude distribution of these sources lies between those of low- and high-amplitude {delta} Scuti stars, which suggests that they may be an intermediate population. We have found nine double-mode HADS with frequency ratios ranging from 0.75 to 0.79, four probable double- and multiple-mode objects, and another four objects with marginal detections of secondary modes. The low frequencies (5-14 cycles day-1) and the observed period ratios of {approx}0.77 suggest that the majority of these objects are evolved stars pulsating in fundamental or first overtone radial modes. (c) 2000 The American Astronomical Society.

  3. MiNDSTEp differential photometry of the gravitationally lensed quasars WFI2033-4723 and HE0047-1756: Microlensing and a new time delay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Giannini, E.; Schmidt, R. W.; Wambsganss, J.

    2017-01-01

    Aims. We present V and R photometry of the gravitationally lensed quasars WFI 2033-4723 and HE 0047-1756. The data were taken by the MiNDSTEp collaboration with the 1.54 m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory from 2008 to 2012.Methods. Differential photometry has been carried out using...

  4. No large population of unbound or wide-orbit Jupiter-mass planets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mróz, Przemek; Udalski, Andrzej; Skowron, Jan; Poleski, Radosław; Kozłowski, Szymon; Szymański, Michał K; Soszyński, Igor; Wyrzykowski, Łukasz; Pietrukowicz, Paweł; Ulaczyk, Krzysztof; Skowron, Dorota; Pawlak, Michał

    2017-08-10

    Planet formation theories predict that some planets may be ejected from their parent systems as result of dynamical interactions and other processes. Unbound planets can also be formed through gravitational collapse, in a way similar to that in which stars form. A handful of free-floating planetary-mass objects have been discovered by infrared surveys of young stellar clusters and star-forming regions as well as wide-field surveys, but these studies are incomplete for objects below five Jupiter masses. Gravitational microlensing is the only method capable of exploring the entire population of free-floating planets down to Mars-mass objects, because the microlensing signal does not depend on the brightness of the lensing object. A characteristic timescale of microlensing events depends on the mass of the lens: the less massive the lens, the shorter the microlensing event. A previous analysis of 474 microlensing events found an excess of ten very short events (1-2 days)-more than known stellar populations would suggest-indicating the existence of a large population of unbound or wide-orbit Jupiter-mass planets (reported to be almost twice as common as main-sequence stars). These results, however, do not match predictions of planet-formation theories and surveys of young clusters. Here we analyse a sample of microlensing events six times larger than that of ref. 11 discovered during the years 2010-15. Although our survey has very high sensitivity (detection efficiency) to short-timescale (1-2 days) microlensing events, we found no excess of events with timescales in this range, with a 95 per cent upper limit on the frequency of Jupiter-mass free-floating or wide-orbit planets of 0.25 planets per main-sequence star. We detected a few possible ultrashort-timescale events (with timescales of less than half a day), which may indicate the existence of Earth-mass and super-Earth-mass free-floating planets, as predicted by planet-formation theories.

  5. Gravitational Waves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, Jonah Maxwell [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-10-18

    This report has slides on Gravitational Waves; Pound and Rebka: A Shocking Fact; Light is a Ruler; Gravity is the Curvature of Spacetime; Gravitational Waves Made Simple; How a Gravitational Wave Affects Stuff Here; LIGO; This Detection: Neutron Stars; What the Gravitational Wave Looks Like; The Sound of Merging Neutron Stars; Neutron Star Mergers: More than GWs; The Radioactive Cloud; The Kilonova; and finally Summary, Multimessenger Astronomy.

  6. Propuesta de ecuaciones para predecir la composición corporal de ratas machos wistar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Antonio Cossio-Bolaños

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Introducción: La evaluación de la composición corporal es importante, porque permite conocer el fraccionamiento del peso corporal en peso muscular, peso graso, peso residual y peso óseo, tanto en humanos, como en animales. Objetivos: Validar ecuaciones somáticas para predecir la composición corporal de un modelo tri-compartimental (peso graso, peso libre de grasa y peso residual de ratas machos wistar. Diseño: Estudio de tipo descriptivo de corte transversal. Institución: Facultad de Biología de la universidad estatal UNICAMP, Sao Paulo, Brasil. Material biológico: Ratas machos wistar. Métodos: Se estudió a 10 ratas machos wistar, con un promedio de edad de (X=98,00±10,40 días, se les evaluó el peso corporal (g. Enseguida fueron sacrificados y se procedió al fraccionamiento del peso graso (piel, peso libre de grasa (músculo y hueso y peso residual (PR (g. Los resultados fueron analizados por estadística descriptiva de media aritmética (X, desviación estándar (DE y correlación producto momento de Pearson (r. Para predecir los componentes, se aplicó regresiones estadísticas simples y múltiples, a partir del peso corporal (g y la edad (días como variables independientes. Por otro lado, para verificar la concordancia entre el método directo de disección in vitro con las ecuaciones de regresión, se utilizó el plotaje de Bland y Altman. Principales medidas de resultados: Validación de ecuaciones somáticas para predecir la composición corporal de ratas. Resultados: Se verificó altos coeficientes de correlación (r con el peso corporal y edad, los cuales dieron origen a ecuaciones que permitieron predecir el peso graso (PG = -31,6+(0,361*PT-(0,345*edad (R2=0,73 y peso libre de grasa (PLG = 19,9+(0,453*PT + (0,114*edad (R2=0,94. Sin embargo, el peso residual (PR fue obtenido por medio de una deducción matemática (PR=peso total-(PLG+PG. Así mismo, el plotaje de Bland y Altman permitió determinar alta concordancia

  7. On gravitational wave energy in Einstein gravitational theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Folomeshkin, V.N.; Vlasov, A.A.

    1978-01-01

    By the example of precise wave solutions for the Einstein equations it is shown that a standard commonly adopted formulation of energy-momentum problem with pseudotensors provides us either with a zero or sign-variable values for the energy of gravitational waves. It is shown that if in the Einstein gravitational theory a strict transition to the limits of weak fields is realised then the theory gives us an unambiguous zero result for weak gravitational waves. The well-known non-zero result arises due to incorrect transition to weak field approximation in the Einstein gravitation theory

  8. Relativistic gravitation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.

    1984-01-01

    On the basis of the special relativity and geometrization principle a relativistic gravitation theory (RGT) is unambiguously constructed with the help of a notion of a gravitational field as a physical field in Faraday-Maxwell spirit, which posesses energy momentum and spins 2 and 0. The source of gravitation field is a total conserved energy-momentum tensor for matter and for gravitation field in Minkowski space. In the RGT conservation laws for the energy momentum and angular momentum of matter and gravitational field hold rigorously. The theory explains the whole set of gravitation experiments. Here, due to the geometrization principle the Riemannian space is of a field origin since this space arises effectively as a result of the gravitation field origin since this space arises effectively as a result of the gravitation field action on the matter. The RGT astonishing prediction is that the Universe is not closed but ''flat''. It means that in the Universe there should exist a ''missing'' mass in some form of matter

  9. Search for macroscopic dark matter in the halo of the milky way through microlensing. A feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moniez, M.

    1990-05-01

    The possibility of searching for non-visible massive compact objects in the galactic halo is discussed here. The discovery of such objects would solve the problem of the missing mass in the galaxies, and the experiments which investigate for weakly interacting particles assuming a diffuse cloud of dark matter would have to revise their limits. The non-discovery of these objects would exclude the last possibility left for baryonic dark matter, providing good evidence that the galactic halo has to be made of new particles. The description of the general-relativistic microlensing effect and its application to the search of massive compact objects are given here. A feasibility study shows that it is possible to monitor the luminosity of several million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud with the required precision, in order to detect a possible microlensing phenomenon induced by heavy compact objects (10 -4 - 10 -1 solar mass units). A CCD-based experimental setup is described, which would make it possible to search for compact objects in the 10 -6 - 10 -4 solar mass unit domain

  10. Activity budget patterns in family-group and solitary territorial male guanacos Patrones de presupuesto de actividad de guanacos machos territoriales en grupos familiares y solitarios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JULIE K. YOUNG

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available We observed behavioral patterns of territorial male guanacos (Lama guanicoe in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Both solo territorial males and family-group territorial males were observed to compare the activity time budgets of males (n = 23 in different social groups and habitats. We found no difference in the activity time budgets of males based on social group type, total number of females or all guanacos present, or age of territorial males. Males, in all categories, spent most of their time foraging (65 % of overall time budget. There was a significant difference in time spent in aggressive and in miscellaneous (defecation, alertness to observer, scratching activities based on habitat type; most aggressive encounters and miscellaneous activity occurred on hilltops of areas dominated by mata barrosa shrubs (Mulinum spinosum. It is likely that territorial male guanaco behaviors are related to the resources defended rather than to any direct ability to attract potential mates.Observamos patrones de comportamiento de guanacos machos territoriales (Lama guanicoe en el Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile. Comparamos el presupuesto de actividad de machos solos y en grupos familiares (n = 23 en diferentes hábitat. No encontramos diferencias en los presupuestos de actividad de machos basados en el tipo de grupo social, número total de hembras o número total de guanacos presentes, o la edad de los machos territoriales. Guanacos macho en todas las categorías asignaron alrededor de 65 % de su actividad a forrajeo. Por otra parte, detectamos una influencia del tipo de hábitat sobre el tiempo asignado a interacciones agresivas y misceláneas (defecación, vigilancia al observador, rasguñando; las interacciones agresivas y conductas misceláneas fueron más frecuentes en cimas de colinas de áreas dominadas por el arbusto mata barrosa (Mulinum spinosum. Es probable que el comportamiento de los machos territoriales del guanaco est

  11. MICROLENSING BINARIES DISCOVERED THROUGH HIGH-MAGNIFICATION CHANNEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, I.-G.; Choi, J.-Y.; Park, S.-Y.; Han, C. [Department of Physics, Institute for Astrophysics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Sumi, T. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Udalski, A. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Beaulieu, J.-P. [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS-Universite Pierre and Marie Curie, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Dominik, M. [School of Physics and Astronomy, SUPA, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Allen, W. [Vintage Lane Observatory, Blenheim (New Zealand); Bos, M. [Molehill Astronomical Observatory, North Shore (New Zealand); Christie, G. W. [Auckland Observatory, P.O. Box 24-180, Auckland (New Zealand); Depoy, D. L. [Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX (United States); Dong, S. [Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Drummond, J. [Possum Observatory, Patutahi (New Zealand); Gal-Yam, A. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, the Weizmann Institute (Israel); Hung, L.-W. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Janczak, J. [Department of Physics, Ohio State University, 191 W. Woodruff, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Kaspi, S. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Collaboration: muFUN Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; OGLE Collaboration; PLANET Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; MiNDSTEp Consortium; and others

    2012-02-20

    Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturbations, which are confined near the peak of the light curves, can be easily distinguished from the central perturbations caused by planets. However, the degeneracy between close and wide binary solutions cannot be resolved with a 3{sigma} confidence level for three events, implying that the degeneracy would be an important obstacle in studying binary distributions. The dependence of the degeneracy on the lensing parameters is consistent with a theoretical prediction that the degeneracy becomes severe as the binary separation and the mass ratio deviate from the values of resonant caustics. The measured mass ratio of the event OGLE-2008-BLG-510/MOA-2008-BLG-369 is q {approx} 0.1, making the companion of the lens a strong brown dwarf candidate.

  12. Campaign 9 of the K2 Mission: Observational Parameters, Scientific Drivers, and Community Involvement for a Simultaneous Space- and Ground-based Microlensing Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Calen B.; Poleski, Radoslaw; Penny, Matthew; Street, Rachel A.; Bennett, David P.; Hogg, David W.; Gaudi, B. Scott; Zhu, W.; Barclay, T.; Barentsen, G.; hide

    2016-01-01

    K2's Campaign 9 (K2C9) will conduct a approximately 3.7 sq. deg survey toward the Galactic bulge from 2016 April 22 through July 2 that will leverage the spatial separation between K2 and the Earth to facilitate measurement of the microlens parallax Pi(sub E) for approximately greater than 170 microlensing events. These will include several that are planetary in nature as well as many short-timescale microlensing events, which are potentially indicative of free-floating planets (FFPs). These satellite parallax measurements will in turn allow for the direct measurement of the masses of and distances to the lensing systems. In this article we provide an overview of the K2C9 space- and ground-based microlensing survey. Specifically, we detail the demographic questions that can be addressed by this program, including the frequency of FFPs and the Galactic distribution of exoplanets, the observational parameters of K2C9, and the array of resources dedicated to concurrent observations. Finally, we outline the avenues through which the larger community can become involved, and generally encourage participation in K2C9, which constitutes an important pathfinding mission and community exercise in anticipation of WFIRST.

  13. Gravitational effects in field gravitation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.; Vlasov, A.A.

    1979-01-01

    The possibilities to describe various gravitation effects of field gravitation theory (FGT) are considered. Past-Newtonian approximation of the FGT has been constructed and on the basis of this approximation it has been shown that the field theory allows one to describe the whole set of experimental facts. The comparison of post-Newtonian parameters in FGT with those in the Einstein's theory makes it clear that these two; theories are undistinguishable from the viewpoint of any experiments, realized with post-Newtonian accuracy. Gravitational field of an island type source with spherically symmetrical distribution of matter and unstationary homogeneous model of Universe, which allows to describe the effect of cosmological red shift, are considered

  14. Fluorescent sensing with Fresnel microlenses for optofluidic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siudzińska, Anna; Miszczuk, Andrzej; Marczak, Jacek; Komorowska, Katarzyna

    2017-05-01

    The concept of fluorescent sensing in a microchannel equipped with focusing light Fresnel lenses has been demonstrated. The concept employs a line or array of Fresnel lenses generating a line or array of focused light spots within a microfluidic channel, to increase the sensitivity of fluorescent signal detection in the system. We have presented efficient methods of master mold fabrication based on the lithography method and focused ion beam milling. The flexible microchannel was fabricated by an imprint process with new thiolene-epoxy resin with a good ability to replicate even submicron-size features. For final imprinted lenses, the measured background to peak signal level shows more than nine times the increase in brightness at the center of the focal spot for the green part of the spectrum (532 nm). The effectiveness of the microlenses in fluorescent-marked Escherichia coli bacteria was confirmed in a basic fluoroscope experiment, showing the increase of the sensitivity of the detection by the order of magnitude.

  15. Speeding up low-mass planetary microlensing simulations and modeling: The caustic region of influence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penny, Matthew T.

    2014-01-01

    Extensive simulations of planetary microlensing are necessary both before and after a survey is conducted: before to design and optimize the survey and after to understand its detection efficiency. The major bottleneck in such computations is the computation of light curves. However, for low-mass planets, most of these computations are wasteful, as most light curves do not contain detectable planetary signatures. In this paper, I develop a parameterization of the binary microlens that is conducive to avoiding light curve computations. I empirically find analytic expressions describing the limits of the parameter space that contain the vast majority of low-mass planet detections. Through a large-scale simulation, I measure the (in)completeness of the parameterization and the speed-up it is possible to achieve. For Earth-mass planets in a wide range of orbits, it is possible to speed up simulations by a factor of ∼30-125 (depending on the survey's annual duty-cycle) at the cost of missing ∼1% of detections (which is actually a smaller loss than for the arbitrary parameter limits typically applied in microlensing simulations). The benefits of the parameterization probably outweigh the costs for planets below 100 M ⊕ . For planets at the sensitivity limit of AFTA-WFIRST, simulation speed-ups of a factor ∼1000 or more are possible.

  16. Effect of Earth gravitational field on the detection of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Eliseev, V.A.

    1987-01-01

    Results of laboratory detection of high-frequency gravitational waves from the view point of gravitation theories formulated on the basis of pseudoeuclidean space-time are calculated. Peculiarities due to different effects of the Earth gravitational field on the rates of gravitational and electromagnetic wave propagation in these theories are analysed. Experiments on check of predictions of the given class of theories are suggested

  17. Anisotropic gravitational instability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polyachenko, V.L.; Fridman, A.M.

    1988-01-01

    Exact solutions of stability problems are obtained for two anisotropic gravitational systems of different geometries - a layer of finite thickness at rest and a rotating cylinder of finite radius. It is shown that the anisotropic gravitational instability which develops in both cases is of Jeans type. However, in contrast to the classical aperiodic Jeans instability, this instability is oscillatory. The physics of the anisotropic gravitational instability is investigated. It is shown that in a gravitating layer this instability is due, in particular, to excitation of previously unknown interchange-Jeans modes. In the cylinder, the oscillatory Jeans instability is associated with excitation of a rotational branch, this also being responsible for the beam gravitational instability. This is the reason why this instability and the anisotropic gravitational instability have so much in common

  18. The gravitational Schwinger effect and attenuation of gravitational waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDougall, Patrick Guarneri

    This paper will discuss the possible production of photons from gravitational waves. This process is shown to be possible by examining Feynman diagrams, the Schwinger Effect, and Hawking Radiation. The end goal of this project is to find the decay length of a gravitational wave and assert that this decay is due to photons being created at the expense of the gravitational wave. To do this, we first find the state function using the Klein Gordon equation, then find the current due to this state function. We then take the current to be directly proportional to the production rate per volume. This is then used to find the decay length that this kind of production would produce, gives a prediction of how this effect will change the distance an event creating a gravitational wave will be located, and shows that this effect is small but can be significant near the source of a gravitational wave.

  19. Effect of the Earth's gravitational field on the detection of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Eliseev, V.A.

    1988-01-01

    We consider the laboratory detection of high-frequency gravitational waves in theories of gravitation based on a pseudo-Euclidean space-time. We analyze the effects due to the Earth's gravitational field on the propagation velocities of gravitational and electromagnetic waves in these theories. Experiments to test the predictions of this class of theories are discussed

  20. Studying the microlenses mass function from statistical analysis of the caustic concentration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mediavilla, T; Ariza, O [Departamento de Estadistica e Investigacion Operativa, Universidad de Cadiz, Avda de Ramon Puyol, s/n 11202 Algeciras (Spain); Mediavilla, E [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Avda Via Lactea s/n, La Laguna (Spain); Munoz, J A, E-mail: teresa.mediavilla@ca.uca.es, E-mail: octavio.ariza@uca.es, E-mail: emg@iac.es [Departamento de Astrofisica y Astronomia, Universidad de Valencia, Burjassot, Valencia (Spain)

    2011-09-22

    The statistical distribution of caustic crossings by the images of a lensed quasar depends on the properties of the distribution of microlenses in the lens galaxy. We use a procedure based in Inverse Polygon Mapping to easily identify the critical and caustic curves generated by a distribution of stars in the lens galaxy. We analyze the statistical distributions of the number of caustic crossings by a pixel size source for several projected mass densities and different mass distributions. We compare the results of simulations with theoretical binomial distributions. Finally we apply this method to the study of the stellar mass distribution in the lens galaxy of QSO 2237+0305.

  1. Gravitation Waves

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2005-01-01

    We will present a brief introduction to the physics of gravitational waves and their properties. We will review potential astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, and the physics and astrophysics that can be learned from their study. We will survey the techniques and technologies for detecting gravitational waves for the first time, including bar detectors and broadband interferometers, and give a brief status report on the international search effort, with special emphasis on the LIGO detectors and search results.

  2. Einstein-Rosen gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Astefanoaei, Iordana; Maftei, Gh.

    2001-01-01

    In this paper we analyse the behaviour of the gravitational waves in the approximation of the far matter fields, considering the indirect interaction between the matter sources and the gravitational field, in a cosmological model based on the Einstein-Rosen solution, Because the properties of the gravitational waves obtained as the solutions of Einstein fields equations (the gravitational field equations) are most obvious in the weak gravitational fields we consider here, the gravitational field in the linear approximation. Using the Newman-Penrose formalism, we calculate in the null-tetradic base (e a ), the spin coefficients, the directional derivates and the tetradic components of Ricci and Weyl tensors. From the Einstein field equations we obtained the solution for b(z, t) what described the behaviour of gravitational wave in Einstein-Rosen Universe and in the particular case, when t → ∞, p(z, t) leads us to the primordial gravitational waves in the Einstein-Rosen Universe. (authors)

  3. Gravitational waves from inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzzetti, M.C.; Bartolo, N.; Liguori, M.; Matarrese, S.

    2016-01-01

    The production of a stochastic background of gravitational waves is a fundamental prediction of any cosmological inflationary model. The features of such a signal encode unique information about the physics of the Early Universe and beyond, thus representing an exciting, powerful window on the origin and evolution of the Universe. We review the main mechanisms of gravitational-wave production, ranging from quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field to other mechanisms that can take place during or after inflation. These include e.g. gravitational waves generated as a consequence of extra particle production during inflation, or during the (p)reheating phase. Gravitational waves produced in inflation scenarios based on modified gravity theories and second-order gravitational waves are also considered. For each analyzed case, the expected power spectrum is given. We discuss the discriminating power among different models, associated with the validity/violation of the standard consistency relation between tensor-to-scalar ratio r and tensor spectral index ηT. In light of the prospects for (directly/indirectly) detecting primordial gravitational waves, we give the expected present-day gravitational radiation spectral energy-density, highlighting the main characteristics imprinted by the cosmic thermal history, and we outline the signatures left by gravitational waves on the Cosmic Microwave Background and some imprints in the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe. Finally, current bounds and prospects of detection for inflationary gravitational waves are summarized.

  4. Gravitation and relativity

    CERN Document Server

    Hoffmann, William F

    1964-01-01

    Remarks on the observational basis of general relativity ; Riemannian geometry ; gravitation as geometry ; gravitational waves ; Mach's principle and experiments on mass anisotropy ; the many faces of Mach ; the significance for the solar system of time-varying gravitation ; relativity principles and the role of coordinates in physics ; the superdense star and the critical nucleon number ; gravitation and light ; possible effects on the solar system of φ waves if they exist ; the Lyttleton-Bondi universe and charge equality ; quantization of general relativity ; Mach's principle as boundary condition for Einstein's equations.

  5. Gravitational waves — A review on the theoretical foundations of gravitational radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirkes, Alain

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we review the theoretical foundations of gravitational waves in the framework of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Following Einstein’s early efforts, we first derive the linearized Einstein field equations and work out the corresponding gravitational wave equation. Moreover, we present the gravitational potentials in the far away wave zone field point approximation obtained from the relaxed Einstein field equations. We close this review by taking a closer look on the radiative losses of gravitating n-body systems and present some aspects of the current interferometric gravitational waves detectors. Each section has a separate appendix contribution where further computational details are displayed. To conclude, we summarize the main results and present a brief outlook in terms of current ongoing efforts to build a spaced-based gravitational wave observatory.

  6. The Hollywood Strategy for Microlensing Detection of Planets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, A.

    Follow the big stars! I review the theory of detection and parameter measurement of planetary systems by follow-up observations of ongoing microlensing events. Two parameters can generically be measured from the event itself: the planet/star mass ratio, $q$, and the planet/star separation in units of the Einstein ring. I emphasize the advantages of monitoring events with giant-star sources which are brighter (thus easier to monitor) and bigger (thus offering the prospect of measuring an additional parameter from finite-source effects: the proper motion $\\mu$). There is potentially a strong degeneracy between $q$ and $\\mu$. I present a simple analytic representation of this degeneracy. I then describe how it can be broken using accurate single-band photometry from observatories around the world, or optical/infrared photometry from a single site, or preferably both. Both types of observations are underway or will be soon. Monitoring of giant-star events seen toward the bulge is also the best way to determine the content and structure of the inner Galaxy.

  7. PLÁTANO MACHO (Musa aab, CÁRDENAS, TABASCO, MÉXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eder Ramos-Hern\\u00E1ndez

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Este experimento se realizó en Cárdenas, Tabasco, México en un suelo con textura franca, pH moderadamente ácido, contenido de materia orgánica y nitrógeno total bajo, cultivado con plátano macho, con el objetivo de determinar el control de arvenses con A. pintoi en una plantación de plátano macho. Se utilizó un arreglo factoria l alojado en un diseño de bloques completos al azar, con sombreado y tip o de cobertura vegetal asocia da al plátano como factores, con tres repe ticiones (octubre 2008-agosto 2009. Tanto el factor sombreado como el factor cobertura tuvie ron dos niveles de porcentaje: 45 (s= ± 11,1 y 50 (s= ± 13,2% de sombra, para suelos con arvenses y, con A. pintoi, respectivamente. Se utilizaron los índices de Shannon-Wie ver (H´ y similitud de Sörensen (S para determinar la riqueza de especie s. A los once meses después de establecido el experimento los valores de H´ no mostrarondiferencias significativas entre los tratamientos, S= 0,8 entre los dos niveles de sombra. Las especie s arvenses dominantes fueron: T. triangulare, S. podophylum, P. paniculatum y C. diffusa. Entre los tratamie ntos probados, el de suelo con arvenses a nivel de 50% de sombra fue el que presentó (p=0,05 mayor producción MS (375,3 ± 83,3 g/m2. La MS producida por A. pintoi fue mayor (p=0,05 con 45% (s= ± 11,1 de sombra (198 g/m2 que la producida a 50% (s= ± 13,2 sombra (150,4 g/m2. Se encontró que el nivel de efectividad de A. pintoi para controlar arvenses fue de 52,3% (con 45 ± 11,1% de sombra y 70,5% (con 50 ± 13,2% sombra.

  8. Gravitational Casimir–Polder effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiawei Hu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The interaction due to quantum gravitational vacuum fluctuations between a gravitationally polarizable object modelled as a two-level system and a gravitational boundary is investigated. This quantum gravitational interaction is found to be position-dependent, which induces a force in close analogy to the Casimir–Polder force in the electromagnetic case. For a Dirichlet boundary, the quantum gravitational potential for the polarizable object in its ground-state is shown to behave like z−5 in the near zone, and z−6 in the far zone, where z is the distance to the boundary. For a concrete example, where a Bose–Einstein condensate is taken as a gravitationally polarizable object, the relative correction to the radius of the BEC caused by fluctuating quantum gravitational waves in vacuum is found to be of order 10−21. Although the correction is far too small to observe in comparison with its electromagnetic counterpart, it is nevertheless of the order of the gravitational strain caused by a recently detected black hole merger on the arms of the LIGO.

  9. EL ESTÍMULO DEL MACHO CABRÍO INCREMENTA LA FUNCIÓN REPRODUCTIVA DE LAS CABRAS CRIOLLAS DEL SEMIDESIERTO MEXICANO INDEPENDIENTEMENTE DEL RÉGIMEN DE FOTOPERIODO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romana Melba Rincón-Delgado

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Se evaluó la influencia de un macho cabrío sexualmente activo sobre el inicio de la actividad reproductiva (actividad hipotalámica y ovárica y la sucesión de los ciclos estrales en cabras criollas expuestas a fotoperiodo artificiales alternados (decreciente/creciente en un rango de 13.4 a 10.6 horas de luz por día hasta completar 6 ciclos fotoperiódicos de 90 d por cada ciclo: fotoperiodo creciente (n=3; fotoperiodo decreciente (n=3. Las cabras criollas procedentes del semidesierto zacatecano (n=30 fueron asignadas de manera aleatoria a dos grupos: 1 cabras expuestas a un macho cabrío sexualmente activo (n=15; 2 cabras no expuestas al macho cabrío (ausencia de macho cabrío; n=15. Dentro de cada grupo experimental existían cabras ovariectomizadas (OVX, n=5, cabras ovariectomizadas e implantadas con estradiol (OVX + E2, n=5, y cabras ovariointactas (testigo, n=5. Se recolectaron muestras de suero sanguíneo de las cabras OVX y OVX + E2, cada cuatro semanas, durante 6 h en intervalos de 15 min (es decir, 24 muestras/día, para determinar la frecuencia (FREQ, la amplitud (AMP y la concentración (CONC de la hormona luteinizante (HL. En las cabras testigo (no tratadas, se obtuvieron 2 muestras de sangre a la semana para cuantificar los niveles de progesterona en suero sanguíneo mediante un radioinmunoanálisis (RIA. Las cabras con implantes de E2 (cabras OVX + E2 mostraron un incremento en la frecuencia de los pulsos de la hormona luteinizante en comparación con las cabras OVX sin implante de E2 (2.0±0.5 vs.0.7 ± 0.1 HL pulsos/6 h. La presencia de un macho sexualmente activo aumenta la frecuencia, la amplitud y la concentración de la hormona luteinizante en cabras OVX en comparación con cabras no expuestas a machos (Frecuencia: 3.2 ± 0.4 vs. 0.7 ± 0.1 pulsos/6 h; Amplitud: 1.6 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.3 ng·mL-1; Concentración 5.3 ± 0.6 vs. 2.0 ± 0.9 ng·mL-1 (P0.05. En conclusión, la presencia de un macho cabrío sexualmente activo

  10. Theory of gravitational interactions

    CERN Document Server

    Gasperini, Maurizio

    2017-01-01

    This is the second edition of a well-received book that is a modern, self-contained introduction to the theory of gravitational interactions. The new edition includes more details on gravitational waves of cosmological origin, the so-called brane world scenario, and gravitational time-delay effects. The first part of the book follows the traditional presentation of general relativity as a geometric theory of the macroscopic gravitational field, while the second, more advanced part discusses the deep analogies (and differences) between a geometric theory of gravity and the “gauge” theories of the other fundamental interactions. This fills a gap within the traditional approach to general relativity which usually leaves students puzzled about the role of gravity. The required notions of differential geometry are reduced to the minimum, allowing room for aspects of gravitational physics of current phenomenological and theoretical interest, such as the properties of gravitational waves, the gravitational inter...

  11. Analysis of Light Gathering Abilities of Dynamically Solidified Micro-lenses, and Their Implementation to Improve Sensitivity of Fluorescent PCR Micro-detectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jian; Guo, Wei; Wang, Chunyan; Yu, Kuanxin; Chen, Tao; Li, Yinghui

    2015-06-01

    Fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is becoming the preferred method of quantitative analysis due to its high specificity and sensitivity. We propose to use a new kind of micro-lens, dynamically solidified with optic glue, to improve the sensitivity of fluorescent PCR micro-detector. We developed light ray track equations for these lenses and used them to calculate relative light intensity distribution curve for stimulation lenses and illumination point probability distribution curve for detection lenses. We manufactured dynamically solidified micro-lenses using optic glue NOA61, and measured their light gathering ability. Lenses with radius/thickness (R/H) ratio of 4 reached light focusing ratio of 3.85 (stimulation lens) and photon collection efficiency of 0.86 (detection lens). We then used dynamically solidified lenses in PCR fluorescence micro-detector and analyzed their effect on the detector sensitivity. We showed that the use of dynamically solidified micro-lenses with R/H = 4 resulted in over 4.4-fold increased sensitivity of the detector.

  12. Gravitational mass and Newton's universal gravitational law under relativistic conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vayenas, Constantinos G; Grigoriou, Dimitrios; Fokas, Athanasios

    2015-01-01

    We discuss the predictions of Newton's universal gravitational law when using the gravitational, m g , rather than the rest masses, m o , of the attracting particles. According to the equivalence principle, the gravitational mass equals the inertial mass, m i , and the latter which can be directly computed from special relativity, is an increasing function of the Lorentz factor, γ, and thus of the particle velocity. We consider gravitationally bound rotating composite states, and we show that the ratio of the gravitational force for gravitationally bound rotational states to the force corresponding to low (γ ≈ 1) particle velocities is of the order of (m Pl /m o ) 2 where mpi is the Planck mass (ħc/G) 1/2 . We also obtain a similar result, within a factor of two, by employing the derivative of the effective potential of the Schwarzschild geodesics of GR. Finally, we show that for certain macroscopic systems, such as the perihelion precession of planets, the predictions of this relativistic Newtonian gravitational law differ again by only a factor of two from the predictions of GR. (paper)

  13. Imprints of the quasar structure in time-delay light curves: Microlensing-aided reverberation mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sluse, D.; Tewes, M.

    2014-11-01

    The advent of large area photometric surveys has raised a great deal of interest in the possibility of using broadband photometric data, instead of spectra, to measure the size of the broad line region of active galactic nuclei. We describe here a new method that uses time-delay lensed quasars where one or several images are affected by microlensing due to stars in the lensing galaxy. Because microlensing decreases (or increases) the flux of the continuum compared to the broad line region, it changes the contrast between these two emission components. We show that this effect can be used to effectively disentangle the intrinsic variability of those two regions, offering the opportunity to perform reverberation mapping based on single-band photometric data. Based on simulated light curves generated using a damped random walk model of quasar variability, we show that measurement of the size of the broad line region can be achieved using this method, provided one spectrum has been obtained independently during the monitoring. This method is complementary to photometric reverberation mapping and could also be extended to multi-band data. Because the effect described above produces a variability pattern in difference light curves between pairs of lensed images that is correlated with the time-lagged continuum variability, it can potentially produce systematic errors in measurement of time delays between pairs of lensed images. Simple simulations indicate that time-delay measurement techniques that use a sufficiently flexible model for the extrinsic variability are not affected by this effect and produce accurate time delays.

  14. Universite de Geneve

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    Ecole de physique - Département de physique nucléaire et corspusculaire 24, Quai Ernest-Ansermet1211 GENEVE 4 Tél: (022) 379 62 73 - Fax: (022) 379 69 92 Wednesday 30 January 2008 PARTICLE PHYSICS SEMINAR at 17:00 – Stückelberg Auditorium EXOPLANETS AND QUARKS Prof. Philip Yock, Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand The search for Earth-like extra-solar planets is one of the forefront areas of astronomy today. The NZ/Japan MOA collaboration uses the gravitational microlensing technique at high magnification. When the magnification exceeds 50, Earth-mass planets orbiting the lens star at distances ~ 2-3 AU are detectable. Twenty-eight events with magnification > 50 were found by MOA in 2007. These will be briefly reviewed, together with earlier events in which planets were detected, and one in which the shape of a star was measured. The mathematics of gravitational microlensing is comparable to that of Rutherford scattering, which unde...

  15. Relativistic theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvilli, M.A.

    1985-01-01

    In the present paper a relativistic theory of gravitation (RTG) is constructed in a unique way on the basis of the special relativity and geometrization principle. In this, a gravitational field is treated as the Faraday-Maxwell spin-2 and spin-0 physical field possessing energy and momentum. The source of a gravitational field is the total conserved energy-momentum tensor of matter and of a gravitational field in Minkowski space. In the RTG, the conservation laws are strictly fulfilled for the energy-momentum and for the angular momentum of matter and a gravitational field. The theory explains the whole available set of experiments on gravitation. In virtue of the geometrization principle, the Riemannian space in our theory is of field origin, since it appears as an effective force space due to the action of a gravitational field on matter. The RTg leads to an exceptionally strong prediction: The Universe is not closed but just ''flat''. This suggests that in the Universe a ''hidden mass'' should exist in some form of matter

  16. Enhancing the photon-extraction efficiency of site-controlled quantum dots by deterministically fabricated microlenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaganskiy, Arsenty; Fischbach, Sarah; Strittmatter, André; Rodt, Sven; Heindel, Tobias; Reitzenstein, Stephan

    2018-04-01

    We report on the realization of scalable single-photon sources (SPSs) based on single site-controlled quantum dots (SCQDs) and deterministically fabricated microlenses. The fabrication process comprises the buried-stressor growth technique complemented with low-temperature in-situ electron-beam lithography for the integration of SCQDs into microlens structures with high yield and high alignment accuracy. The microlens-approach leads to a broadband enhancement of the photon-extraction efficiency of up to (21 ± 2)% and a high suppression of multi-photon events with g (2)(τ = 0) SPSs which, can be applied in photonic quantum circuits and advanced quantum computation schemes.

  17. Gravitation Waves seminar

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva HR-RFA

    2006-01-01

    We will present a brief introduction to the physics of gravitational waves and their properties. We will review potential astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, and the physics and astrophysics that can be learned from their study. We will survey the techniques and technologies for detecting gravitational waves for the first time, including bar detectors and broadband interferometers, and give a brief status report on the international search effort.

  18. A Predicted Astrometric Microlensing Event by a Nearby White Dwarf

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGill, Peter; Smith, Leigh C.; Wyn Evans, N.; Belokurov, Vasily; Smart, R. L.

    2018-04-01

    We used the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution catalogue, part of Gaia Data Release 1, to search for candidate astrometric microlensing events expected to occur within the remaining lifetime of the Gaia satellite. Our search yielded one promising candidate. We predict that the nearby DQ type white dwarf LAWD 37 (WD 1142-645) will lens a background star and will reach closest approach on November 11th 2019 (± 4 days) with impact parameter 380 ± 10 mas. This will produce an apparent maximum deviation of the source position of 2.8 ± 0.1 mas. In the most propitious circumstance, Gaia will be able to determine the mass of LAWD 37 to ˜3%. This mass determination will provide an independent check on atmospheric models of white dwarfs with helium rich atmospheres, as well as tests of white dwarf mass radius relationships and evolutionary theory.

  19. Testing gravitational parity violation with coincident gravitational waves and short gamma-ray bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yunes, Nicolas; O'Shaughnessy, Richard; Owen, Benjamin J.; Alexander, Stephon

    2010-01-01

    Gravitational parity violation is a possibility motivated by particle physics, string theory, and loop quantum gravity. One effect of it is amplitude birefringence of gravitational waves, whereby left and right circularly polarized waves propagate at the same speed but with different amplitude evolution. Here we propose a test of this effect through coincident observations of gravitational waves and short gamma-ray bursts from binary mergers involving neutron stars. Such gravitational waves are highly left or right circularly polarized due to the geometry of the merger. Using localization information from the gamma-ray burst, ground-based gravitational wave detectors can measure the distance to the source with reasonable accuracy. An electromagnetic determination of the redshift from an afterglow or host galaxy yields an independent measure of this distance. Gravitational parity violation would manifest itself as a discrepancy between these two distance measurements. We exemplify such a test by considering one specific effective theory that leads to such gravitational parity violation, Chern-Simons gravity. We show that the advanced LIGO-Virgo network and all-sky gamma-ray telescopes can be sensitive to the propagating sector of Chern-Simons gravitational parity violation to a level roughly 2 orders of magnitude better than current stationary constraints from the LAGEOS satellites.

  20. Relativity theory and gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondi, H.

    1986-01-01

    The paper on relativity theory and gravitation is presented as a preface to the first of the articles submitted to the Journal on general relativity. Newtonian gravitation and and observation, relativity, and the sources of the gravitational field, are all discussed. (UK)

  1. Gravitation

    CERN Document Server

    Misner, Charles W; Wheeler, John Archibald

    2017-01-01

    First published in 1973, Gravitation is a landmark graduate-level textbook that presents Einstein’s general theory of relativity and offers a rigorous, full-year course on the physics of gravitation. Upon publication, Science called it “a pedagogic masterpiece,” and it has since become a classic, considered essential reading for every serious student and researcher in the field of relativity. This authoritative text has shaped the research of generations of physicists and astronomers, and the book continues to influence the way experts think about the subject. With an emphasis on geometric interpretation, this masterful and comprehensive book introduces the theory of relativity; describes physical applications, from stars to black holes and gravitational waves; and portrays the field’s frontiers. The book also offers a unique, alternating, two-track pathway through the subject. Material focusing on basic physical ideas is designated as Track 1 and formulates an appropriate one-semester graduate-level...

  2. Gravitational wave astronomy

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    In the past year, the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration announced the first secure detection of gravitational waves. This discovery heralds the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy: the use of gravitational waves as a tool for studying the dense and dynamical universe. In this talk, I will describe the full spectrum of gravitational waves, from Hubble-scale modes, through waves with periods of years, hours and milliseconds. I will describe the different techniques one uses to measure the waves in these bands, current and planned facilities for implementing these techniques, and the broad range of sources which produce the radiation. I will discuss what we might expect to learn as more events and sources are measured, and as this field matures into a standard part of the astronomical milieu.

  3. Gravitational Wave Astronomy

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2006-01-01

    Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects.

  4. Underdevelopment’s gravitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marin Dinu

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The energy necessary to escape the gravitational pull of underdevelopment and to enter an evolutional trajectory dependent on the gravitational pull of development is unintelligible in economic terms.

  5. Gravitational decoherence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bassi, Angelo; Großardt, André; Ulbricht, Hendrik

    2017-01-01

    We discuss effects of loss of coherence in low energy quantum systems caused by or related to gravitation, referred to as gravitational decoherence. These effects, resulting from random metric fluctuations, for instance, promise to be accessible by relatively inexpensive table-top experiments, way before the scales where true quantum gravity effects become important. Therefore, they can provide a first experimental view on gravity in the quantum regime. We will survey models of decoherence induced both by classical and quantum gravitational fluctuations; it will be manifest that a clear understanding of gravitational decoherence is still lacking. Next we will review models where quantum theory is modified, under the assumption that gravity causes the collapse of the wave functions, when systems are large enough. These models challenge the quantum-gravity interplay, and can be tested experimentally. In the last part we have a look at the state of the art of experimental research. We will review efforts aiming at more and more accurate measurements of gravity ( G and g ) and ideas for measuring conventional and unconventional gravity effects on nonrelativistic quantum systems. (topical review)

  6. Microlensing as a Possible Probe of Event-Horizon Structure in Quasars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomozeiu, Mihai [Zurich U.; Mohammed, Irshad [Fermilab; Rabold, Manuel [Zurich U.; Saha, Prasenjit [Zurich U.; Wambsganss, Joachim [Heidelberg U.

    2016-04-06

    In quasars which are lensed by galaxies, the point-like images sometimes show sharp and uncorrelated brightness variations (microlensing). These brightness changes are associated with the innermost region of the quasar passing through a complicated pattern of caustics produced by the stars in the lensing galaxy. In this paper, we study whether the universal properties of optical caustics could enable extraction of shape information about the central engine of quasars. We present a toy model with a crescent-shaped source crossing a fold caustic. The silhouette of a black hole over an accretion disk tends to produce roughly crescent sources. When a crescent-shaped source crosses a fold caustic, the resulting light curve is noticeably different from the case of a circular luminosity profile or Gaussian source. With good enough monitoring data, the crescent parameters, apart from one degeneracy, can be recovered.

  7. Microlensing as a possible probe of event-horizon structure in quasars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomozeiu, Mihai; Mohammed, Irshad; Rabold, Manuel; Saha, Prasenjit; Wambsganss, Joachim

    2018-04-01

    In quasars which are lensed by galaxies, the point-like images sometimes show sharp and uncorrelated brightness variations (microlensing). These brightness changes are associated with the innermost region of the quasar passing through a complicated pattern of caustics produced by the stars in the lensing galaxy. In this paper, we study whether the universal properties of optical caustics could enable extraction of shape information about the central engine of quasars. We present a toy model with a crescent-shaped source crossing a fold caustic. The silhouette of a black hole over an accretion disc tends to produce roughly crescent sources. When a crescent-shaped source crosses a fold caustic, the resulting light curve is noticeably different from the case of a circular luminosity profile or Gaussian source. With good enough monitoring data, the crescent parameters, apart from one degeneracy, can be recovered.

  8. On the gravitational radiation formula

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, G.; Dehnen, H.

    1980-01-01

    For electromagnetically as well as gravitationally bound quantum mechanical many-body systems the coefficients of absorption and induced emission of gravitational radiation are calculated in the first-order approximation. The results are extended subsequently to systems with arbitrary non-Coulomb-like two-particle interaction potentials;it is shown explicitly that in all cases the perturbation of the binding potentials of the bound systems by the incident gravitational wave field itself must be taken into account. With the help of the thermodynamic equilibrium of gravitational radiation and quantised matter, the coefficients for spontaneous emission of gravitational radiation are derived and the gravitational radiation formula for emission of gravitational quadrupole radiation by bound quantum mechanical many-body systems is given. According to the correspondence principle the present result is completely identical with the well known classical radiation formula, by which recent criticism against this formula is refuted. Finally the quantum mechanical absorption cross section for gravitational quadrupole radiation is deduced and compared with the corresponding classical expressions. As a special example the vibrating two-mass quadrupole is treated explicitly. (author)

  9. The First Circumbinary Planet Found by Microlensing: OGLE-2007-BLG-349L(AB)c

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, D. P.; Rhie, S. H.; Udalski, A.; Gould, A.; Tsapras, Y.; Kubas, D.; Bond, I. A.; Greenhill, J.; Cassan, A.; Rattenbury, N. J.; hide

    2016-01-01

    We present the analysis of the first circumbinary planet microlensing event, OGLE-2007-BLG-349. This event has a strong planetary signal that is best fit with a mass ratio of q approx. = 3.4×10(exp -4), but there is an additional signal due to an additional lens mass, either another planet or another star. We find acceptable light-curve fits with two classes of models: two-planet models (with a single host star) and circumbinary planet models. The light curve also reveals a significant microlensing parallax effect, which constrains the mass of the lens system to be M(sub L) approx. = 0.7 Stellar Mass. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images resolve the lens and source stars from their neighbors and indicate excess flux due to the star(s) in the lens system. This is consistent with the predicted flux from the circumbinary models, where the lens mass is shared between two stars, but there is not enough flux to be consistent with the two-planet, one-star models. So, only the circumbinary models are consistent with the HST data. They indicate a planet of mass m(sub c) = 80 +/- 13 Stellar Mass, orbiting a pair of M dwarfs with masses of M(sub A) = 0.41+/- 0.07 and M(sub B) = 0.30 +/- 0.07, which makes this the lowest-mass circumbinary planet system known. The ratio of the separation between the planet and the center of mass to the separation of the two stars is approx.40, so unlike most of the circumbinary planets found by Kepler, the planet does not orbit near the stability limit.

  10. Gravitation in Material Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridgely, Charles T.

    2011-01-01

    When two gravitating bodies reside in a material medium, Newton's law of universal gravitation must be modified to account for the presence of the medium. A modified expression of Newton's law is known in the literature, but lacks a clear connection with existing gravitational theory. Newton's law in the presence of a homogeneous material medium…

  11. Detection of gravitational radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holten, J.W. van [ed.

    1994-12-31

    In this report the main contributions presented at the named symposium are collected. These concern astrophysical sources of gravitational radiation, ultracryogenic gravitational wave experiments, read out and data analysis of gravitational wave antennas, cryogenic aspects of large mass cooling to mK temperatures, and metallurgical and engineering aspects of large Cu structure manufacturing. (HSI).

  12. Detection of gravitational radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holten, J.W. van

    1994-01-01

    In this report the main contributions presented at the named symposium are collected. These concern astrophysical sources of gravitational radiation, ultracryogenic gravitational wave experiments, read out and data analysis of gravitational wave antennas, cryogenic aspects of large mass cooling to mK temperatures, and metallurgical and engineering aspects of large Cu structure manufacturing. (HSI)

  13. Relativistic theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.

    1986-01-01

    In the present paper a relativistic theory of gravitation (RTG) is unambiguously constructed on the basis of the special relativity and geometrization principle. In this a gravitational field is treated as the Faraday--Maxwell spin-2 and spin-0 physical field possessing energy and momentum. The source of a gravitational field is the total conserved energy-momentum tensor of matter and of a gravitational field in Minkowski space. In the RTG the conservation laws are strictly fulfilled for the energy-moment and for the angular momentum of matter and a gravitational field. The theory explains the whole available set of experiments on gravity. By virtue of the geometrization principle, the Riemannian space in our theory is of field origin, since it appears as an effective force space due to the action of a gravitational field on matter. The RTG leads to an exceptionally strong prediction: The universe is not closed but just ''flat.'' This suggests that in the universe a ''missing mass'' should exist in a form of matter

  14. Gravitation in material media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ridgely, Charles T

    2011-01-01

    When two gravitating bodies reside in a material medium, Newton's law of universal gravitation must be modified to account for the presence of the medium. A modified expression of Newton's law is known in the literature, but lacks a clear connection with existing gravitational theory. Newton's law in the presence of a homogeneous material medium is herein derived on the basis of classical, Newtonian gravitational theory and by a general relativistic use of Archimedes' principle. It is envisioned that the techniques presented herein will be most useful to graduate students and those undergraduate students having prior experience with vector analysis and potential theory.

  15. Gravitational radiation reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Takahiro

    2006-01-01

    We give a short personally-biased review on the recent progress in our understanding of gravitational radiation reaction acting on a point particle orbiting a black hole. The main motivation of this study is to obtain sufficiently precise gravitational waveforms from inspiraling binary compact starts with a large mass ratio. For this purpose, various new concepts and techniques have been developed to compute the orbital evolution taking into account the gravitational self-force. Combining these ideas with a few supplementary new ideas, we try to outline a path to our goal here. (author)

  16. A gravitational entropy proposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clifton, Timothy; Tavakol, Reza; Ellis, George F R

    2013-01-01

    We propose a thermodynamically motivated measure of gravitational entropy based on the Bel–Robinson tensor, which has a natural interpretation as the effective super-energy–momentum tensor of free gravitational fields. The specific form of this measure differs depending on whether the gravitational field is Coulomb-like or wave-like, and reduces to the Bekenstein–Hawking value when integrated over the interior of a Schwarzschild black hole. For scalar perturbations of a Robertson–Walker geometry we find that the entropy goes like the Hubble weighted anisotropy of the gravitational field, and therefore increases as structure formation occurs. This is in keeping with our expectations for the behaviour of gravitational entropy in cosmology, and provides a thermodynamically motivated arrow of time for cosmological solutions of Einstein’s field equations. It is also in keeping with Penrose’s Weyl curvature hypothesis. (paper)

  17. Vector-tensor interaction of gravitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Yuan-zhong; Guo han-ying

    1982-11-01

    In the paper, by using the equation of motion a particle, we show that the antigravity exist in the vector-tensor model of gravitation. Thus the motion of a particle deviates from the geodesic equation. In Newtonian approximation and weak gravitational field, acceleration of a particle in a spherically symmetric and astatic gravitation field is zero. The result is obviously not in agreement with gravitational phenomena.

  18. Projective relativity, cosmology and gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arcidiacono, G.

    1986-01-01

    This book describes the latest applications of projective geometry to cosmology and gravitation. The contents of the book are; the Poincare group and Special Relativity, the thermodynamics and electromagnetism, general relativity, gravitation and cosmology, group theory and models of universe, the special projective relativity, the Fantappie group and Big-Bang cosmology, a new cosmological projective mechanics, the plasma physics and cosmology, the projective magnetohydrodynamics field, projective relativity and waves propagation, the generalizations of the gravitational field, the general projective relativity, the projective gravitational field, the De Sitter Universe and quantum physics, the conformal relativity and Newton gravitation

  19. Gravitationally confined relativistic neutrinos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vayenas, C. G.; Fokas, A. S.; Grigoriou, D.

    2017-09-01

    Combining special relativity, the equivalence principle, and Newton’s universal gravitational law with gravitational rather than rest masses, one finds that gravitational interactions between relativistic neutrinos with kinetic energies above 50 MeV are very strong and can lead to the formation of gravitationally confined composite structures with the mass and other properties of hadrons. One may model such structures by considering three neutrinos moving symmetrically on a circular orbit under the influence of their gravitational attraction, and by assuming quantization of their angular momentum, as in the Bohr model of the H atom. The model contains no adjustable parameters and its solution, using a neutrino rest mass of 0.05 eV/c2, leads to composite state radii close to 1 fm and composite state masses close to 1 GeV/c2. Similar models of relativistic rotating electron - neutrino pairs give a mass of 81 GeV/c2, close to that of W bosons. This novel mechanism of generating mass suggests that the Higgs mass generation mechanism can be modeled as a latent gravitational field which gets activated by relativistic neutrinos.

  20. Probing gravitational parity violation with gravitational waves from stellar-mass black hole binaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagi, Kent; Yang, Huan

    2018-05-01

    The recent discovery of gravitational-wave events has offered us unique test beds of gravity in the strong and dynamical field regime. One possible modification to General Relativity is the gravitational parity violation that arises naturally from quantum gravity. Such parity violation gives rise to the so-called amplitude birefringence in gravitational waves, in which one of the circularly polarized modes is amplified while the other one is suppressed during their propagation. In this paper, we study how well one can measure gravitational parity violation via the amplitude birefringence effect of gravitational waves sourced by stellar-mass black hole binaries. We choose Chern-Simons gravity as an example and work within an effective field theory formalism to ensure that the approximate theory is well posed. We consider gravitational waves from both individual sources and stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds. Regarding bounds from individual sources, we estimate such bounds using a Fisher analysis and carry out Monte Carlo simulations by randomly distributing sources over their sky location and binary orientation. We find that the bounds on the scalar field evolution in Chern-Simons gravity from the recently discovered gravitational-wave events are too weak to satisfy the weak Chern-Simons approximation, while aLIGO with its design sensitivity can place meaningful bounds. Regarding bounds from stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds, we set the threshold signal-to-noise ratio for detection of the parity-violation mode as 5 and estimate projected bounds with future detectors assuming that signals are consistent with no parity violation. In an ideal situation in which all the source parameters and binary black hole merger-rate history are known a priori, we find that a network of two third-generation detectors is able to place bounds that are comparable to or slightly stronger than binary pulsar bounds. In a more realistic situation in which one does not have

  1. Presenting Newtonian gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Counihan, Martin

    2007-01-01

    The basic principles of the Newtonian theory of gravitation are presented in a way which students may find more logically coherent, mathematically accessible and physically interesting than other approaches. After giving relatively simple derivations of the circular hodograph and the elliptical orbit from the inverse-square law, the concept of gravitational energy is developed from vector calculus. It is argued that the energy density of a gravitational field may reasonably be regarded as -g 2 /8πG, and that the inverse-square law may be replaced by a Schwarzschild-like force law without the need to invoke non-Euclidean geometry

  2. A single base pair in the right terminal domain of Tomato planta macho viroid is a virulence determinant factor on tomato

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomato planta macho viroid (TPMVd), including isolates previously designated as Mexican papita viroid (MPVd), causes serious disease on tomatoes in North America. Two predominant variants, sharing 93.8% sequence identity, incited distinct severe (MPVd-S) or mild (MPVd-M) symptoms on tomato. To ide...

  3. Maternal mRNAs of PEM and macho 1, the ascidian muscle determinant, associate and move with a rough endoplasmic reticulum network in the egg cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardet, Christian; Nishida, Hiroki; Prodon, Francois; Sawada, Kaichiro

    2003-12-01

    Localization of maternal mRNAs in the egg cortex is an essential feature of polarity in embryos of Drosophila, Xenopus and ascidians. In ascidians, maternal mRNAs such as macho 1, a determinant of primary muscle-cell fate, belong to a class of postplasmic RNAs that are located along the animal-vegetal gradient in the egg cortex. Between fertilization and cleavage, these postplasmic RNAs relocate in two main phases. They further concentrate and segregate in small posterior blastomeres into a cortical structure, the centrosome-attracting body (CAB), which is responsible for unequal cleavages. By using high-resolution, fluorescent, in situ hybridization in eggs, zygotes and embryos of Halocynthia roretzi, we showed that macho 1 and HrPEM are localized on a reticulated structure situated within 2 mum of the surface of the unfertilized egg, and within 8 mum of the surface the vegetal region and then posterior region of the zygote. By isolating cortices from eggs and zygotes we demonstrated that this reticulated structure is a network of cortical rough endoplasmic reticulum (cER) that is tethered to the plasma membrane. The postplasmic RNAs macho 1 and HrPEM were located on the cER network and could be detached from it. We also show that macho 1 and HrPEM accumulated in the CAB and the cER network. We propose that these postplasmic RNAs relocalized after fertilization by following the microfilament- and microtubule-driven translocations of the cER network to the poles of the zygote. We also suggest that the RNAs segregate and concentrate in posterior blastomeres through compaction of the cER to form the CAB. A multimedia BioClip 'Polarity inside the egg cortex' tells the story and can be downloaded at www.bioclips.com/bioclip.html

  4. Gravitation and source theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yilmaz, H.

    1975-01-01

    Schwinger's source theory is applied to the problem of gravitation and its quantization. It is shown that within the framework of a flat-space the source theory implementation leads to a violation of probability. To avoid the difficulty one must introduce a curved space-time hence the source concept may be said to necessitate the transition to a curved-space theory of gravitation. It is further shown that the curved-space theory of gravitation implied by the source theory is not equivalent to the conventional Einstein theory. The source concept leads to a different theory where the gravitational field has a stress-energy tensor t/sup nu//sub mu/ which contributes to geometric curvatures

  5. Nuclear Quantum Gravitation - The Correct Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotas, Ronald

    2016-03-01

    Nuclear Quantum Gravitation provides a clear, definitive Scientific explanation of Gravity and Gravitation. It is harmonious with Newtonian and Quantum Mechanics, and with distinct Scientific Logic. Nuclear Quantum Gravitation has 10 certain, Scientific proofs and 21 more good indications. With this theory the Physical Forces are obviously Unified. See: OBSCURANTISM ON EINSTEIN GRAVITATION? http://www.santilli- Foundation.org/inconsistencies-gravitation.php and Einstein's Theory of Relativity versus Classical Mechanics http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/einstein/

  6. Spitzer Opens New Path to Break Classic Degeneracy for Jupiter-mass Microlensing Planet OGLE-2017-BLG-1140Lb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calchi Novati, S.; Skowron, J.; Jung, Y. K.; Beichman, C.; Bryden, G.; Carey, S.; Gaudi, B. S.; Henderson, C. B.; Shvartzvald, Y.; Yee, J. C.; Zhu, W.; Spitzer Team; Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Mróz, P.; Poleski, R.; Soszyński, I.; Kozłowski, S.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M.; Rybicki, K.; Iwanek, P.; OGLE Collaboration; Albrow, M. D.; Chung, S.-J.; Gould, A.; Han, C.; Hwang, K.-H.; Ryu, Y.-H.; Shin, I.-G.; Zang, W.; Cha, S.-M.; Kim, D.-J.; Kim, H.-W.; Kim, S.-L.; Lee, C.-U.; Lee, D.-J.; Lee, Y.; Park, B.-G.; Pogge, R. W.; KMTNet Collaboration

    2018-06-01

    We analyze the combined Spitzer and ground-based data for OGLE-2017-BLG-1140 and show that the event was generated by a Jupiter-class ({m}p≃ 1.6 {M}{{J}{{u}}{{p}}}) planet orbiting a mid-late M dwarf (M≃ 0.2 {M}ȯ ) that lies {D}LS}≃ 1.0 {kpc} in the foreground of the microlensed Galactic-bar source star. The planet–host projected separation is {a}\\perp ≃ 1.0 {au}, i.e., well beyond the snow line. By measuring the source proper motion {{\\boldsymbol{μ }}}s from ongoing long-term OGLE imaging and combining this with the lens-source relative proper motion {{\\boldsymbol{μ }}}rel} derived from the microlensing solution, we show that the lens proper motion {{\\boldsymbol{μ }}}l={{\\boldsymbol{μ }}}rel}+{{\\boldsymbol{μ }}}s is consistent with the lens lying in the Galactic disk, although a bulge lens is not ruled out. We show that while the Spitzer and ground-based data are comparably well fitted by planetary (i.e., binary-lens (2L1S)) and binary-source (1L2S) models, the combination of Spitzer and ground-based data decisively favors the planetary model. This is a new channel to resolve the 2L1S/1L2S degeneracy, which can be difficult to break in some cases.

  7. The Theory of Vortical Gravitational Fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rabounski D.

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper treats of vortical gravitational fields, a tensor of which is the rotor of the general covariant gravitational inertial force. The field equations for a vortical gravitational field (the Lorentz condition, the Maxwell-like equations, and the continuity equation are deduced in an analogous fashion to electrodynamics. From the equations it is concluded that the main kind of vortical gravitational fields is “electric”, determined by the non-stationarity of the acting gravitational inertial force. Such a field is a medium for traveling waves of the force (they are different to the weak deformation waves of the space metric considered in the theory of gravitational waves. Standing waves of the gravitational inertial force and their medium, a vortical gravitational field of the “magnetic” kind, are exotic, since a non-stationary rotation of a space body (the source of such a field is a very rare phenomenon in the Universe.

  8. Surface smoothening of the inherent roughness of micro-lenses fabricated with 2-photon lithography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schift, Helmut; Kirchner, Robert; Chidambaram, Nachiappan; Altana, Mirco

    2018-01-01

    Two-photon polymerization by direct laser writing enables to write refractive micro-optical elements with sub-μm precision. The trajectories and layering during the direct writing process often result in roughness in the range of the writing increment, which has adverse effects for optical applications. Instead of increasing overlap between adjacent voxels, roughness in the range of 100 nm can be smoothed out by post-processing. For this a method known as TASTE was developed, which allows polishing of surfaces without changing the structural details or the overall shape. It works particularly well with thermoplastic polymers and enables sub-10 nm roughness. The optical quality was confirmed for an array with several 100 microlenses.

  9. Aprender a ser narco/macho. Fiesta en La Madriguera de Juan Pablo Villalobos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ainhoa Vásquez Mejías

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo propone, a la luz de los estudiosde masculinidades, que las enseñanzas que recibe un narco-junior en la novela Fiesta en la madriguera de Juan Pablo Villalobos se vinculan a las instrucciones machistas que reciben los niños varones: violencia, poder, control de las emociones. El aprendizaje del niño para convertirse en hombre, sin embargo, se ve cuestionado en la novela, a la vez que se pone en duda la masculinidad hegemónica del padre. La formación de Tochtli concluye no cuando es capaz de derramar sangre como un macho, sino cuando descubre que esa sangre lo une a su padre.

  10. A closer look at the quadruply lensed quasar PSOJ0147: spectroscopic redshifts and microlensing effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chien-Hsiu

    2018-04-01

    I present a timely spectroscopic follow-up of the newly discovered, quadruply lensed quasar PSOJ0147 from the Pan-STARRS 1 survey. The newly acquired optical spectra with GMOS onboard the Gemini North Telescope allow us to pin down the redshifts of both the foreground lensing galaxy and the background lensed quasar to be z = 0.572 and 2.341, providing a firm basis for cosmography with future high-cadence photometric monitoring. I also inspect difference spectra from two of the quasar images, revealing the microlensing effect. Long-term spectroscopic follow-ups will shed lights on the structure of the active galactic nucleus and its environment.

  11. Quantum phenomena in gravitational field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourdel, Th.; Doser, M.; Ernest, A. D.; Voronin, A. Yu.; Voronin, V. V.

    2011-10-01

    The subjects presented here are very different. Their common feature is that they all involve quantum phenomena in a gravitational field: gravitational quantum states of ultracold antihydrogen above a material surface and measuring a gravitational interaction of antihydrogen in AEGIS, a quantum trampoline for ultracold atoms, and a hypothesis on naturally occurring gravitational quantum states, an Eötvös-type experiment with cold neutrons and others. Considering them together, however, we could learn that they have many common points both in physics and in methodology.

  12. Quantum phenomena in gravitational field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourdel, Th.; Doser, M.; Ernest, A.D.; Voronin, A.Y.; Voronin, V.V.

    2010-01-01

    The subjects presented here are very different. Their common feature is that they all involve quantum phenomena in a gravitational field: gravitational quantum states of ultracold anti-hydrogen above a material surface and measuring a gravitational interaction of anti-hydrogen in AEGIS, a quantum trampoline for ultracold atoms, and a hypothesis on naturally occurring gravitational quantum states, an Eoetvoes-type experiment with cold neutrons and others. Considering them together, however, we could learn that they have many common points both in physics and in methodology. (authors)

  13. Gravitational capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondi, H.

    1979-01-01

    In spite of the strength of gravitational focres between celestial bodies, gravitational capture is not a simple concept. The principles of conservation of linear momentum and of conservation of angular momentum, always impose severe constraints, while conservation of energy and the vital distinction between dissipative and non-dissipative systems allows one to rule out capture in a wide variety of cases. In complex systems especially those without dissipation, long dwell time is a more significant concept than permanent capture. (author)

  14. Interaction of gravitational waves with superconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Inan, N.A.; Thompson, J.J. [University of California, Schools of Natural Sciences, Merced, CA (United States); Chiao, R.Y. [University of California, Schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Merced, CA (United States)

    2017-06-15

    Applying the Helmholtz Decomposition theorem to linearized General Relativity leads to a gauge-invariant formulation where the transverse-traceless part of the metric perturbation describes gravitational waves in matter. Gravitational waves incident on a superconductor can be described by a linear London-like constituent equation characterized by a ''gravitational shear modulus'' and a corresponding plasma frequency and penetration depth. Electric-like and magnetic-like gravitational tensor fields are defined in terms of the strain field of a gravitational wave. It is shown that in the DC limit, the magnetic-like tensor field is expelled from the superconductor in a gravitational Meissner-like effect. The Cooper pair density is described by the Ginzburg-Landau theory embedded in curved space-time. The ionic lattice is modeled by quantum harmonic oscillators coupled to gravitational waves and characterized by quasi-energy eigenvalues for the phonon modes. The formulation predicts the possibility of a dynamical Casimir effect since the zero-point energy of the ionic lattice phonons is found to be modulated by the gravitational wave, in a quantum analog of a ''Weber-bar effect.'' Applying periodic thermodynamics and the Debye model in the low-temperature limit leads to a free energy density for the ionic lattice. Lastly, we relate the gravitational strain of space to the strain of matter to show that the response to a gravitational wave is far less for the Cooper pair density than for the ionic lattice. This predicts a charge separation effect in the superconductor as a result of the gravitational wave. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  15. Are the gravitational waves quantised?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovas, Istvan

    1997-01-01

    If the gravitational waves are classical objects then the value of their correlation function is 1. If they are quantised, then there exist two possibilities: the gravitational waves are either completely coherent, then their correlation function is again 1, or they are only partially coherent, then their correlation function is expected to deviate from 1. Unfortunately such a deviation is not a sufficient proof for the quantised character of the gravitational waves. If the gravitational waves are quantised and generated by the change of the background metrical then they can be in a squeezed state. In a squeezed state there is a chance for the correlation between the phase of the wave and the quantum fluctuations. The observation of such a correlation would be a genuine proof of the quantised character of the gravitational wave

  16. General relativity and gravitation, 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashby, N.; Bartlett, D.F.; Wyss, W.

    1990-01-01

    This volume records the lectures and symposia of the 12th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation. Plenary lecturers reviewed the major advances since the previous conference in 1986. The reviews cover classical and quantum theory of gravity, colliding gravitational waves, gravitational lensing, relativistic effects on pulsars, tests of the inverse square law, numerical relativity, cosmic microwave background radiation, experimental tests of gravity theory, gravitational wave detectors, and cosmology. The plenary lectures are complemented by summaries of symposia, provided by the chairmen. Almost 700 contributed papers were presented at these and they cover an even wider range of topics than the plenary talks. The book provides a comprehensive guide to research activity in both experimental and theoretical gravitation and its applications in astrophysics and cosmology. It will be essential reading for research workers in these fields, as well as theoretical and experimental physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians who wish to be acquainted with modern developments in gravitational theory and general relativity. All the papers and summaries of the workshop sessions are indexed separately. (16 united talks, 20 workshop sessions). (author)

  17. Deflection of light and particles by moving gravitational lenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wucknitz, Olaf; Sperhake, Ulrich

    2004-01-01

    Various authors have investigated the problem of light deflection by radially moving gravitational lenses, but the results presented so far do not appear to agree on the expected deflection angles. Some publications claim a scaling of deflection angles with 1-v to first order in the radial lens velocity v, while others obtained a scaling with 1-2v. In this paper we generalize the calculations for arbitrary lens velocities and show that the first result is the correct one. We discuss the seeming inconsistency of relativistic light deflection with the classical picture of moving test particles by generalizing the lens effect to test particles of arbitrary velocity, including light as a limiting case. We show that the effect of radial motion of the lens is very different for slowly moving test particles and light and that a critical test particle velocity exists for which the motion of the lens has no effect on the deflection angle to first order. An interesting and not immediately intuitive result is obtained in the limit of a highly relativistic motion of the lens towards the observer, where the deflection angle of light reduces to zero. This phenomenon is elucidated in terms of moving refractive media. Furthermore, we discuss the dragging of inertial frames in the field of a moving lens and the corresponding Lense-Thirring precession, in order to shed more light on the geometrical effects in the surroundings of a moving mass. In a second part we discuss the effect of transversal motion on the observed redshift of lensed sources. We demonstrate how a simple kinematic calculation explains the effects for arbitrary velocities of the lens and test particles. Additionally we include the transversal motion of the source and observer to show that all three velocities can be combined into an effective relative transversal velocity similar to the approach used in microlensing studies

  18. Gravitational Physics

    OpenAIRE

    Schäfer, G.; Schutz, B.

    1996-01-01

    Gravity is truly universal. It is the force that pulls us to the Earth, that keeps the planets and moons in their orbits, and that causes the tides on the Earth to ebb and flow. It even keeps the Sun shining. Yet on a laboratory scale gravity is extremely weak. The Coulomb force between two protons is 1039 times stronger than the gravitational force between them. Moreover, Newton's gravitational constant is the least accurately known of the fundamental constants: it has been measured to 1 par...

  19. Measurement of gravitational acceleration of antimatter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rouhani, S.

    1989-12-01

    The minute yet effective impact of gravitational potential in the central region of a long tube magnetic container of non-neutral plasmas can be utilized for the measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter particles. The slight change in distribution of plasma particles along the gravitational field affects the internal electric field of the plasma, which in turn affects the frequency of the magnetron motion of its particles. Thus, a rather straightforward relation is established between the gravitational acceleration of the particles and their magnetron frequencies, which is measurable directly, determining the value of the gravitational acceleration. (author). 7 refs, 3 figs

  20. Prevention of gravitational collapse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moffat, J.W.; Taylor, J.G.

    1981-01-01

    We apply a new theory of gravitation to the question of gravitational collapse to show that collapse is prevented in this theory under very reasonable conditions. This result also extends to prevent ultimate collapse of the Universe. (orig.)

  1. A COLD NEPTUNE-MASS PLANET OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb: COLD NEPTUNES ARE COMMON

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumi, T.; Abe, F.; Fukui, A.

    2010-01-01

    We present the discovery of a Neptune-mass planet OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb with a planet-star mass ratio of q = [9.5 ± 2.1] x 10 -5 via gravitational microlensing. The planetary deviation was detected in real-time thanks to the high cadence of the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics survey, real-time light-curve monitoring and intensive follow-up observations. A Bayesian analysis returns the stellar mass and distance at M l = 0.64 +0.21 -0.26 M sun and D l = 5.9 +0.9 -1.4 kpc, respectively, so the mass and separation of the planet are M p = 20 +7 -8 M + and a = 3.3 +1.4 -0.8 AU, respectively. This discovery adds another cold Neptune-mass planet to the planetary sample discovered by microlensing, which now comprises four cold Neptune/super-Earths, five gas giant planets, and another sub-Saturn mass planet whose nature is unclear. The discovery of these 10 cold exoplanets by the microlensing method implies that the mass ratio function of cold exoplanets scales as dN pl /dlog q ∝ q -0.7±0.2 with a 95% confidence level upper limit of n pl /dlog q ∝ q n ). As microlensing is most sensitive to planets beyond the snow-line, this implies that Neptune-mass planets are at least three times more common than Jupiters in this region at the 95% confidence level.

  2. Weight, gravitation, inertia, and tides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pujol, Olivier; Lagoute, Christophe; Pérez, José-Philippe

    2015-11-01

    This paper deals with the factors that influence the weight of an object near the Earth's surface. They are: (1) the Earth's gravitational force, (2) the centrifugal force due to the Earth's diurnal rotation, and (3) tidal forces due to the gravitational field of the Moon and Sun, and other solar system bodies to a lesser extent. Each of these three contributions is discussed and expressions are derived. The relationship between weight and gravitation is thus established in a direct and pedagogical manner readily understandable by undergraduate students. The analysis applies to the Newtonian limit of gravitation. The derivation is based on an experimental (or operational) definition of weight, and it is shown that it coincides with the Earth’s gravitational force modified by diurnal rotation around a polar axis and non-uniformity of external gravitational bodies (tidal term). Two examples illustrate and quantify these modifications, respectively the Eötvös effect and the oceanic tides; tidal forces due to differential gravitation on a spacecraft and an asteroid are also proposed as examples. Considerations about inertia are also given and some comments are made about a widespread, yet confusing, explanation of tides based on a centrifugal force. Finally, the expression of the potential energy of the tide-generating force is established rigorously in the appendix.

  3. Weight, gravitation, inertia, and tides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pujol, Olivier; Lagoute, Christophe; Pérez, José-Philippe

    2015-01-01

    This paper deals with the factors that influence the weight of an object near the Earth's surface. They are: (1) the Earth's gravitational force, (2) the centrifugal force due to the Earth's diurnal rotation, and (3) tidal forces due to the gravitational field of the Moon and Sun, and other solar system bodies to a lesser extent. Each of these three contributions is discussed and expressions are derived. The relationship between weight and gravitation is thus established in a direct and pedagogical manner readily understandable by undergraduate students. The analysis applies to the Newtonian limit of gravitation. The derivation is based on an experimental (or operational) definition of weight, and it is shown that it coincides with the Earth’s gravitational force modified by diurnal rotation around a polar axis and non-uniformity of external gravitational bodies (tidal term). Two examples illustrate and quantify these modifications, respectively the Eötvös effect and the oceanic tides; tidal forces due to differential gravitation on a spacecraft and an asteroid are also proposed as examples. Considerations about inertia are also given and some comments are made about a widespread, yet confusing, explanation of tides based on a centrifugal force. Finally, the expression of the potential energy of the tide-generating force is established rigorously in the appendix. (paper)

  4. Gravitational Grating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahvar, Sohrab

    2018-05-01

    In this work, we study the interaction of the electromagnetic wave (EW) from a distant quasar with the gravitational wave (GW) sourced by the binary stars. While in the regime of geometric optics, the light bending due to this interaction is negligible, we show that the phase shifting on the wavefront of an EW can produce the diffraction pattern on the observer plane. The diffraction of the light (with the wavelength of λe) by the gravitational wave playing the role of gravitational grating (with the wavelength of λg) has the diffraction angle of Δβ ˜ λe/λg. The relative motion of the observer, the source of gravitational wave and the quasar results in a relative motion of the observer through the interference pattern on the observer plane. The consequence of this fringe crossing is the modulation in the light curve of a quasar with the period of few hours in the microwave wavelength. The optical depth for the observation of this phenomenon for a Quasar with the multiple images strongly lensed by a galaxy where the light trajectory of some of the images crosses the lensing galaxy is τ ≃ 0.2. By shifting the time-delay of the light curves of the multiple images in a strong lensed quasar and removing the intrinsic variations of a quasar, our desired signals, as a new method for detection of GWs can be detected.

  5. Fabrication of polymer microlenses on single mode optical fibers for light coupling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaboub, Monsef; Guessoum, Assia; Demagh, Nacer-Eddine; Guermat, Abdelhak

    2016-05-01

    In this paper, we present a technique for producing fibers optics micro-collimators composed of polydimethylsiloxane PDMS microlenses of different radii of curvature. The waist and working distance values obtained enable the optimization of optical coupling between optical fibers, fibers and optical sources, and fibers and detectors. The principal is based on the injection of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into a conical micro-cavity chemically etched at the end of optical fibers. A spherical microlens is then formed that is self-centered with respect to the axis of the fiber. Typically, an optimal radius of curvature of 10.08 μm is obtained. This optimized micro-collimator is characterized by a working distance of 19.27 μm and a waist equal to 2.28 μm for an SMF 9/125 μm fiber. The simulation and experimental results reveal an optical coupling efficiency that can reach a value of 99.75%.

  6. Detections of Planets in Binaries Through the Channel of Chang–Refsdal Gravitational Lensing Events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Cheongho [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, In-Gu; Jung, Youn Kil [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    Chang–Refsdal (C–R) lensing, which refers to the gravitational lensing of a point mass perturbed by a constant external shear, provides a good approximation in describing lensing behaviors of either a very wide or a very close binary lens. C–R lensing events, which are identified by short-term anomalies near the peak of high-magnification lensing light curves, are routinely detected from lensing surveys, but not much attention is paid to them. In this paper, we point out that C–R lensing events provide an important channel to detect planets in binaries, both in close and wide binary systems. Detecting planets through the C–R lensing event channel is possible because the planet-induced perturbation occurs in the same region of the C–R lensing-induced anomaly and thus the existence of the planet can be identified by the additional deviation in the central perturbation. By presenting the analysis of the actually observed C–R lensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-1319, we demonstrate that dense and high-precision coverage of a C–R lensing-induced perturbation can provide a strong constraint on the existence of a planet in a wide range of planet parameters. The sample of an increased number of microlensing planets in binary systems will provide important observational constraints in giving shape to the details of planet formation, which have been restricted to the case of single stars to date.

  7. OGLE-2015-BLG-0196: GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENS PARALLAX CONFIRMED BY SPACE-BASED OBSERVATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of); Udalski, A.; Szymański, M. K.; Soszyński, I.; Skowron, J.; Mróz, P.; Poleski, R.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Kozłowski, S.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Gould, A.; Zhu, Wei; Fausnaugh, M.; Gaudi, B. S. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Yee, J. C. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Beichman, C. [NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Novati, S. Calchi [Dipartimento di Fisica “E. R. Caianiello,” Uńiversitá di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, I-84084 Fisciano (Italy); Carey, S. [Spitzer Science Center, MS 220-6, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Bryden, C. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; Spitzer Microlensing Team; and others

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we present an analysis of the binary gravitational microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-0196. The event lasted for almost a year, and the light curve exhibited significant deviations from the lensing model based on the rectilinear lens-source relative motion, enabling us to measure the microlens parallax. The ground-based microlens parallax is confirmed by the data obtained from space-based microlens observations using the Spitzer telescope. By additionally measuring the angular Einstein radius from the analysis of the resolved caustic crossing, the physical parameters of the lens are determined up to the twofold degeneracy, u {sub 0} < 0 and u {sub 0} > 0, solutions caused by the well-known “ecliptic” degeneracy. It is found that the binary lens is composed of two M dwarf stars with similar masses, M {sub 1} = 0.38 ± 0.04 M {sub ⊙} (0.50 ± 0.05 M {sub ⊙}) and M {sub 2} = 0.38 ± 0.04 M {sub ⊙} (0.55 ± 0.06 M {sub ⊙}), and the distance to the lens is D {sub L} = 2.77 ± 0.23 kpc (3.30 ± 0.29 kpc). Here the physical parameters outside and inside the parentheses are for the u {sub 0} < 0 and u {sub 0} > 0 solutions, respectively.

  8. Seven (and a half) reasons to believe in mirror matter: from neutrino puzzles to the inferred dark matter in the universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foot, R.

    2001-02-01

    Parity and time reversal are obvious and plausible candidates for fundamental symmetries of nature. Hypothesising that these symmetries exist implies the existence of a new form of matter, called mirror matter. The mirror matter theory (or exact parity model) makes four main predictions: 1) Dark matter in the form of mirror matter should exist in the Universe (i.e. mirror galaxies, stars, planets, meteoroids...), 2) Maximal ordinary neutrino - mirror neutrino oscillations if neutrinos have mass, 3) Orthopositronium should have a shorter effective lifetime than predicted by QED (in 'vacuum' experiments) because of the effects of photon-mirror photon mixing and 4) Higgs production and decay rate should be 50% lower than in the standard model due to Higgs mirror - Higgs mixing (assuming that the separation of the Higgs masses is larger than their decay widths). At the present time there is strong experimental/observational evidence supporting the first three of these predictions, while the fourth one is not tested yet because the Higgs boson, predicted in the standard model of particle physics, is yet to be found. This experimental/observational evidence is rich and varied ranging from the atmospheric and solar neutrino deficits, MACHO gravitational microlensing events, strange properties of extra-solar planets, the existence of 'isolated' planets, orthopositronium lifetime anomaly, Tunguska and other strange 'meteor' events including perhaps, the origin of the moon. The purpose of this article is to provide a not too technical review of these ideas along with some new results

  9. Som de cabra macho: sonoridade, nordestinidade e masculinidades no forró

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Trotta

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Neste artigo serão discutidas as complexidades da construção da identidade nordestina articulada a partir de determinadas sonoridades assumidas coletivamente como “características”. Parte-se da ideia de que a noção de nordestinidade está estreitamente relacionada com a ideia de masculinidade. O tipo nordestino, cabra macho e sertanejo forte, é descrito em sons, imagens e narrativas que estabelecem um modelo de masculinidade efetivo, compartilhado em canções e timbres. Como um gênero musical estreitamente identificado com o Nordeste, o forró negocia em seu repertório modos de pensar e acionar essa masculinidade nordestina, ligada às ideias de força e virilidade. Suas sonoridades instrumentais mais características – a sanfona e, atualmente, o naipe de metais – acionam tais modelos e, deste modo, processam e atualizam tanto o pertencimento regional quanto certos modelos de masculinidade.

  10. Gravitational radiation quadrupole formula is valid for gravitationally interacting systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, M.; Will, C.M.

    1980-01-01

    An argument is presented for the validity of the quadrupole formula for gravitational radiation energy loss in the far field of nearly Newtonian (e.g., binary stellar) systems. This argument differs from earlier ones in that it determines beforehand the formal accuracy of approximation required to describe gravitationally self-interacting systems, uses the corresponding approximate equation of motion explicitly, and evaluate the appropriate asymptotic quantities by matching along the correct space-time light cones

  11. Finite Source Effects in Microlensing Events

    OpenAIRE

    Gould, Andrew; Gaucherel, Cedric

    1996-01-01

    The computation of the magnification of a finite source by an arbitrary gravitational lens can be reduced from a two-dimensional to a one-dimensional integral using a generalization of Stoke's theorem. For a large source lensed by a planetary-system whose planet lies at the position where one of the two images would be in the absence of a planet, the integral can be done analytically. If the planet lies at the position of the major (unperturbed) image, the excess flux is the same as it would ...

  12. Redescubrimiento de Neopentura semifusca (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae, descripción del imago macho, redescripción de la hembra y la ninfa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro VERA

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Se describen ambos sexos y la ninfa de Neopentura semifusca Illies, 1965. El macho es descrito por primera vez. La ninfa corresponde a la «Ninfa A» descrita tentativamente por Illies para Araucanioperla . Se discute la clasificación a nivel de subfamilia y su distribución geográfica.

  13. Gravitational wave reception by a sphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashby, N.; Dreitlein, J.

    1975-01-01

    The reception of gravitational waves by an elastic self-gravitating spherical detector is studied in detail. The equations of motion of a detector driven by a gravitational wave are presented in the intuitively convenient coordinate system of Fermi. An exact analytic solution is given for the homogeneous isotropic sphere. Nonlinear effects of a massive self-gravitating system are computed for a body of mass equal to that of the earth, and are shown to be numerically important

  14. Does the Galactic Bulge Have Fewer Planets?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2016-12-01

    The Milky Ways dense central bulge is a very different environment than the surrounding galactic disk in which we live. Do the differences affect the ability of planets to form in the bulge?Exploring Galactic PlanetsSchematic illustrating how gravitational microlensing by an extrasolar planet works. [NASA]Planet formation is a complex process with many aspects that we dont yet understand. Do environmental properties like host star metallicity, the density of nearby stars, or the intensity of the ambient radiation field affect the ability of planets to form? To answer these questions, we will ultimately need to search for planets around stars in a large variety of different environments in our galaxy.One way to detect recently formed, distant planets is by gravitational microlensing. In this process, light from a distant source star is bent by a lens star that is briefly located between us and the source. As the Earth moves, this momentary alignment causes a blip in the sources light curve that we can detect and planets hosted by the lens star can cause an additional observable bump.Artists impression of the Milky Way galaxy. The central bulge is much denserthan the surroundingdisk. [ESO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Kornmesser/R. Hurt]Relative AbundancesMost source stars reside in the galactic bulge, so microlensing events can probe planetary systems at any distance between the Earth and the galactic bulge. This means that planet detections from microlensing could potentially be used to measure the relative abundances of exoplanets in different parts of our galaxy.A team of scientists led by Matthew Penny, a Sagan postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University, set out to do just that. The group considered a sample of 31 exoplanetary systems detected by microlensing and asked the following question: are the planet abundances in the galactic bulge and the galactic disk the same?A Paucity of PlanetsTo answer this question, Penny and collaborators derived the expected

  15. Are the gravitational waves quantised?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovas, I.

    1998-01-01

    The question whether gravitational waves are quantised or not can be investigated by the help of correlation measurements. If the gravitational waves are classical objects then the value of their correlation function is 1. However, if they are quantised, then there exist two possibilities: the gravitational waves are either completely coherent, then the correlation function is again 1, or they are partially coherent, then the correlation function is expected to deviate from 1. If the gravitational waves are generated by the change of the background metrics then they can be in a squeezed state. In a squeezed state there is a chance for the correlation between the phase of the wave and the quantum fluctuations. (author)

  16. Transient multimessenger astronomy with gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marka, S

    2011-01-01

    Comprehensive multimessenger astronomy with gravitational waves is a pioneering field bringing us interesting results and presenting us with exciting challenges for the future. During the era of the operation of advanced interferometric gravitational wave detectors, we will have the opportunity to investigate sources of gravitational waves that are also expected to be observable through other messengers, such as gamma rays, x-rays, optical, radio, and/or neutrino emission. Multimessenger searches for gravitational waves with the LIGO-GEO600-Virgo interferometer network have already produced insights on cosmic events and it is expected that the simultaneous observation of electromagnetic or neutrino emission could be a crucial aspect for the first direct detection of gravitational waves in the future. Trigger time, direction and expected frequency range enhances our ability to search for gravitational wave signatures with amplitudes closer to the noise floor of the detector. Furthermore, multimessenger observations will enable the extraction of otherwise unaccessible scientific insight. We summarize the status of transient multimessenger detection efforts as well as mention some of the open questions that might be resolved by advanced or third generation gravitational wave detector networks.

  17. Gravitational lensing of quasars

    CERN Document Server

    Eigenbrod, Alexander

    2013-01-01

    The universe, in all its richness, diversity and complexity, is populated by a myriad of intriguing celestial objects. Among the most exotic of them are gravitationally lensed quasars. A quasar is an extremely bright nucleus of a galaxy, and when such an object is gravitationally lensed, multiple images of the quasar are produced – this phenomenon of cosmic mirage can provide invaluable insights on burning questions, such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy. After presenting the basics of modern cosmology, the book describes active galactic nuclei, the theory of gravitational lensing, and presents a particular numerical technique to improve the resolution of astronomical data. The book then enters the heart of the subject with the description of important applications of gravitational lensing of quasars, such as the measurement of the famous Hubble constant, the determination of the dark matter distribution in galaxies, and the observation of the mysterious inner parts of quasars with much higher r...

  18. Rates for parallax-shifted microlensing events from ground-based observations of the galactic bulge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchalter, A.; Kamionkowski, M.

    1997-01-01

    The parallax effect in ground-based microlensing (ML) observations consists of a distortion to the standard ML light curve arising from the Earth's orbital motion. This can be used to partially remove the degeneracy among the system parameters in the event timescale, t 0 . In most cases, the resolution in current ML surveys is not accurate enough to observe this effect, but parallax could conceivably be detected with frequent follow-up observations of ML events in progress, providing the photometric errors are small enough. We calculate the expected fraction of ML events where the shape distortions will be observable by such follow-up observations, adopting Galactic models for the lens and source distributions that are consistent with observed microlensing timescale distributions. We study the dependence of the rates for parallax-shifted events on the frequency of follow-up observations and on the precision of the photometry. For example, we find that for hourly observations with typical photometric errors of 0.01 mag, 6% of events where the lens is in the bulge, and 31% of events where the lens is in the disk (or ∼10% of events overall), will give rise to a measurable parallax shift at the 95% confidence level. These fractions may be increased by improved photometric accuracy and increased sampling frequency. While long-duration events are favored, the surveys would be effective in picking out such distortions in events with timescales as low as t 0 ∼20 days. We study the dependence of these fractions on the assumed disk mass function and find that a higher parallax incidence is favored by mass functions with higher mean masses. Parallax measurements yield the reduced transverse speed, v, which gives both the relative transverse speed and lens mass as a function of distance. We give examples of the accuracies with which v may be measured in typical parallax events. (Abstract Truncated)

  19. Gravitation and spacetime

    CERN Document Server

    Ohanian, Hans C

    2013-01-01

    The third edition of this classic textbook is a quantitative introduction for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. It gently guides students from Newton's gravitational theory to special relativity, and then to the relativistic theory of gravitation. General relativity is approached from several perspectives: as a theory constructed by analogy with Maxwell's electrodynamics, as a relativistic generalization of Newton's theory, and as a theory of curved spacetime. The authors provide a concise overview of the important concepts and formulas, coupled with the experimental results underpinning the latest research in the field. Numerous exercises in Newtonian gravitational theory and Maxwell's equations help students master essential concepts for advanced work in general relativity, while detailed spacetime diagrams encourage them to think in terms of four-dimensional geometry. Featuring comprehensive reviews of recent experimental and observational data, the text concludes with chapters on cosmology an...

  20. Gravitation and vacuum field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tevikyan, R.V.

    1986-01-01

    This paper presents equations that describe particles with spins s = 0, 1/2, 1 completely and which also describe 2s + 2 limiting fields as E → ∞. It is shown that the ordinary Hilbert-Einstein action for the gravitation field must be augmented by the action for the Bose vacuum field. This means that one must introduce in the gravitational equations a cosmological term proportional to the square of the strength of the Bose vacuum field. It is shown that the theory of gravitation describes three realities: matter, field, and vacuum field. A new form of matter--the vacuum field--is introduced into field theory

  1. Those Elusive Gravitational Waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    MOSAIC, 1976

    1976-01-01

    The presence of gravitational waves was predicted by Einstein in his theory of General Relativity. Since then, scientists have been attempting to develop a detector sensitive enough to measure these cosmic signals. Once the presence of gravitational waves is confirmed, scientists can directly study star interiors, galaxy cores, or quasars. (MA)

  2. Probing Positron Gravitation at HERA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gharibyan, Vahagn

    2015-07-01

    An equality of particle and antiparticle gravitational interactions holds in general relativity and is supported by indirect observations. Here I develop a method based on high energy Compton scattering to measure the gravitational interaction of accelerated charged particles. Within that formalism the Compton spectra measured at HERA rule out the positron's anti-gravity and hint for a positron's 1.3(0.2)% weaker coupling to the gravitational field relative to an electron.

  3. Quantum Emulation of Gravitational Waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez-Corbaton, Ivan; Cirio, Mauro; Büse, Alexander; Lamata, Lucas; Solano, Enrique; Molina-Terriza, Gabriel

    2015-07-14

    Gravitational waves, as predicted by Einstein's general relativity theory, appear as ripples in the fabric of spacetime traveling at the speed of light. We prove that the propagation of small amplitude gravitational waves in a curved spacetime is equivalent to the propagation of a subspace of electromagnetic states. We use this result to propose the use of entangled photons to emulate the evolution of gravitational waves in curved spacetimes by means of experimental electromagnetic setups featuring metamaterials.

  4. Probing Positron Gravitation at HERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gharibyan, Vahagn

    2015-07-15

    An equality of particle and antiparticle gravitational interactions holds in general relativity and is supported by indirect observations. Here I develop a method based on high energy Compton scattering to measure the gravitational interaction of accelerated charged particles. Within that formalism the Compton spectra measured at HERA rule out the positron's anti-gravity and hint for a positron's 1.3(0.2)% weaker coupling to the gravitational field relative to an electron.

  5. The energy-momentum problem and gravitation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Folomeshkin, V.N.

    1977-01-01

    General properties of geometrized gravitation theories are considered. A covariant formulation of conservation laws in an arbitrary Riemann space-time is presented. In the Einstein theory both symmetric and canonical energy-momentum tensors of the matter and gravitational field system and, in particular, energy-momentum of free gravitational waves prove to be equal to zero. Since gravitational waves carry the curvature and, consequently, affect the detector, this bears witness to an intrinsic contradiction of the Einstein theory. To realize the sources of difficulties concerning energy-momentum in the Einstein theory the gravitational field is treated in the same way as all the other physical fields, i.e. in terms of usual Lorentz-invariant field theory. Unification of this approach with the Einstein idea of geometrization enables to construct the geometrized theory, which is free from contradictions, has clearly defined the notions of gravitation field energy-momentum and satisfactorily describes all known experimental facts. To construct a logically consistent theory one should geometrize only the density of the matter Lagrangian. The gravitation field equations are formulated in terms of the Euclidean space-time with a metric tensor γsub(ik), while the matter motion may be completely described in terms of the non-Euclidean space-time with a metric tensor gsub(ik). For strong gravitational fields the predictions of the quasi-linear theory under consideration appriciably differ from those of the Einstein formulation of the gravitation theory. No black holes are present in the theory. The results of the calculation for the energy flow of gravitational waves are rigorously unambiguous and show that gravitational waves carry positively definite energy

  6. Relic gravitational waves and cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grishchuk, Leonid P

    2005-01-01

    The paper begins with a brief recollection of interactions of the author with Ya B Zeldovich in the context of the study of relic gravitational waves. The principles and early results on the quantum-mechanical generation of cosmological perturbations are then summarized. The expected amplitudes of relic gravitational waves differ in various frequency windows, and therefore the techniques and prospects of their detection are distinct. One section of the paper describes the present state of efforts in direct detection of relic gravitational waves. Another section is devoted to indirect detection via the anisotropy and polarization measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. It is emphasized throughout the paper that the inference about the existence and expected amount of relic gravitational waves is based on a solid theoretical foundation and the best available cosmological observations. It is also explained in great detail what went wrong with the so-called 'inflationary gravitational waves', whose amount is predicted by inflationary theorists to be negligibly small, thus depriving them of any observational significance. (reviews of topical problems)

  7. Modified entropic gravitation in superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matos, Clovis Jacinto de

    2012-01-01

    Verlinde recently developed a theoretical account of gravitation in terms of an entropic force. The central element in Verlinde’s derivation is information and its relation with entropy through the holographic principle. The application of this approach to the case of superconductors requires to take into account that information associated with superconductor’s quantum vacuum energy is not stored on Planck size surface elements, but in four volume cells with Planck-Einstein size. This has profound consequences on the type of gravitational force generated by the quantum vacuum condensate in superconductors, which is closely related with the cosmological repulsive acceleration responsible for the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Remarkably this new gravitational type force depends on the level of breaking of the weak equivalence principle for cooper pairs in a given superconducting material, which was previously derived by the author starting from similar principles. It is also shown that this new gravitational force can be interpreted as a surface force. The experimental detection of this new repulsive gravitational-type force appears to be challenging.

  8. Sensitivity of a combined gravitational antenna

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulagin, V.V.; Rudenko, V.N.

    1986-01-01

    A modification of a combined optico-acoustic gravitational antenna: a long-base laser interferometer, where free masses are changed by Weber resonators, is suggested. The combined gravitational antenna can possess sensitivity h min ∼ 10 -18 without deep cooling of Weber resonators and h min ∼ 10 -19 at helium temperaure of the resonators. This antenna has the following new quantities: presence of three independent responses, that permits to a considerable extent to exclude non-gravitational effects; presence of responses of two separated Weber resonators, that permits to register the wave character of gravitational perturbation by measuring phase shift between relaxation ''tails''. It means that one may with certainty register the wave structure of gravitational radiation for perturbation of metrics h, exceeding the threshold sensitivity of the known detectors by an order

  9. Theory and experiment in gravitational physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Will, C. M.

    New technological advances have made it feasible to conduct measurements with precision levels which are suitable for experimental tests of the theory of general relativity. This book has been designed to fill a new need for a complete treatment of techniques for analyzing gravitation theory and experience. The Einstein equivalence principle and the foundations of gravitation theory are considered, taking into account the Dicke framework, basic criteria for the viability of a gravitation theory, experimental tests of the Einstein equivalence principle, Schiff's conjecture, and a model theory devised by Lightman and Lee (1973). Gravitation as a geometric phenomenon is considered along with the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism, the classical tests, tests of the strong equivalence principle, gravitational radiation as a tool for testing relativistic gravity, the binary pulsar, and cosmological tests.

  10. Gravitational waves from self-ordering scalar fields

    CERN Document Server

    Fenu, Elisa; Durrer, Ruth; Garcia-Bellido, Juan

    2009-01-01

    Gravitational waves were copiously produced in the early Universe whenever the processes taking place were sufficiently violent. The spectra of several of these gravitational wave backgrounds on subhorizon scales have been extensively studied in the literature. In this paper we analyze the shape and amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum on scales which are superhorizon at the time of production. Such gravitational waves are expected from the self ordering of randomly oriented scalar fields which can be present during a thermal phase transition or during preheating after hybrid inflation. We find that, if the gravitational wave source acts only during a small fraction of the Hubble time, the gravitational wave spectrum at frequencies lower than the expansion rate at the time of production behaves as $\\Omega_{\\rm GW}(f) \\propto f^3$ with an amplitude much too small to be observable by gravitational wave observatories like LIGO, LISA or BBO. On the other hand, if the source is active for a much longer tim...

  11. Gravitational Waves: The Evidence Mounts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wick, Gerald L.

    1970-01-01

    Reviews the work of Weber and his colleagues in their attempts at detecting extraterrestial gravitational waves. Coincidence events recorded by special detectors provide the evidence for the existence of gravitational waves. Bibliography. (LC)

  12. Gravitational Wave Speed: Undefined. Experiments Proposed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Russell

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Since changes in all 4 dimensions of spacetime are components of displacement for gravitational waves, a theoretical result is presented that their speed is undefined, and that the Theory of Relativity is not reliable to predict their speed. Astrophysical experiments are proposed with objectives to directly measure gravitational wave speed, and to verify these theoretical results. From the circumference of two merging black hole's final orbit, it is proposed to make an estimate of a total duration of the last ten orbits, before gravitational collapse, for comparison with durations of reported gravitational wave signals. It is proposed to open a new field of engineering of spacetime wave modulation with an objective of faster and better data transmission and communication through the Earth, the Sun, and deep space. If experiments verify that gravitational waves have infinite speed, it is concluded that a catastrophic gravitational collapse, such as a merger of quasars, today, would re-define the geometry and curvature of spacetime on Earth, instantly, without optical observations of this merger visible, until billions of years in the future.

  13. A calibration of the stellar mass fundamental plane at z ∼ 0.5 using the micro-lensing-induced flux ratio anomalies of macro-lensed quasars , ,

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schechter, Paul L.; Pooley, David; Blackburne, Jeffrey A.; Wambsganss, Joachim

    2014-01-01

    We measure the stellar mass surface densities of early-type galaxies by observing the micro-lensing of macro-lensed quasars caused by individual stars, including stellar remnants, brown dwarfs, and red dwarfs too faint to produce photometric or spectroscopic signatures. Instead of observing multiple micro-lensing events in a single system, we combine single-epoch X-ray snapshots of 10 quadruple systems, and compare the measured relative magnifications for the images with those computed from macro-models. We use these to normalize a stellar mass fundamental plane constructed using a Salpeter initial mass function with a low-mass cutoff of 0.1 M ☉ and treat the zeropoint of the surface mass density as a free parameter. Our method measures the graininess of the gravitational potential produced by individual stars, in contrast to methods that decompose a smooth total gravitational potential into two smooth components, one stellar and one dark. We find the median likelihood value for the normalization factor F by which the Salpeter stellar masses must be multiplied is 1.23, with a one sigma confidence range, dominated by small number statistics, of 0.77

  14. Resonant-bar gravitational radiation antennas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blair, D.G.

    1987-01-01

    This paper reviews the concept of gravitational radiation, and describes the worldwide research programme for the development of high-sensitivity resonant-bar antennas which are aimed at detecting gravitational radiation from astrophysical sources. (author)

  15. Problem of energy-momentum and theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Folomeshkin, V.N.

    1977-01-01

    General properties of geometrised theories of gravitation are considered. Covariant formulation of conservation laws in arbitrary riemannian space-time is given. In the Einstein theory the symmetric as well as canonical energy-momentum tensor of the system ''matter plus gravitational field'' and in particular, the energy-momentum of free gravitational waves, turns out to be equal to zero. To understand the origin of the problems and difficulties concerning the energy-momentum in the Einstein theory, the gravitational filed is considered in the usual framework of the Lorentz invariant field theory, just like any other physical field. Combination of the approach proposed with the Einstein's idea of geometrization makes it possible to formulate the geometrised gravitation theory, in which there are no inner contradictions, the energy-momentum of gravitational field is defined precisely and all the known experimental facts are described successfully. For strong gravitational fields the predictions of the quasilinear geometrised theory under consideration are different from those of the gravitational theory in the Einstein formulation. Black holes are absent in the theory. Evaluation of the energy-flux of gravitational waves leads to unambiguous results and shows that the gravitational waves transfer the positive-definite energy

  16. On black holes and gravitational waves

    CERN Document Server

    Loinger, Angelo

    2002-01-01

    Black holes and gravitational waves are theoretical entities of today astrophysics. Various observed phenomena have been associated with the concept of black hole ; until now, nobody has detected gravitational waves. The essays contained in this book aim at showing that the concept of black holes arises from a misinterpretation of general relativity and that gravitational waves cannot exist.

  17. The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna - DECIGO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, S; Seto, N; Sato, S; Arai, K; Ando, M; Tsubono, K; Agatsuma, K; Akutsu, T; Akutsu, T; Arase, Y; Nakamura, T; Tanaka, T; Funaki, I; Takashima, T; Numata, K; Ioka, K; Kanda, N; Aoyanagi, Koh-Suke; Araya, A; Asada, H

    2008-01-01

    DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. The goal of DECIGO is to detect gravitational waves from various kinds of sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy. DECIGO will consist of three drag-free spacecraft, 1000 km apart from each other, whose relative displacements are measured by a Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch DECIGO pathfinder first to demonstrate the technologies required to realize DECIGO and, if possible, to detect gravitational waves from our galaxy or nearby galaxies

  18. Gravitational waves in cold dark matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flauger, Raphael; Weinberg, Steven

    2018-06-01

    We study the effects of cold dark matter on the propagation of gravitational waves of astrophysical and primordial origin. We show that the dominant effect of cold dark matter on gravitational waves from astrophysical sources is a small frequency dependent modification of the propagation speed of gravitational waves. However, the magnitude of the effect is too small to be detected in the near future. We furthermore show that the spectrum of primordial gravitational waves in principle contains detailed information about the properties of dark matter. However, depending on the wavelength, the effects are either suppressed because the dark matter is highly nonrelativistic or because it contributes a small fraction of the energy density of the universe. As a consequence, the effects of cold dark matter on primordial gravitational waves in practice also appear too small to be detectable.

  19. Anisotropic solutions by gravitational decoupling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovalle, J.; Casadio, R.; da Rocha, R.; Sotomayor, A.

    2018-02-01

    We investigate the extension of isotropic interior solutions for static self-gravitating systems to include the effects of anisotropic spherically symmetric gravitational sources by means of the gravitational decoupling realised via the minimal geometric deformation approach. In particular, the matching conditions at the surface of the star with the outer Schwarzschild space-time are studied in great detail, and we describe how to generate, from a single physically acceptable isotropic solution, new families of anisotropic solutions whose physical acceptability is also inherited from their isotropic parent.

  20. Anisotropic solutions by gravitational decoupling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ovalle, J. [Silesian University in Opava, Institute of Physics and Research Centre of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Opava (Czech Republic); Universidad Simon Bolivar, Departamento de Fisica, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Casadio, R. [Alma Mater Universita di Bologna, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Bologna (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bologna (Italy); Rocha, R. da [Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Centro de Matematica, Computacao e Cognicao, Santo Andre, SP (Brazil); Sotomayor, A. [Universidad de Antofagasta, Departamento de Matematicas, Antofagasta (Chile)

    2018-02-15

    We investigate the extension of isotropic interior solutions for static self-gravitating systems to include the effects of anisotropic spherically symmetric gravitational sources by means of the gravitational decoupling realised via the minimal geometric deformation approach. In particular, the matching conditions at the surface of the star with the outer Schwarzschild space-time are studied in great detail, and we describe how to generate, from a single physically acceptable isotropic solution, new families of anisotropic solutions whose physical acceptability is also inherited from their isotropic parent. (orig.)

  1. Gravitation and Electricity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stavroulakis N.

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The equations of gravitation together with the equations of electromagnetism in terms of the General Theory of Relativity allow to conceive an interdependence between the gravitational field and the electromagnetic field. However the technical difficulties of the relevant problems have precluded from expressing clearly this interdependence. Even the simple problem related to the field generated by a charged spherical mass is not correctly solved. In the present paper we reexamine from the outset this problem and propose a new solution.

  2. Gravitational states of antihydrogen near material surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voronin, Alexei Yu., E-mail: dr.a.voronin@gmail.com [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Froelich, Piotr [Uppsala University, Department of Quantum Chemistry (Sweden); Nesvizhevsky, Valery V. [Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) (France)

    2012-12-15

    We present a theoretical study of the motion of antihydrogen atoms in the Earth's gravitational field near a material surface. We predict the existence of long-living quasistationary states of antihydrogen in a superposition of the gravitational and Casimir-van der Waals potentials of the surface. We suggest an interferometric method of measuring the energy difference between such gravitational states, hence the gravitational mass of antihydrogen.

  3. A new theory of space-time and gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Logunov, A.A.

    1982-01-01

    Field theory of gravitation is constructed. It uses a symmetrical second rank tensor field in pseudoeuclidean space-time for describing the gravitational field. The theory is based on the condition of the presence of conservation laws for gravitational field and matter taken together and on the geometrization principle. The field theory of gravitation has the same post-newtonian parame-- ters as the general relativity theory (GRT) which implies that both theories are indistinguishable from the viewpoint of any post- newtonian experiment. The description of the effects in strong gravitational fields as well as properties of gravitational waves in the field theory of gravitation and GRT differ significantly from each other. The distinctions between two theories include also the itational red shifti curving of light trajectories and timabsence in the field theory of gravitation of the effects of grav.. delay/ in processes of propagation of gravitational waves in external fields. These distinctions made it possible to suggest a number of experiments with gravitational waves in which the predictions of the field theory of gravitation can be compared with those of the GRT. Model of the Universe in the field theory of gravitation makes it possible to describe the cosmological red shift of the frequency. Character of the evolution in this mode is determined by the delay parameter q 0 : at q 0 0 >4-3/2xα the ''expansion'' at some moment will ''change'' to contraction'' and the Universe will return to the singular state, where α=8πepsilon 0 /3M 2 (H is the Hubble constant) [ru

  4. Gravitational waves from self-ordering scalar fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fenu, Elisa; Durrer, Ruth; Figueroa, Daniel G.; García-Bellido, Juan

    2009-01-01

    Gravitational waves were copiously produced in the early Universe whenever the processes taking place were sufficiently violent. The spectra of several of these gravitational wave backgrounds on subhorizon scales have been extensively studied in the literature. In this paper we analyze the shape and amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum on scales which are superhorizon at the time of production. Such gravitational waves are expected from the self ordering of randomly oriented scalar fields which can be present during a thermal phase transition or during preheating after hybrid inflation. We find that, if the gravitational wave source acts only during a small fraction of the Hubble time, the gravitational wave spectrum at frequencies lower than the expansion rate at the time of production behaves as Ω GW (f) ∝ f 3 with an amplitude much too small to be observable by gravitational wave observatories like LIGO, LISA or BBO. On the other hand, if the source is active for a much longer time, until a given mode which is initially superhorizon (kη * 1, we find that the gravitational wave energy density is frequency independent, i.e. scale invariant. Moreover, its amplitude for a GUT scale scenario turns out to be within the range and sensitivity of BBO and marginally detectable by LIGO and LISA. This new gravitational wave background can compete with the one generated during inflation, and distinguishing both may require extra information

  5. A new geometrical gravitational theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obata, T.; Chiba, J.; Oshima, H.

    1981-01-01

    A geometrical gravitational theory is developed. The field equations are uniquely determined apart from one unknown dimensionless parameter ω 2 . It is based on an extension of the Weyl geometry, and by the extension the gravitational coupling constant and the gravitational mass are made to be dynamical and geometrical. The fundamental geometrical objects in the theory are a metric gsub(μν) and two gauge scalars phi and psi. The theory satisfies the weak equivalence principle, but breaks the strong one generally. u(phi, psi) = phi is found out on the assumption that the strong one keeps holding good at least for bosons of low spins. Thus there is the simple correspondence between the geometrical objects and the gravitational objects. Since the theory satisfies the weak one, the inertial mass is also dynamical and geometrical in the same way as is the gravitational mass. Moreover, the cosmological term in the theory is a coscalar of power -4 algebraically made of psi and u(phi, psi), so it is dynamical, too. Finally spherically symmetric exact solutions are given. The permissible range of the unknown parameter ω 2 is experimentally determined by applying the solutions to the solar system. (author)

  6. Gravitational waves from supernova matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheidegger, S; Whitehouse, S C; Kaeppeli, R; Liebendoerfer, M

    2010-01-01

    We have performed a set of 11 three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) core-collapse supernova simulations in order to investigate the dependences of the gravitational wave signal on the progenitor's initial conditions. We study the effects of the initial central angular velocity and different variants of neutrino transport. Our models are started up from a 15M o-dot progenitor and incorporate an effective general relativistic gravitational potential and a finite temperature nuclear equation of state. Furthermore, the electron flavour neutrino transport is tracked by efficient algorithms for the radiative transfer of massless fermions. We find that non- and slowly rotating models show gravitational wave emission due to prompt- and lepton driven convection that reveals details about the hydrodynamical state of the fluid inside the protoneutron stars. Furthermore we show that protoneutron stars can become dynamically unstable to rotational instabilities at T/|W| values as low as ∼2% at core bounce. We point out that the inclusion of deleptonization during the postbounce phase is very important for the quantitative gravitational wave (GW) prediction, as it enhances the absolute values of the gravitational wave trains up to a factor of ten with respect to a lepton-conserving treatment.

  7. Gravitational scattering of electromagnetic radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooker, J. T.; Janis, A. I.

    1980-01-01

    The scattering of electromagnetic radiation by linearized gravitational fields is studied to second order in a perturbation expansion. The incoming electromagnetic radiation can be of arbitrary multipole structure, and the gravitational fields are also taken to be advanced fields of arbitrary multipole structure. All electromagnetic multipole radiation is found to be scattered by gravitational monopole and time-varying dipole fields. No case has been found, however, in which any electromagnetic multipole radiation is scattered by gravitational fields of quadrupole or higher-order multipole structure. This lack of scattering is established for infinite classes of special cases, and is conjectured to hold in general. The results of the scattering analysis are applied to the case of electromagnetic radiation scattered by a moving mass. It is shown how the mass and velocity may be determined by a knowledge of the incident and scattered radiation.

  8. Bipolar outflows as a repulsive gravitational phenomenon - Azimuthally Symmetric Theory of Gravitation (II)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nyambuya, Golden Gadzirayi

    2010-01-01

    This paper is part of a series on the Azimuthally Symmetric Theory of Gravitation (ASTG). This theory is built on Laplace-Poisson's well known equation and it has been shown that the ASTG is capable of explaining, from a purely classical physics standpoint, the precession of the perihelion of solar planets as a consequence of the azimuthal symmetry emerging from the spin of the Sun. This symmetry has and must have an influence on the emergent gravitational field. We show herein that the emergent equations from the ASTG, under some critical conditions determined by the spin, do possess repulsive gravitational fields in the polar regions of the gravitating body in question. This places the ASTG on an interesting pedestal to infer the origins of outflows as a repulsive gravitational phenomenon. Outflows are a ubiquitous phenomenon found in star forming systems and their true origin is a question yet to be settled. Given the current thinking on their origin, the direction that the present paper takes is nothing short of an asymptotic break from conventional wisdom; at the very least, it is a complete paradigm shift because gravitation is not at all associated with this process, but rather it is thought to be an all-attractive force that only tries to squash matter together onto a single point. Additionally, we show that the emergent Azimuthally Symmetric Gravitational Field from the ASTG strongly suggests a solution to the supposed Radiation Problem that is thought to be faced by massive stars in their process of formation. That is, at ∼ 8-10 M sun , radiation from the nascent star is expected to halt the accretion of matter. We show that in-falling material will fall onto the equatorial disk and from there, this material will be channeled onto the forming star via the equatorial plane, thus accretion of mass continues well past the value of ∼ 8-10 M sun , albeit via the disk. Along the equatorial plane, the net force (with the radiation force included) on any

  9. Gravitational effects of global textures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noetzold, D.

    1990-03-01

    A solution for the dynamics of global textures is obtained. Their gravitational field during the collapse and the subsequent evolution is found to be given solely by a space-time dependent ''deficit solid angle.'' The frequency shift of photons traversing this gravitational field is calculated. The space-time dependent texture metric locally contracts the volume of three-space and thereby induces overdensities in homogeneous matter distributions. There are no gravitational forces unless matter has a nonzero angular momentum with respect to the texture origin which would be the case for moving textures

  10. Interaction of gravitational plane waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrari, V.

    1988-01-01

    The mathematical theory of colliding, infinite-fronted, plane gravitational waves is presented. The process of focusing, the creation of singularities and horizons, due to the interaction, and the lens effect due to a beam-like gravitational wave are discussed

  11. Laboratory generation of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinto, I.M.; Rotoli, G.

    1988-01-01

    The authors have performed calculations on the basic type of gravitational wave electromagnetic laboratory generators. Their results show that laboratory generations of gravitational wave is at limit of state-of-the-art of present-day giant electromagnetic field generation

  12. Gravitationally coupled electroweak monopole

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Y.M., E-mail: ymcho7@konkuk.ac.kr [Administration Building 310-4, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701 (Korea, Republic of); School of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kimm, Kyoungtae [Faculty of Liberal Education, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, J.H. [Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-10

    We present a family of gravitationally coupled electroweak monopole solutions in Einstein–Weinberg–Salam theory. Our result confirms the existence of globally regular gravitating electroweak monopole which changes to the magnetically charged black hole as the Higgs vacuum value approaches to the Planck scale. Moreover, our solutions could provide a more accurate description of the monopole stars and magnetically charged black holes.

  13. A radiometer for stochastic gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballmer, Stefan W

    2006-01-01

    The LIGO Scientific Collaboration recently reported a new upper limit on an isotropic stochastic background of gravitational waves obtained based on the data from the third LIGO science run (S3). Here I present a new method for obtaining directional upper limits on stochastic gravitational waves that essentially implements a gravitational wave radiometer. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration intends to use this method for future LIGO science runs

  14. Detecting gravitational waves from accreting neutron stars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Watts, A.L.; Krishnan, B.

    2009-01-01

    The gravitational waves emitted by neutron stars carry unique information about their structure and composition. Direct detection of these gravitational waves, however, is a formidable technical challenge. In a recent study we quantified the hurdles facing searches for gravitational waves from the

  15. The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

    OpenAIRE

    Kawamura, Seiji; Ando, Masaki; Nakamura, Takashi; Tsubono, Kimio; Tanaka, Takahiro; Funaki, Ikkoh; Seto, Naoki; Numata, Kenji; Sato, Shuichi; Ioka, Kunihito; Kanda, Nobuyuki; Takashima, Takeshi; Agatsuma, Kazuhiro; Akutsu, Tomotada; Akutsu, Tomomi

    2008-01-01

    DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. The goal of DECIGO is to detect gravitational waves from various kinds of sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy. DECIGO will consist of three drag-free spacecraft, 1000 km apart from each other, whose relative displacements are measured by a Fabry—Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to lau...

  16. The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna - DECIGO

    OpenAIRE

    Kawamura, Seiji; Ando, Masaki; Nakamura, Takashi; Tsubono, Kimio; Tanaka, Takahiro; Funaki, Iklkoh; Seto, Naoki; Numata, Kenji; Sato, Shuichi; Ioka, Kunihito; Kanda, Nobuyuki; Takashima, Takeshi; Agatsuma, Kazuhiro; Akutsu, Tomotada; Akutsu, Tomomi

    2008-01-01

    DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. The goal of DECIGO is to detect gravitational waves from various kinds of sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy. DECIGO will consist of three drag-free spacecraft, 1000 km apart from each other, whose relative displacements are measured by a Fabry—Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to lau...

  17. Gravitational waves from instabilities in relativistic stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, Nils

    2003-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of stellar instabilities as sources of gravitational waves. The aim is to put recent work on secular and dynamical instabilities in compact stars in context, and to summarize the current thinking about the detectability of gravitational waves from various scenarios. As a new generation of kilometre length interferometric detectors is now coming online this is a highly topical theme. The review is motivated by two key questions for future gravitational-wave astronomy: are the gravitational waves from various instabilities detectable? If so, what can these gravitational-wave signals teach us about neutron star physics? Even though we may not have clear answers to these questions, recent studies of the dynamical bar-mode instability and the secular r-mode instability have provided new insights into many of the difficult issues involved in modelling unstable stars as gravitational-wave sources. (topical review)

  18. Triple Microlens OGLE-2008-BLG-092L: Binary Stellar System with a Circumprimary Uranus-type Planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poleski, Radosław; Skowron, Jan; Udalski, Andrzej; Han, Cheongho; Kozłowski, Szymon; Wyrzykowski, Łukasz; Dong, Subo; Szymański, Michał K.; Kubiak, Marcin; Pietrzyński, Grzegorz; Soszyński, Igor; Ulaczyk, Krzysztof; Pietrukowicz, Paweł; Gould, Andrew

    2014-11-01

    We present the gravitational microlensing discovery of a 4 M Uranus planet that orbits a 0.7 M ⊙ star at ≈18 AU. This is the first known analog of Uranus. Similar planets, i.e., cold ice giants, are inaccessible to either radial velocity or transit methods because of the long orbital periods, while low reflected light prevents direct imaging. We discuss how similar planets may contaminate the sample of the very short microlensing events that are interpreted as free-floating planets with an estimated rate of 1.8 per main-sequence star. Moreover, the host star has a nearby stellar (or brown dwarf) companion. The projected separation of the planet is only about three times smaller than that of the companion star, suggesting significant dynamical interactions.

  19. Triple microlens OGLE-2008-BLG-092L: binary stellar system with a circumprimary uranus-type planet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poleski, Radosław; Gould, Andrew [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Skowron, Jan; Udalski, Andrzej; Kozłowski, Szymon; Wyrzykowski, Łukasz; Szymański, Michał K.; Kubiak, Marcin; Pietrzyński, Grzegorz; Soszyński, Igor; Ulaczyk, Krzysztof; Pietrukowicz, Paweł [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Han, Cheongho [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Dong, Subo, E-mail: poleski@astronomy.ohio-state.edu [Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Yi He Yuan Road 5, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2014-11-01

    We present the gravitational microlensing discovery of a 4 M {sub Uranus} planet that orbits a 0.7 M {sub ☉} star at ≈18 AU. This is the first known analog of Uranus. Similar planets, i.e., cold ice giants, are inaccessible to either radial velocity or transit methods because of the long orbital periods, while low reflected light prevents direct imaging. We discuss how similar planets may contaminate the sample of the very short microlensing events that are interpreted as free-floating planets with an estimated rate of 1.8 per main-sequence star. Moreover, the host star has a nearby stellar (or brown dwarf) companion. The projected separation of the planet is only about three times smaller than that of the companion star, suggesting significant dynamical interactions.

  20. The gravitational-wave memory effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favata, Marc

    2010-01-01

    The nonlinear memory effect is a slowly growing, non-oscillatory contribution to the gravitational-wave amplitude. It originates from gravitational waves that are sourced by the previously emitted waves. In an ideal gravitational-wave interferometer a gravitational wave with memory causes a permanent displacement of the test masses that persists after the wave has passed. Surprisingly, the nonlinear memory affects the signal amplitude starting at leading (Newtonian-quadrupole) order. Despite this fact, the nonlinear memory is not easily extracted from current numerical relativity simulations. After reviewing the linear and nonlinear memory I summarize some recent work, including (1) computations of the memory contribution to the inspiral waveform amplitude (thus completing the waveform to third post-Newtonian order); (2) the first calculations of the nonlinear memory that include all phases of binary black hole coalescence (inspiral, merger, ringdown); and (3) realistic estimates of the detectability of the memory with LISA.

  1. Highlights in gravitation and cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iyer, B.R.; Kembhavi, Ajit; Narlikar, J.V.; Vishveshwara, C.V.

    1988-01-01

    This book assesses research into gravitation and cosmology by examining the subject from various viewpoints: the classical and quantum pictures, along with the cosmological and astrophysical applications. There are 35 articles by experts of international standing. Each defines the state of the art and contains a concise summary of our present knowledge of a facet of gravitational physics. These edited papers are based on those first given at an international conference held in Goa, India at the end of 1987. The following broad areas are covered: classical relativity, quantum gravity, cosmology, black holes, compact objects, gravitational radiation and gravity experiments. In this volume there are also summaries of discussions on the following special topics: exact solutions of cosmological equations, mathematical aspects of general relativity, the early universe, and quantum gravity. For research workers in cosmology and gravitation this reference book provides a broad view of present achievements and current problems. (author)

  2. Advanced interferometric gravitational-wave detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Saulson, Peter R

    2019-01-01

    Gravitational waves are one of the most exciting and promising emerging areas of physics and astrophysics today. The detection of gravitational waves will rank among the most significant physics discoveries of the 21st century.Advanced Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Detectors brings together many of the world's top experts to deliver an authoritative and in-depth treatment on current and future detectors. Volume I is devoted to the essentials of gravitational-wave detectors, presenting the physical principles behind large-scale precision interferometry, the physics of the underlying noise sources that limit interferometer sensitivity, and an explanation of the key enabling technologies that are used in the detectors. Volume II provides an in-depth look at the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo interferometers that have just finished construction, as well as examining future interferometric detector concepts. This two-volume set will provide students and researchers the comprehensive background needed to und...

  3. Gravitational waves from scalar field accretion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nunez, Dario; Degollado, Juan Carlos; Moreno, Claudia

    2011-01-01

    Our aim in this work is to outline some physical consequences of the interaction between black holes and scalar field halos in terms of gravitational waves. In doing so, the black hole is taken as a static and spherically symmetric gravitational source, i.e. the Schwarzschild black hole, and we work within the test field approximation, considering that the scalar field lives in the curved space-time outside the black hole. We focused on the emission of gravitational waves when the black hole is perturbed by the surrounding scalar field matter. The symmetries of the space-time and the simplicity of the matter source allow, by means of a spherical harmonic decomposition, to study the problem by means of a one-dimensional description. Some properties of such gravitational waves are discussed as a function of the parameters of the infalling scalar field, and allow us to make the conjecture that the gravitational waves carry information on the type of matter that generated them.

  4. Fundamentals of interferometric gravitational wave detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Saulson, Peter R

    2017-01-01

    LIGO's recent discovery of gravitational waves was headline news around the world. Many people will want to understand more about what a gravitational wave is, how LIGO works, and how LIGO functions as a detector of gravitational waves.This book aims to communicate the basic logic of interferometric gravitational wave detectors to students who are new to the field. It assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of physics, but no special familiarity with gravitational waves, with general relativity, or with the special techniques of experimental physics. All of the necessary ideas are developed in the book.The first edition was published in 1994. Since the book is aimed at explaining the physical ideas behind the design of LIGO, it stands the test of time. For the second edition, an Epilogue has been added; it brings the treatment of technical details up to date, and provides references that would allow a student to become proficient with today's designs.

  5. Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Bernard J.

    2010-01-01

    Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is our best classical description of gravity, and informs modern astronomy and astrophysics at all scales: stellar, galactic, and cosmological. Among its surprising predictions is the existence of gravitational waves -- ripples in space-time that carry energy and momentum away from strongly interacting gravitating sources. In my talk, I will give an overview of the properties of this radiation, recent breakthroughs in computational physics allowing us to calculate the waveforms from galactic mergers, and the prospect of direct observation with interferometric detectors such as LIGO and LISA.

  6. Gravitational-wave detector realized by a superconductor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishidoshiro, K.; Ando, M.; Takamori, A.; Okada, K.; Tsubono, K.

    2010-01-01

    In this article, we present a new gravitational-wave detector based on superconducting magnetic levitation and results of its prototype test. Our detector is composed of the suspended test mass that is rotated by gravitational waves. Gravitational wave signals are readout by monitoring its angular motion. Superconducting magnetic levitation is used for the suspension of the test mass, since it has many advantages, such as zero mechanical loss and resonant frequency around its suspension axis in an ideal situation. For the study of actual performance of such gravitational-wave detector, a prototype detector has been developed. Using the prototype detector, the actual loss factor and resonant frequency are measured as 1.2 x 10 -8 Nms/rad and 5 mHz respectively. A detector noise is also evaluated. The current noise level is determined by the magnetic coupling with external magnetic field and mechanical coupling between translation and angular motion. The prototype detector has already one of the lowest noise levels for gravitational waves at 0.1 Hz among current gravitational-wave detectors. We have succeeded at the demonstration of the advantages of our torsion gravitational-wave detector.

  7. Exact piecewise flat gravitational waves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Meent, M.

    2011-01-01

    We generalize our previous linear result (van de Meent 2011 Class. Quantum Grav 28 075005) in obtaining gravitational waves from our piecewise flat model for gravity in 3+1 dimensions to exact piecewise flat configurations describing exact planar gravitational waves. We show explicitly how to

  8. Experimental hint for gravitational CP violation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gharibyan, Vahagn [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg (Germany). MDI Group

    2016-01-15

    An equality of particle and antiparticle gravitational interactions holds in general relativity and is supported by indirect observations. Gravity dependence on rotation or spin direction is experimentally constrained only at low energies. Here a method based on high energy Compton scattering is developed to measure the gravitational interaction of accelerated charged particles. Within that formalism the Compton spectra measured at HERA rule out the positron's anti-gravity and hint for a gravitational CP violation around 13 GeV energies, at a maximal level of 1.3±0.2% for the charge and 0.68±0.09% for the space parity. A stronger gravitational coupling to left helicity electrons relative to right helicity positrons is detected.

  9. Experimental hint for gravitational CP violation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gharibyan, Vahagn

    2016-01-01

    An equality of particle and antiparticle gravitational interactions holds in general relativity and is supported by indirect observations. Gravity dependence on rotation or spin direction is experimentally constrained only at low energies. Here a method based on high energy Compton scattering is developed to measure the gravitational interaction of accelerated charged particles. Within that formalism the Compton spectra measured at HERA rule out the positron's anti-gravity and hint for a gravitational CP violation around 13 GeV energies, at a maximal level of 1.3±0.2% for the charge and 0.68±0.09% for the space parity. A stronger gravitational coupling to left helicity electrons relative to right helicity positrons is detected.

  10. Gravitation. [Book on general relativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misner, C. W.; Thorne, K. S.; Wheeler, J. A.

    1973-01-01

    This textbook on gravitation physics (Einstein's general relativity or geometrodynamics) is designed for a rigorous full-year course at the graduate level. The material is presented in two parallel tracks in an attempt to divide key physical ideas from more complex enrichment material to be selected at the discretion of the reader or teacher. The full book is intended to provide competence relative to the laws of physics in flat space-time, Einstein's geometric framework for physics, applications with pulsars and neutron stars, cosmology, the Schwarzschild geometry and gravitational collapse, gravitational waves, experimental tests of Einstein's theory, and mathematical concepts of differential geometry.

  11. Non-Euclidean Geometry and Gravitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stavroulakis N.

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available A great deal of misunderstandings and mathematical errors are involved in the currently accepted theory of the gravitational field generated by an isotropic spherical mass. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a short account of the rigorous mathematical theory and exhibit a new formulation of the problem. The solution of the corresponding equations of gravitation points out several new and unusual features of the stationary gravitational field which are related to the non-Euclidean structure of the space. Moreover it precludes the black hole from being a mathematical and physical notion.

  12. Hydrodynamics, fields and constants in gravitational theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stanyukovich, K.P.; Mel'nikov, V.N.

    1983-01-01

    Results of original inveatigations into problems of standard gravitation theory and its generalizations are presented. The main attention is paid to the application of methods of continuous media techniques in the gravitation theory; to the specification of the gravitation role in phenomena of macro- and microworld, accurate solutions in the case, when the medium is the matter, assigned by hydrodynamic energy-momentum tensor; and to accurate solutions for the case when the medium is the field. GRT generalizations are analyzed, such as the new cosmologic hypothesis which is based on the gravitation vacuum theory. Investigations are performed into the quantization of cosmological models, effects of spontaneous symmetry violation and particle production in cosmology. Graeity theory with fundamental Higgs field is suggested in the framework of which in the atomic unit number one can explain possible variations of the effective gravitational bonds, and in the gravitation bond, variations of masses of all particles

  13. Microlensing events by Proxima Centauri in 2014 and 2016: Opportunities for mass determination and possible planet detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahu, Kailash C.; Bond, Howard E.; Anderson, Jay [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Dominik, Martin, E-mail: ksahu@stsci.edu, E-mail: jayander@stsci.edu, E-mail: heb11@psu.edu, E-mail: md35@st-andrews.ac.uk [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)

    2014-02-20

    We have found that Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun, will pass close to a pair of faint background stars in the next few years. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images obtained in 2012 October, we determine that the passage close to a mag 20 star will occur in 2014 October (impact parameter 1.''6), and to a mag 19.5 star in 2016 February (impact parameter 0.''5). As Proxima passes in front of these stars, the relativistic deflection of light will cause shifts in the positions of the background stars of ∼0.5 and 1.5 mas, respectively, readily detectable by HST imaging, and possibly by Gaia and ground-based facilities such as the Very Large Telescope. Measurement of these astrometric shifts offers a unique and direct method to measure the mass of Proxima. Moreover, if Proxima has a planetary system, the planets may be detectable through their additional microlensing signals, although the probability of such detections is small. With astrometric accuracies of 0.03 mas (achievable with HST spatial scanning), centroid shifts caused by Jovian planets are detectable at separations of up to 2.''0 (corresponding to 2.6 AU at the distance of Proxima), and centroid shifts by Earth-mass planets are detectable within a small band of 8 mas (corresponding to 0.01 AU) around the source trajectories. Jovian planets within a band of about 28 mas (corresponding to 0.036 AU) around the source trajectories would produce a brightening of the source by >0.01 mag and could hence be detectable. Estimated timescales of the astrometric and photometric microlensing events due to a planet range from a few hours to a few days, and both methods would provide direct measurements of the planetary mass.

  14. Thermodynamics of gravitational clustering phenomena: N-body self-gravitating gas on the sphere {{{S}}^{3}}\\subset {{{R}}^{4}}

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tello-Ortiz, F.; Velazquez, L.

    2016-10-01

    This work is devoted to the thermodynamics of gravitational clustering, a collective phenomenon with a great relevance in the N-body cosmological problem. We study a classical self-gravitating gas of identical non-relativistic particles defined on the sphere {{{S}}3}\\subset {{{R}}4} by considering gravitational interaction that corresponds to this geometric space. The analysis is performed within microcanonical description of an isolated Hamiltonian system by combining continuum approximation and the steepest descend method. According to numerical solution of resulting equations, the gravitational clustering can be associated with two microcanonical phase transitions. A first phase transition with a continuous character is associated with breakdown of SO(4) symmetry of this model. The second one is the gravitational collapse, whose continuous or discontinuous character crucially depends on the regularization of short-range divergence of gravitation potential. We also derive the thermodynamic limit of this model system, the astrophysical counterpart of the Gibbs-Duhem relation, the order parameters that characterize its phase transitions and the equation of state. Other interesting behavior is the existence of states with negative heat capacities, which appear when the effects of gravitation turn dominant for energies sufficiently low. Finally, we comment on the relevance of some of these results in the study of astrophysical and cosmological situations. Special interest deserves the gravitational modification of the equation of state due to the local inhomogeneities of matter distribution. Although this feature is systematically neglected in studies about universe expansion, the same one is able to mimic an effect that is attributed to the dark energy: a negative pressure.

  15. Spinor approach to gravitational motion and precession

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hestenes, D.

    1986-01-01

    The translational and rotational equations of motion for a small rigid body in a gravitational field are combined in a single spinor equation. Besides its computational advantages, this unifies the description of gravitational interaction in classical and quantum theory. Explicit expressions for gravitational precession rates are derived. (author)

  16. Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sathyaprakash, B S; Schutz, Bernard F

    2009-01-01

    Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

  17. The confrontation between gravitation theory and experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Will, C.M.

    1979-01-01

    After an introductory section, an analysis is given of the foundations of gravitation theory - principles of equivalence, the fundamental criteria for the viability of a gravitational theory, and the experiments that support those criteria. One of the principal conclusions is that the correct, viable theory of gravity must in all probability be a 'metric' theory. Attention is focussed on solar-system tests, using a 'theory of theories' known as the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism that encompasses most metric theories of gravity and that is ideally suited to the solar-system arena. Gravitational radiation is discussed as a possible tool for testing gravitational theory. The binary pulsar, a new , 'stellar-system' testing ground is studied. Tests of gravitation theory in a cosmic arena are described. (U.K.)

  18. A new theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.

    1989-01-01

    The author believes that the General Relativity Theory (GRT) suffers from a substantial deficiency since it ignors the fundamental laws of conservation of energy. Einstein neglected the classical concept of the field due to his belief in the truth of the principle of equivalence between forces of inertid gravitation. This equivalence leads, as the author says, to nonequivalence of these forces, making GRT logically contradictory from the physical point of view. The author considers GRT as a certain stage in the course of the study of space-time and gravitation, and suggests a new theory called the Relativistic Theory of Gravitation (RTG) which obeys the fundamental laws of conservation, and which is justified in some of its aspects by astronomical observations. RTG does not suffer from some deficiencies met in Einsteins theory. One is nonunique predictions of gravitation effects within the boundaries of the solar system. Also, RTG refuses some hypothesis as that of black holes. 7 refs

  19. Academic Training: Gravitational Waves Astronomy

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 16, 17, 18 October from 11:00 to 12:00 - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 Gravitational Waves Astronomy M. LANDRY, LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, USA Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects. ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply electronically from the course description pages that can be found on the Web at: http://www...

  20. Academic Training: Gravitational Waves Astronomy

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 16, 17, 18 October from 11:00 to 12:00 - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 Gravitational Waves Astronomy M. LANDRY, LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, USA Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects.ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply electronically from the course description pages that can be found on the Web at: http://www.cern...

  1. Bunge on gravitational waves

    OpenAIRE

    Romero, Gustavo E.

    2017-01-01

    I discuss the recent claims made by Mario Bunge on the philosophical implications of the discovery of gravitational waves. I think that Bunge is right when he points out that the detection implies the materiality of spacetime, but I reject his identification of spacetime with the gravitational field. I show that Bunge's analysis of the spacetime inside a hollow sphere is defective, but this in no way affects his main claim.

  2. Rapid Monte Carlo Simulation of Gravitational Wave Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breivik, Katelyn; Larson, Shane L.

    2015-01-01

    With the detection of gravitational waves on the horizon, astrophysical catalogs produced by gravitational wave observatories can be used to characterize the populations of sources and validate different galactic population models. Efforts to simulate gravitational wave catalogs and source populations generally focus on population synthesis models that require extensive time and computational power to produce a single simulated galaxy. Monte Carlo simulations of gravitational wave source populations can also be used to generate observation catalogs from the gravitational wave source population. Monte Carlo simulations have the advantes of flexibility and speed, enabling rapid galactic realizations as a function of galactic binary parameters with less time and compuational resources required. We present a Monte Carlo method for rapid galactic simulations of gravitational wave binary populations.

  3. Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sathyaprakash B. S.

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers, and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

  4. Feasibility analysis of gravitational experiments in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everitt, C. W. F.

    1977-01-01

    Experiments on gravitation and general relativity suggested by different workers in the past ten or more years are reviewed, their feasibility examined, and the advantages of performing them in space were studied. The experiments include: (1) the gyro relativity experiment; (2) experiments to test the equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass; (3) an experiment to look for nongeodesic motion of spinning bodies in orbit around the earth; (4) experiments to look for changes of the gravitational constant G with time; (5) a variety of suggestions; laboratory tests of experimental gravity; and (6) gravitational wave experiments.

  5. Gravitational Wave Astrophysics: Opening the New Frontier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centrella, Joan

    2012-01-01

    A new era in astronomy will begin when the gravitational wave window onto the universe opens in approx. 5 years, as ground-based detectors make the first detections in the high-frequency regime. Since the universe is nearly transparent to gravitational waves, these signals carry direct information about their sources - such as masses, spins, luminosity distances, and orbital parameters - through dense, obscured regions across cosmic time. This talk will explore gravitational waves as cosmic messengers, highlighting key sources and opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy across the gravitational wave spectrum.

  6. The gravitational properties of antimatter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldman, T.; Hughes, R.J.; Nieto, M.M.

    1986-09-01

    It is argued that a determination of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter towards the earth is capable of imposing powerful constraints on modern quantum gravity theories. Theoretical reasons to expect non-Newtonian non-Einsteinian effects of gravitational strength and experimental suggestions of such effects are reviewed. 41 refs

  7. Gravitational Waves and Time Domain Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centrella, Joan; Nissanke, Samaya; Williams, Roy

    2012-01-01

    The gravitational wave window onto the universe will open in roughly five years, when Advanced LIGO and Virgo achieve the first detections of high frequency gravitational waves, most likely coming from compact binary mergers. Electromagnetic follow-up of these triggers, using radio, optical, and high energy telescopes, promises exciting opportunities in multi-messenger time domain astronomy. In the decade, space-based observations of low frequency gravitational waves from massive black hole mergers, and their electromagnetic counterparts, will open up further vistas for discovery. This two-part workshop featured brief presentations and stimulating discussions on the challenges and opportunities presented by gravitational wave astronomy. Highlights from the workshop, with the emphasis on strategies for electromagnetic follow-up, are presented in this report.

  8. Vacuum polarization and non-Newtonian gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Long, D.R.

    1980-01-01

    Gell-Mann and Low have emphasized that, as first pointed out by Uehling and Serber, vacuum polarization effects produce a logarithmic modification to the Coulomb potential at small distances. Here, it is pointed out that, if these same considerations are applied to gravitation, the logarithmic term will have a sign opposite to that in the Coulomb case and in agreement with recent laboratory results on the gravitational ''constant''. Of considerable importance is the fact that such vacuum polarization effects cannot be observed in null experiments to test the gravitational inverse square law because the polarizing field is absent. It is a striking circumstance that the coefficient of the logarithm in QED is nearly the same as that found in gravitational experiments. (author)

  9. Gravitational Waves: A New Observational Window

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camp, Jordan B.

    2010-01-01

    The era of gravitational wave astronomy is rapidly approaching, with a likely start date around the middle of this decade ' Gravitational waves, emitted by accelerated motions of very massive objects, provide detailed information about strong-field gravity and its sources, including black holes and neutron stars, that electromagnetic probes cannot access. In this talk I will discuss the anticipated sources and the status of the extremely sensitive detectors (both ground and space based) that will make gravitational wave detections possible. As ground based detectors are now taking data, I will show some initial science results related to measured upper limits on gravitational wave signals. Finally Z will describe new directions including advanced detectors and joint efforts with other fields of astronomy.

  10. Thermal gravitational waves in accelerating universe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Ghayour

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Gravitational waves are considered in thermal vacuum state. The amplitude and spectral energy density of gravitational waves are found enhanced in thermal vacuum state compared to its zero temperature counterpart. Therefore, the allowed amount of enhancement depends on the upper bound of WMAP-5 and WMAP-7 for the amplitude and spectral energy density of gravitational waves. The enhancement of amplitude and spectral energy density of the waves in thermal vacuum state is consistent with current accelerating phase of the universe. The enhancement feature of amplitude and spectral energy density of the waves is independent of the expansion model of the universe and hence the thermal effect accounts for it. Therefore, existence of thermal gravitational waves is not ruled out

  11. Hydrodynamical equations for spherical gravitational collapse in terms of a generalized theory of gravitation with higher derivatives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nariai, Hidekazu.

    1986-06-01

    In similar to Misner and Sharp's formalism in general relativity for a spherical gravitational collapse, a formalism for the spherical gravitational collapse is presented on the basis of a generalized theory of gravitation in the sense of Utiyama-DeWitt (which was later extended by Parker's school and Zel'dovich's one). The resulted formalism is somewhat similar to that developed by me in 1972 based on the scalar-tensor theory of gravity. (author)

  12. Particle production in a gravitational wave background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Preston; McDougall, Patrick; Singleton, Douglas

    2017-03-01

    We study the possibility that massless particles, such as photons, are produced by a gravitational wave. That such a process should occur is implied by tree-level Feynman diagrams such as two gravitons turning into two photons, i.e., g +g →γ +γ . Here we calculate the rate at which a gravitational wave creates a massless scalar field. This is done by placing the scalar field in the background of a plane gravitational wave and calculating the 4-current of the scalar field. Even in the vacuum limit of the scalar field it has a nonzero vacuum expectation value (similar to what occurs in the Higgs mechanism) and a nonzero current. We associate this with the production of scalar field quanta by the gravitational field. This effect has potential consequences for the attenuation of gravitational waves since the massless field is being produced at the expense of the gravitational field. This is related to the time-dependent Schwinger effect, but with the electric field replaced by the gravitational wave background and the electron/positron field quanta replaced by massless scalar "photons." Since the produced scalar quanta are massless there is no exponential suppression, as occurs in the Schwinger effect due to the electron mass.

  13. Considerações gerais sôbre os órgãos odoríferos sexuais dos machos dos Lepidópteros

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolf Barth

    1953-12-01

    Full Text Available São determinadas as seguintes regras sôbre a função dos órgãos odoríferos dos machos dos Lepidópteros: l.ª regra: A secreção das glândulas age em forma de gás sobre a fêmea diminuindo a reação normal de fuga e provocando a disposição e preparação para a copulação. 2.ª regra: Os órgãos odoríferos nos machos de um grupo de espécies parentes encontram-se constantemente nos mesmos órgãos possuindo o mesmo tipo de estrutura (constância orgânica . 3.ª regra: As partes quitinosas (escamas odoríferas, cerdas distribuidoras, inserções etc. são especificadas para cada espécie (constância de forma. 4.ª regra: O grau de desenvolvimento e com isto o grau de eficiência dos órgãos odoríferos dos Lepidópteros noturnos é sempre mais elevado do que os dos diurnos.

  14. Production of Purely Gravitational Dark Matter

    OpenAIRE

    Ema, Yohei; Nakayama, Kazunori; Tang, Yong

    2018-01-01

    In the purely gravitational dark matter scenario, the dark matter particle does not have any interaction except for gravitational one. We study the gravitational particle production of dark matter particle in such a minimal setup and show that correct amount of dark matter can be produced depending on the inflation model and the dark matter mass. In particular, we carefully evaluate the particle production rate from the transition epoch to the inflaton oscillation epoch in a realistic inflati...

  15. Merging Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centrella, Joan

    2009-01-01

    This talk will focus on simulations of binary black hole mergers and the gravitational wave signals they produce. Applications to gravitational wave detection with LISA, and electronagnetic counterparts, will be highlighted.

  16. Gravitational Wave Experiments - Proceedings of the First Edoardo Amaldi Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coccia, E.; Pizzella, G.; Ronga, F.

    1995-07-01

    The Table of Contents for the full book PDF is as follows: * Foreword * Notes on Edoardo Amaldi's Life and Activity * PART I. INVITED LECTURES * Sources and Telescopes * Sources of Gravitational Radiation for Detectors of the 21st Century * Neutrino Telescopes * γ-Ray Bursts * Space Detectors * LISA — Laser Interferometer Space Antenna for Gravitational Wave Measurements * Search for Massive Coalescing Binaries with the Spacecraft ULYSSES * Interferometers * The LIGO Project: Progress and Prospects * The VIRGO Experiment: Status of the Art * GEO 600 — A 600-m Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Antenna * 300-m Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Detector (TAMA300) in Japan * Resonant Detectors * Search for Continuous Gravitational Wave from Pulsars with Resonant Detector * Operation of the ALLEGRO Detector at LSU * Preliminary Results of the New Run of Measurements with the Resonant Antenna EXPLORER * Operation of the Perth Cryogenic Resonant-Bar Gravitational Wave Detector * The NAUTILUS Experiment * Status of the AURIGA Gravitational Wave Antenna and Perspectives for the Gravitational Waves Search with Ultracryogenic Resonant Detectors * Ultralow Temperature Resonant-Mass Gravitational Radiation Detectors: Current Status of the Stanford Program * Electromechanical Transducers and Bandwidth of Resonant-Mass Gravitational-Wave Detectors * Fully Numerical Data Analysis for Resonant Gravitational Wave Detectors: Optimal Filter and Available Information * PART II. CONTRIBUTED PAPERS * Sources and Telescopes * The Local Supernova Production * Periodic Gravitational Signals from Galactic Pulsars * On a Possibility of Scalar Gravitational Wave Detection from the Binary Pulsars PSR 1913+16 * Kazan Gravitational Wave Detector “Dulkyn”: General Concept and Prospects of Construction * Hierarchical Approach to the Theory of Detection of Periodic Gravitational Radiation * Application of Gravitational Antennae for Fundamental Geophysical Problems * On

  17. Testing the gravitational instability hypothesis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babul, Arif; Weinberg, David H.; Dekel, Avishai; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.

    1994-01-01

    We challenge a widely accepted assumption of observational cosmology: that successful reconstruction of observed galaxy density fields from measured galaxy velocity fields (or vice versa), using the methods of gravitational instability theory, implies that the observed large-scale structures and large-scale flows were produced by the action of gravity. This assumption is false, in that there exist nongravitational theories that pass the reconstruction tests and gravitational theories with certain forms of biased galaxy formation that fail them. Gravitational instability theory predicts specific correlations between large-scale velocity and mass density fields, but the same correlations arise in any model where (a) structures in the galaxy distribution grow from homogeneous initial conditions in a way that satisfies the continuity equation, and (b) the present-day velocity field is irrotational and proportional to the time-averaged velocity field. We demonstrate these assertions using analytical arguments and N-body simulations. If large-scale structure is formed by gravitational instability, then the ratio of the galaxy density contrast to the divergence of the velocity field yields an estimate of the density parameter Omega (or, more generally, an estimate of beta identically equal to Omega(exp 0.6)/b, where b is an assumed constant of proportionality between galaxy and mass density fluctuations. In nongravitational scenarios, the values of Omega or beta estimated in this way may fail to represent the true cosmological values. However, even if nongravitational forces initiate and shape the growth of structure, gravitationally induced accelerations can dominate the velocity field at late times, long after the action of any nongravitational impulses. The estimated beta approaches the true value in such cases, and in our numerical simulations the estimated beta values are reasonably accurate for both gravitational and nongravitational models. Reconstruction tests

  18. Self-gravitation in Saturn's rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salo, H.; Lukkari, J.

    1982-01-01

    In a ring-shaped collisional system self-gravitation reduces the equilibrium values of the geometric and optical thickness. In Saturn's rings both effects are appreciable. The previously found discrepancy between the calculated profile and the observed profile of the rings is chiefly caused by the omission of self-gravitation. (Auth.)

  19. Method to measure a relative transverse velocity of a source-lens-observer system using gravitational lensing of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, Yousuke; Futamase, Toshifumi; Hattori, Makoto

    2009-01-01

    Gravitational waves propagate along null geodesics like light rays in the geometrical optics approximation, and they may have a chance to suffer from gravitational lensing by intervening objects, as is the case for electromagnetic waves. Long wavelengths of gravitational waves and compactness of possible sources may enable us to extract information in the interference among the lensed images. We point out that the interference term contains information of relative transverse velocity of the source-lens-observer system, which may be obtained by possible future space-borne gravitational wave detectors such as BBO/DECIGO.

  20. Progress in gravitational wave detection: Interferometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuroda, Kazuaki

    2002-01-01

    A gravitational wave (GW) is a physical entity of space-time derived from Einstein's theory of general relativity. Challenging projects to observe gravitational waves are being conducted throughout the world. A Japanese project involving a 300 m baseline laser interferometer, TAMA, achieved 1000 hr of continuous observation with the best sensitivity in the world during the summer of 2001. After achieving promising results, the realization of LCGT (Large-scale Cryogenic Gravitational wave Telescope) will become possible in the near future

  1. To theory of gravitational interaction

    OpenAIRE

    Minkevich, A. V.

    2008-01-01

    Some principal problems of general relativity theory and attempts of their solution are discussed. The Poincare gauge theory of gravity as natural generalization of Einsteinian gravitation theory is considered. The changes of gravitational interaction in the frame of this theory leading to the solution of principal problems of general relativity theory are analyzed.

  2. Possible role of torsion in gravitational theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieh, H.T.

    1983-01-01

    Torsion is of interest in an indirect way, in that it has the potential of being an important ingredient in a future successful quantum theory of gravitation. Einstein's theory of gravitation, despite its simplicity and elegance, and its successes in large-scale gravitational phenomena, can only be regarded as a macroscopic classical theory. It is a non-renormalizable quantum field theory, and, therefore, lacks the status of a good microscopic theory. It is the search for a successful quantum field theory of gravitation that poses as one of the great challenges to theoretical physics today. (Auth.)

  3. The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna-DECIGO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Seiji; Nakamura, Takashi; Ando, Masaki

    2006-01-01

    DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. It aims at detecting various kinds of gravitational waves between 1 mHz and 100 Hz frequently enough to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free satellites, 1000 km apart from each other, whose relative displacements are measured by a Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch DECIGO in 2024 after a long and intense development phase, including two pathfinder missions for verification of required technologies

  4. Konishi anomaly approach to gravitational F-terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David, Justin R.; Gava, Edi; Narain, K.S.

    2003-04-01

    We study gravitational corrections to the effective superpotential in theories with a single adjoint chiral multiplet, using the generalized Konishi anomaly and the gravitationally deformed chiral ring. We show that the genus one correction to the loop equation in the corresponding matrix model agrees with the gravitational corrected anomaly equations in the gauge theory. An important ingredient in the proof is the lack of factorization of chiral gauge invariant operators in presence of a supergravity background. We also find a genus zero gravitational correction to the superpotential, which can be removed by a field redefinition. (author)

  5. Actuality of the Einstein theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanenko, D.D.

    1982-01-01

    Problems of actuality of the Einstein theory of gravitation are lightened. The great Einstein theory of gravitation is shown to remain a reliable base of understanding of modern physical world pattern and its inevitable further inexhaustible precising. The main GRT difficulties are enumirated: determination of reference systems, presence of singularities in the theory, absence of consistent determination of the gravity energy, impossibility of accounting the relations between atomic, gravitational and cosmological characteristics. The attention is paid to gauge, twistor problems and to unified interaction theory. The great contribution of the soviet science in the theory of gravitation is stressed

  6. Essay on gravitation: The cosmological constant problem in brane-worlds and gravitational Lorentz violations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Csaki, Csaba; Erlich, Joshua; Grojean, Christophe

    2001-01-01

    Brane worlds are theories with extra spatial dimensions in which ordinary matter is localized on a (3+1) dimensional submanifold. Such theories could have interesting consequences for particle physics and gravitational physics. In this essay we concentrate on the cosmological constant (CC) problem in the context of brane worlds. We show how extra-dimensional scenarios may violate Lorentz invariance in the gravity sector of the effective 4D theory, while particle physics remains unaffected. In such theories the usual no-go theorems for adjustment of the CC do not apply, and we indicate a possible explanation of the smallness of the CC. Lorentz violating effects would manifest themselves in gravitational waves travelling with a speed different from light, which can be searched for in gravitational wave experiments

  7. Gravitational Waves from Oscillons after Inflation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antusch, Stefan; Cefalà, Francesco; Orani, Stefano

    2017-01-06

    We investigate the production of gravitational waves during preheating after inflation in the common case of field potentials that are asymmetric around the minimum. In particular, we study the impact of oscillons, comparatively long lived and spatially localized regions where a scalar field (e.g., the inflaton) oscillates with large amplitude. Contrary to a previous study, which considered a symmetric potential, we find that oscillons in asymmetric potentials associated with a phase transition can generate a pronounced peak in the spectrum of gravitational waves that largely exceeds the linear preheating spectrum. We discuss the possible implications of this enhanced amplitude of gravitational waves. For instance, for low scale inflation models, the contribution from the oscillons can strongly enhance the observation prospects at current and future gravitational wave detectors.

  8. Gravitational perturbation theory and synchrotron radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Breuer, R A [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik und Astrophysik, Muenchen (F.R. Germany). Inst. fuer Astrophysik

    1975-01-01

    This article presents methods and results for a gravitational perturbation theory which treats massless fields as linearized perturbations of an arbitrary gravitational vacuum background spacetime. The formalism is outlined for perturbations of type (22) spacetimes. As an application, high-frequency radiation emitted by particles moving approximately on relativistic circular geodesic orbits is computed. More precisely, the test particle assumption is made; throughout it is therefore assumed that the reaction of the radiation on the particle motion is negligible. In particular, these orbits are studied in the gravitational field of a spherically symmetric (Schwarzschild-) black hole as well as of a rotating (Kerr-) black hole. In this model, the outgoing radiation is highly focussed and of much higher fequency than the orbital frequency, i.e. one is dealing with 'gravitational synchrotron radiation'.

  9. Gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fennelly, A.J.

    1978-01-01

    Investigations of several problems of gravitation are discussed. The question of the existence of black holes is considered. While black holes like those in Einstein's theory may not exist in other gravity theories, trapped surfaces implying such black holes certainly do. The theories include those of Brans-Dicke, Lightman-Lee, Rosen, and Yang. A similar two-tensor theory of Yilmaz is investigated and found inconsistent and nonviable. The Newman-Penrose formalism for Riemannian geometries is adapted to general gravity theories and used to implement a search for twisting solutions of the gravity theories for empty and nonempty spaces. The method can be used to find the gravitational fields for all viable gravity theories. The rotating solutions are of particular importance for strong field interpretation of the Stanford/Marshall gyroscope experiment. Inhomogeneous cosmologies are examined in Einstein's theory as generalizations of homogeneous ones by raising the dimension of the invariance groups by one more parameter. The nine Bianchi classifications are extended to Rosen's theory of gravity for homogeneous cosmological models

  10. Gravitational wave emission from oscillating millisecond pulsars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alford, Mark G.; Schwenzer, Kai

    2015-02-01

    Neutron stars undergoing r-mode oscillation emit gravitational radiation that might be detected on the Earth. For known millisecond pulsars the observed spin-down rate imposes an upper limit on the possible gravitational wave signal of these sources. Taking into account the physics of r-mode evolution, we show that only sources spinning at frequencies above a few hundred Hertz can be unstable to r-modes, and we derive a more stringent universal r-mode spin-down limit on their gravitational wave signal. We find that this refined bound limits the gravitational wave strain from millisecond pulsars to values below the detection sensitivity of next generation detectors. Young sources are therefore a more promising option for the detection of gravitational waves emitted by r-modes and to probe the interior composition of compact stars in the near future.

  11. The Discovery of Gravitational Repulsion by Johannes Droste

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGruder, Charles Hosewell; VanDerMeer, B. Wieb

    2018-01-01

    In 1687 Newton published his universal law of gravitation, which states that the gravitational force is always attractive. This law is based on our terrestrial experience with slowly moving bodies (v Einstein completed his theory of general relativity (also referred to as Einstein’s Theory of Gravitation), which is valid not just for slowly moving bodies but also for those with relativistic velocities. In 1916 Johannes Droste submitted a PhD thesis on general relativity to his advisor, H.A. Lorentz. In it he calculated the motion of a particle in what he called a “single center” and today we call the Schwarzschild field and found that highly relativistic particles experience gravitational repulsion. Thus, his thesis written in Dutch and never before translated contains the discovery of gravitational repulsion. Because of its historical importance we translate the entire section of his thesis containing the discovery of gravitational repulsion. We also translate his thesis in the hope of clearing up a major historical misconception. Namely, that David Hilbert in 1917 discovered gravitational repulsion. In fact, Hilbert rediscovered it, apparently completely independent of Droste’s work. Finally we note that one of the biggest mysteries of astrophysics is the question of how highly energetic particles in relativistic jets and cosmic rays are accelerated. It has been suggested that gravitational repulsion is the mechanism responsible for these phenomena. An historical understanding of gravitational repulsion is therefore pertinent.

  12. Numerical investigations of gravitational collapse

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Csizmadia, Peter; Racz, Istvan, E-mail: iracz@rmki.kfki.h [RMKI, Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklos ut 29-33, H-1121 (Hungary)

    2010-03-01

    Some properties of a new framework for simulating generic 4-dimensional spherically symmetric gravitating systems are discussed. The framework can be used to investigate spacetimes that undergo complete gravitational collapse. The analytic setup is chosen to ensure that our numerical method is capable to follow the time evolution everywhere, including the black hole region.

  13. Conservation laws and gravitational radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastall, P.

    1977-01-01

    A total stress-momentum is defined for gravitational fields and their sources. The Lagrangian density is slightly different from that in the previous version of the theory, and the field equations are considerably simplified. The post-Newtonian approximation of the theory is unchanged. The existence and nature of weak gravitational waves are discussed. (author)

  14. Gravitational wave signals and cosmological consequences of gravitational reheating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artymowski, Michał; Czerwińska, Olga; Lalak, Zygmunt; Lewicki, Marek

    2018-04-01

    Reheating after inflation can proceed even if the inflaton couples to Standard Model (SM) particles only gravitationally. However, particle production during the transition between de-Sitter expansion and a decelerating Universe is rather inefficient and the necessity to recover the visible Universe leads to a non-standard cosmological evolution initially dominated by remnants of the inflaton field. We remain agnostic to the specific dynamics of the inflaton field and discuss a generic scenario in which its remnants behave as a perfect fluid with a general barotropic parameter w. Using CMB and BBN constraints we derive the allowed range of inflationary scales. We also show that this scenario results in a characteristic primordial Gravitational Wave (GW) spectrum which gives hope for observation in upcoming runs of LIGO as well as in other planned experiments.

  15. Normalization of Gravitational Acceleration Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckman, Randy A.; Brown, Aaron J.; Adamo, Daniel R.

    2011-01-01

    Unlike the uniform density spherical shell approximations of Newton, the con- sequence of spaceflight in the real universe is that gravitational fields are sensitive to the nonsphericity of their generating central bodies. The gravitational potential of a nonspherical central body is typically resolved using spherical harmonic approximations. However, attempting to directly calculate the spherical harmonic approximations results in at least two singularities which must be removed in order to generalize the method and solve for any possible orbit, including polar orbits. Three unique algorithms have been developed to eliminate these singularities by Samuel Pines [1], Bill Lear [2], and Robert Gottlieb [3]. This paper documents the methodical normalization of two1 of the three known formulations for singularity-free gravitational acceleration (namely, the Lear [2] and Gottlieb [3] algorithms) and formulates a general method for defining normalization parameters used to generate normalized Legendre Polynomials and ALFs for any algorithm. A treatment of the conventional formulation of the gravitational potential and acceleration is also provided, in addition to a brief overview of the philosophical differences between the three known singularity-free algorithms.

  16. Post-Newtonian gravitational bremsstrahlung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, M.; Will, C.M.

    1978-01-01

    We present formulae and numerical results for the gravitational radiation emitted during a low-deflection encounter between two massive bodies (''gravitational bremsstrahlung''). Our results are valid through post-Newtonian order within general relativity. We discuss in detail the gravitational waveform (transverse-traceless part of the metric perturbation tensor), the toal luminosity and total emitted energy, the angular distribution of emitted energy (antenna pattern), and the frequency spectrum. We also present a method of ''boosting'' the accuracy of these quantities to post-3/2-Newtonian order. A numerical comparison of our results with those of Peters and of Kovacs and Thorne shows that the post-Newtonian method is reliable to better than 0.1% at v=0.1c, to a few percent at v=0.35c, and to 10--20% at v=0.5c. We also compare our results with those of Smarr

  17. Quantum field theory in gravitational background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narnhofer, H.

    1986-01-01

    The author suggests ignoring the influence of the quantum field on the gravitation as the first step to combine quantum field theory and gravitation theory, but to consider the gravitational field as fixed and thus study quantum field theory on a manifold. This subject evoked interest when thermal radiation of a black hole was predicted. The author concentrates on the free quantum field and can split the problem into two steps: the Weyl-algebra of the free field and the Wightman functional on the tangent space

  18. Parametric mechanisms for detecting gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustovoit, V.I.; Chernozatonskii, L.A.

    1981-01-01

    An intense electromagnetic wave and a gravitational wave can interact to effectively generate electromagnetic waves at sum and difference frequencies. The self-effect of a monochromatic electromagnetic wave through a gravitational field leads to third-harmonic generation

  19. Critical Effects in Gravitational Collapse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmaj, T.

    2000-01-01

    The models of gravitational collapse of a dynamical system are investigated by means of the Einstein equations. Different types conjunctions to gravitational field are analyzed and it is shown that in the case of week scalar field (low energy density) the system evaluated to flat space while in the case of strong field (high energy density) to black hole

  20. Gravitational Mass, Its Mechanics - What It Is; How It Operates

    OpenAIRE

    Ellman, Roger

    1999-01-01

    The earlier paper, Inertial Mass, Its Mechanics - What It Is; How It Operates, developed the mechanics of inertial mass. The present paper is for the purpose of equivalently developing gravitation. The behavior of gravitation is well known, as described by Newton's Law of Gravitation. But just what gravitational mass is, how gravitational behavior comes about, what in material reality produces the effects of gravitational mass, has been little understood. The only extant hypotheses involve th...

  1. Gravitational-Wave Stochastic Background from Cosmic Strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siemens, Xavier; Creighton, Jolien; Mandic, Vuk

    2007-01-01

    We consider the stochastic background of gravitational waves produced by a network of cosmic strings and assess their accessibility to current and planned gravitational wave detectors, as well as to big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background (CMB), and pulsar timing constraints. We find that current data from interferometric gravitational wave detectors, such as Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), are sensitive to areas of parameter space of cosmic string models complementary to those accessible to pulsar, BBN, and CMB bounds. Future more sensitive LIGO runs and interferometers such as Advanced LIGO and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be able to explore substantial parts of the parameter space

  2. Cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry and gravitational force

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, J. P.

    1980-01-01

    Cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry due to the gravitational interaction alone is discussed, considering the gravitational coupling of fermion matter related to the Yang-Mills (1954) gauge symmetry with the unique generalization of the four-dimensional Poincare group. Attention is given to the case of weak static fields which determines the space-time metric where only large source terms are retained. In addition, considering lowest-order Feynman diagrams, there are presented gravitational potential energies between fermions, between antifermions, and between a fermion and an antifermion. It is concluded that the gravitational force between matter is different from that between antimatter; implications from this concerning the evolution of the universe are discussed.

  3. Chiral primordial gravitational waves from a Lifshitz point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Tomohiro; Soda, Jiro

    2009-06-12

    We study primordial gravitational waves produced during inflation in quantum gravity at a Lifshitz point proposed by Horava. Assuming power-counting renormalizability, foliation-preserving diffeomorphism invariance, and the condition of detailed balance, we show that primordial gravitational waves are circularly polarized due to parity violation. The chirality of primordial gravitational waves is a quite robust prediction of quantum gravity at a Lifshitz point which can be tested through observations of cosmic microwave background radiation and stochastic gravitational waves.

  4. Gravitational perturbations of the hydrogen atom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, L.

    1983-01-01

    The strength of a gravitational field is characterized by the Riemann curvature tensor. It is of interest to know how the curvature of space-time at the position of an atom affects its spectrum. The author gives a brief summary of work on the effects of curvature on the hydrogen atom. The results refer to an arbitrary metric and can be evaluated for particular space-times of interest. The possibility of using the effect of gravitational waves on the electromagnetic spectrum of hydrogen as a means of detecting gravitational waves is also investigated. (Auth.)

  5. Displacement-noise-free gravitational-wave detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Seiji; Chen Yanbei

    2004-01-01

    We present a new idea that allows us to detect gravitational waves without being disturbed by any kind of displacement noise, based on the fact that gravitational waves and test-mass motions affect the propagations of light differently. We demonstrate this idea by analyzing a simple toy model consisting of three equally-separated objects on a line. By taking a certain combination of light travel times between these objects, we construct an observable free from the displacement of each object, which has a reasonable sensitivity to gravitational waves

  6. Listening music of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2001-01-01

    Achievements of precision experiments in Japan (TAMA project) and USA (LIGO Laboratory) in the field of registration of gravitation waves using interferometric gravitational wave detectors are described. Works of the GEO groups in Hannover (Germany) and Vigro (Italy) are noted. Interferometer operation in synchronization during 160 hours demonstrating viability of the technique and its reliability is recorded. Advances in the field of the data analysis with the aim of recording of cosmic signal from noise of the interferometer are noted [ru

  7. Gravitational-wave mediated preheating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alexander, Stephon [Center for Cosmic Origins and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Cormack, Sam, E-mail: samuel.c.cormack.gr@dartmouth.edu [Center for Cosmic Origins and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Marcianò, Antonino [Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics & Department of Physics, Fudan University, 200433 Shanghai (China); Yunes, Nicolás [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States); Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)

    2015-04-09

    We propose a new preheating mechanism through the coupling of the gravitational field to both the inflaton and matter fields, without direct inflaton–matter couplings. The inflaton transfers power to the matter fields through interactions with gravitational waves, which are exponentially enhanced due to an inflation–graviton coupling. One such coupling is the product of the inflaton to the Pontryagin density, as in dynamical Chern–Simons gravity. The energy scales involved are constrained by requiring that preheating happens fast during matter domination.

  8. A Research-Informed Approach to Teaching About Exoplanet Detection in STEM Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brissenden, Gina; Wallace, C. S.; Prather, E. E.; Traub, W. A.; Greene, W. M.; Biferno, A. A.

    2014-01-01

    JPL’s NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program’s (ExEP) Public Engagement Program, in collaboration with the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE), is engaged in a research and curriculum development program to bring the science of exoplanet detection into STEM classrooms. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of astronomers pursuing research related to exoplanets, along with a significant increase in interest amongst students and the general public regarding the topic of exoplanets. CAE has previously developed a curriculum unit (including Think-Pair-Share questions and a Lecture-Tutorial) to help students develop a deeper understanding of the Doppler method for detecting extrasolar planets. To date, there is a nearly nonexistent research base on students’ conceptual and reasoning difficulties related to the science of the transit and gravitational microlensing methods for detecting extrasolar planets. Appropriate for physical science classrooms from middle school to the introductory college level, the learner-centered active engagement activities we are developing are going through an iterative research and assessment process to ensure that they enable students to achieve increased conceptual understandings and reasoning skills in these areas. In this talk, we will report on our development process for two new Lecture-Tutorials that help students learn about the transit and gravitational microlensing methods for finding exoplanets.

  9. A background-dependent approach to the theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldoni, R.

    1976-01-01

    Using the covariant formulation of Newton's gravitational equation as derived previously by the present author (Goldoni, Gen. Relativ. Gravitation; 7:731 (1976)) as a starting point, relativistic gravitational equations are found which are supposed to hold in any conceivable universe, describe a purely geometrical theory of gravitation and explicitly incorporate Mach's principle. (U.K.)

  10. Iz ''general relativity'' necessary for the Einstein gravitation theory gravitation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondi, G.

    1982-01-01

    Main principles of relativity and gravitation theories are deeply analyzed. Problems of boundaries of applicability for these theories and possible ways of their change and generalization are discussed. It is shown that the notion of general relativity does not introduce any post-newton physics - it only deals with coordinate transformations. It is supposed that ''general relativity'' is a physically senseless phrase which can be considered only as a historical remainder of an interesting philosophic discourse. The paper reveals that there exists appropriate physical substantiation of the Einstein gravitation theory not including a physically senseless concept of general relativity and promoting its fundamental relations with the experiment

  11. Gravitational waves and antennas

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2003-01-01

    Gravitational waves and their detection represent today a hot topic, which promises to play a central role in astrophysics, cosmology and theoretical physics. Technological developments have enabled the construction of such sensitive detectors that the detection of gravitational radiation and the start of a new astronomy could become a reality during the next few years. This is expected to bring a revolution in our knowledge of the universe by allowing the observation of hiterto unseen phenomena such as coalescence of compact objects (neutron stars and black holes) fall of stars into supermassive black holes, stellar core collapses, big bang relics and the new and unexpected. In these lectures I give a brief overview of this challenging field of modern physics. Topics : Basic properties of gravitational radiation. Astrophysical sources. Principle of operation of detectors. Interferometers (both ground based and space-based), bars and spheres. Present status of the experiments, their recent results and their f...

  12. Vignettes in Gravitation and Cosmology

    CERN Document Server

    Sriramkumar, L

    2012-01-01

    This book comprises expository articles on different aspects of gravitation and cosmology that are aimed at graduate students. The topics discussed are of contemporary interest assuming only an elementary introduction to gravitation and cosmology. The presentations are to a certain extent pedagogical in nature, and the material developed is not usually found in sufficient detail in recent textbooks in these areas.

  13. Sparse representation of Gravitational Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebollo-Neira, Laura; Plastino, A.

    2018-03-01

    Gravitational Sound clips produced by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are considered within the particular context of data reduction. We advance a procedure to this effect and show that these types of signals can be approximated with high quality using significantly fewer elementary components than those required within the standard orthogonal basis framework. Furthermore, a local measure sparsity is shown to render meaningful information about the variation of a signal along time, by generating a set of local sparsity values which is much smaller than the dimension of the signal. This point is further illustrated by recourse to a more complex signal, generated by Milde Science Communication to divulge Gravitational Sound in the form of a ring tone.

  14. Gravity's kiss the detection of gravitational waves

    CERN Document Server

    Collins, Harry

    2017-01-01

    Scientists have been trying to confirm the existence of gravitational waves for fifty years. Then, in September 2015, came a "very interesting event" (as the cautious subject line in a physicist's email read) that proved to be the first detection of gravitational waves. In Gravity's Kiss, Harry Collins -- who has been watching the science of gravitational wave detection for forty-three of those fifty years and has written three previous books about it -- offers a final, fascinating account, written in real time, of the unfolding of one of the most remarkable scientific discoveries ever made. Predicted by Einstein in his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves carry energy from the collision or explosion of stars. Dying binary stars, for example, rotate faster and faster around each other until they merge, emitting a burst of gravitational waves. It is only with the development of extraordinarily sensitive, highly sophisticated detectors that physicists can now confirm Einstein's prediction. This is...

  15. Possibility of Landau damping of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gayer, S.; Kennel, C.F.

    1979-01-01

    There is considerable uncertainty in the literature concerning whether or not transverse traceless gravitational waves can Landau damp. Physically, the issue is whether particles of nonzero mass can comove with surfaces of constant wave phase, and therefore, loosely, whether gravitational waves can have phase speeds less than that of light. We approach the question of Landau damping in various ways. We consider first the propagation of small-amplitude gravitational waves in an ideal fluid-filled Robertson-Walker universe of zero spatial curvature. We argue that the principle of equivalence requires those modes to be lightlike. We show that a freely moving particle interacting only with the collective fields cannot comove with such waves if it has nonzero mass. The equation for gravitational waves in collisionless kinetic gases differs from that for fluid media only by terms so small that deviations from lightlike propagation are unmeasurable. Thus, we conclude that Landau damping of small-amplitude, transverse traceless gravitational waves is not possible

  16. Gravitational instability of thermally anisotropic plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, B.; Kalra, G.L.

    1986-01-01

    The equations of Chew, Goldberger, and Low (1956) modified to include the heat flux vector and self-gravitation are used to study the gravitational instability of unbounded plasma placed in a uniform static magnetic field. The linear stability analysis shows that some of the additional terms which arise as a result of higher moments are of the same order of magnitude as the terms in the original Chew, Goldberger, and Low theory. The influence of these terms on the gravitational instability has been specially examined. It is found that the gravitational instability sets in at a comparatively shorter wavelength and the growth rate is enhanced owing to the inclusion of these terms in the case where the propagation vector is along the magnetic field. The condition for instability is, however, unaltered when the direction of propagation is transverse to the direction of magnetic field. 19 references

  17. Gravitational lensing of gravitational waves: a statistical perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shun-Sheng; Mao, Shude; Zhao, Yuetong; Lu, Youjun

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we study the strong gravitational lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) from a statistical perspective, with particular focus on the high frequency GWs from stellar binary black hole coalescences. These are most promising targets for ground-based detectors such as Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) and the proposed Einstein Telescope (ET) and can be safely treated under the geometrical optics limit for GW propagation. We perform a thorough calculation of the lensing rate, by taking account of effects caused by the ellipticity of lensing galaxies, lens environments, and magnification bias. We find that in certain GW source rate scenarios, we should be able to observe strongly lensed GW events once per year (˜1 yr-1) in the aLIGO survey at its design sensitivity; for the proposed ET survey, the rate could be as high as ˜80 yr-1. These results depend on the estimate of GW source abundance, and hence can be correspondingly modified with an improvement in our understanding of the merger rate of stellar binary black holes. We also compute the fraction of four-image lens systems in each survey, predicting it to be ˜30 per cent for the aLIGO survey and ˜6 per cent for the ET survey. Finally, we evaluate the possibility of missing some images due to the finite survey duration, by presenting the probability distribution of lensing time delays. We predict that this selection bias will be insignificant in future GW surveys, as most of the lens systems ({˜ } 90{per cent}) will have time delays less than ˜1 month, which will be far shorter than survey durations.

  18. Problems of generation and reception of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pisarev, A.F.

    1975-01-01

    The present day status of the problems of gravitation, wave radiation and reception is surveyed. The physical presentation and mathematical description of the processes of radiation, propagation and interaction of gravitation waves with matter and the electromagnetic field are given. The experiments on the search for gravitation waves of astophysical nature are analysed. The laboratory and cosmic sources of these waves and the methods of their reception are described. Special attention is drawn to the analysis of the proposals to perform a complete laboratory gravitation wave experiment

  19. Environmental Effects for Gravitational-wave Astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barausse, Enrico; Cardoso, Vitor; Pani, Paolo

    2015-01-01

    The upcoming detection of gravitational waves by terrestrial interferometers will usher in the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. This will be particularly true when space-based detectors will come of age and measure the mass and spin of massive black holes with exquisite precision and up to very high redshifts, thus allowing for better understanding of the symbiotic evolution of black holes with galaxies, and for high-precision tests of General Relativity in strong-field, highly dynamical regimes. Such ambitious goals require that astrophysical environmental pollution of gravitational-wave signals be constrained to negligible levels, so that neither detection nor estimation of the source parameters are significantly affected. Here, we consider the main sources for space-based detectors - the inspiral, merger and ringdown of massive black-hole binaries and extreme mass-ratio inspirals - and account for various effects on their gravitational waveforms, including electromagnetic fields, cosmological evolution, accretion disks, dark matter, “firewalls” and possible deviations from General Relativity. We discover that the black-hole quasinormal modes are sharply different in the presence of matter, but the ringdown signal observed by interferometers is typically unaffected. The effect of accretion disks and dark matter depends critically on their geometry and density profile, but is negligible for most sources, except for few special extreme mass-ratio inspirals. Electromagnetic fields and cosmological effects are always negligible. We finally explore the implications of our findings for proposed tests of General Relativity with gravitational waves, and conclude that environmental effects will not prevent the development of precision gravitational-wave astronomy. (paper)

  20. The electromagnetic interferent antennae for gravitational waves detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulak, A.

    1984-01-01

    An electromagnetic wave propagating in the toroidal waveguide is considered as an electromagnetic gravitational antenna. An interferometric method is applied to measure the disturbances of phase of the electromagnetic field caused by the incident gravitational wave. The calculations presented take into account the dispersive and dissipative phenomena occurring during the interaction between electromagnetic and gravitational fields. The active cross-section of the antenna interacting with coherent and pulsed gravitational radiation is estimated. Experimental possibilities presently available are discussed. Limiting fluxes in the astrophysical range of frequencies measured by the interferometric electromagnetic antenna are a factor of ten or so smaller than in the case of a classic mechanical antenna. Moreover the antenna could be used for carrying out a gravitational Hertz experiment. (author)

  1. Testing the Speed of Gravitational Waves over Cosmological Distances with Strong Gravitational Lensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collett, Thomas E; Bacon, David

    2017-03-03

    Probing the relative speeds of gravitational waves and light acts as an important test of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity. Measuring the arrival time of gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) counterparts can be used to measure the relative speeds, but only if the intrinsic time lag between emission of the photons and gravitational waves is well understood. Here we suggest a method that does not make such an assumption, using future strongly lensed GW events and EM counterparts; Biesiada et al. [J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.10 (2014) 080JCAPBP1475-751610.1088/1475-7516/2014/10/080] forecast that 50-100 strongly lensed GW events will be observed each year with the Einstein Telescope. A single strongly lensed GW event would produce robust constraints on c_{GW}/c_{γ} at the 10^{-7} level, if a high-energy EM counterpart is observed within the field of view of an observing γ-ray burst monitor.

  2. Fundamentals of the relativistic theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logunov, A.A.; Mestvirishvili, M.A.

    1986-01-01

    An extended exposition of the relativistic theory of gravitation (RTG) proposed by Logunov, Vlasov, and Mestvirishvili is presented. The RTG was constructed uniquely on the basis of the relativity principle and the geometrization principle by regarding the gravitational field as a physical field in the spirit of Faraday and Maxwell possessing energy, momentum, and spins 2 and 0. In the theory, conservation laws for the energy, momentum, and angular momentum for the matter and gravitational field taken together are strictly satisfied. The theory explains all the existing gravitational experiments. When the evolution of the universe is analyzed, the theory leads to the conclusion that the universe is infinite and flat, and it is predicted to contain a large amount of hidden mass. This missing mass exceeds by almost 40 times the amount of matter currently observed in the universe. The RTG predicts that gravitational collapse, which for a comoving observer occurs after a finite proper time, does not lead to infinite compression of matter but is halted at a certain finite density of the collapsing body. Therefore, according to the RTG there cannot be any objects in nature in which the gravitational contraction of matter to infinite density occurs, i.e., there are no black holes

  3. Gravitational consequences of modern field theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz, Gary T.

    1989-01-01

    Some gravitational consequences of certain extensions of Einstein's general theory of relativity are discussed. These theories are not alternative theories of gravity in the usual sense. It is assumed that general relativity is the appropriate description of all gravitational phenomena which were observed to date.

  4. Holographic entanglement entropy and gravitational anomalies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castro, A.; Detournay, S.; Iqbal, N.; Perlmutter, E.

    2014-01-01

    We study entanglement entropy in two-dimensional conformal field theories with a gravitational anomaly. In theories with gravity duals, this anomaly is holographically represented by a gravitational Chern-Simons term in the bulk action. We show that the anomaly broadens the Ryu-Takayanagi minimal

  5. Radiation and detection of gravitational waves in laboratory conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogolyubov, P.N.; Pisarev, A.F.; Shavokhina, N.S.

    1981-01-01

    Two variants are proposed and analyzed for an experiment on radiation and detection of gravitational waves in laboratory conditions in the optical and superhigh frequency range (band). In the first variant the laser light is parametrically transformed to the gravitational wave in the optical-inhomogeneous medium. The gravitational flux produced is registered by the inverse parametric transformation of the gravitational to light wave. In the second variant the radiation of gravitational waves is realized through hypersonic oscillations in piezocrystals, and the reception of waves is made by the superconducting coaxial resonator in which the gravitational wave resonantly transforms into the electromag= . netic wave. The analysis performed testifies to the possibility of an experiment of this type at the present time [ru

  6. Gravitation is a Gradient in the Velocity of Light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Froedge, Dt

    2017-01-01

    It is well known that a photon moving in a gravitational field has a trajectory that can be defined by Fermat's principle with a variable speed of light and no other gravitational influence. If it can be shown that a particle composed of speed of light sub-particles has the same acceleration in a variable index of refraction as a particle in a gravitational field, then there is no need to ascribe any other mechanism to gravitation than a gradient in c. This makes gravitation an electromagnetic phenomenon, and if QFT can illustrate a gradient in c can be produced by the internal motion of lightspeed sub-particles then the unification of QM and gravitation becomes more straightforward. http://www.arxdtf.org/css/GravAPS.pdf.

  7. Gravitational waves from cosmic bubble collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dong-Hoon; Lee, Bum-Hoon; Lee, Wonwoo; Yang, Jongmann; Yeom, Dong-han

    2015-01-01

    Cosmic bubbles are nucleated through the quantum tunneling process. After nucleation they would expand and undergo collisions with each other. In this paper, we focus in particular on collisions of two equal-sized bubbles and compute gravitational waves emitted from the collisions. First, we study the mechanism of the collisions by means of a real scalar field and its quartic potential. Then, using this model, we compute gravitational waves from the collisions in a straightforward manner. In the quadrupole approximation, time-domain gravitational waveforms are directly obtained by integrating the energy-momentum tensors over the volume of the wave sources, where the energy-momentum tensors are expressed in terms of the scalar field, the local geometry and the potential. We present gravitational waveforms emitted during (i) the initial-to-intermediate stage of strong collisions and (ii) the final stage of weak collisions: the former is obtained numerically, in full General Relativity and the latter analytically, in the flat spacetime approximation. We gain qualitative insights into the time-domain gravitational waveforms from bubble collisions: during (i), the waveforms show the non-linearity of the collisions, characterized by a modulating frequency and cusp-like bumps, whereas during (ii), the waveforms exhibit the linearity of the collisions, featured by smooth monochromatic oscillations. (orig.)

  8. Spherically symmetric radiation in gravitational collapse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bridy, D.J.

    1983-01-01

    This paper investigates a previously neglected mode by which a star may lose energy in the late stages of gravitational collapse to the black hole state. A model consisting of a Schwarzschild exterior matched to a Friedman interior of collapsing pressureless dust is studied. The matter of the collapsing star is taken as the source of a massive vector boson field and a detailed boundary value problem is carried out. Vector mesons are strongly coupled to all nucleons and will be radiated by ordinary matter during the collapse. The time dependent coupling between interior and exterior modes matched across the moving boundary of the collapsing star and the presence of the gravitational fields and their gradients in the field equations may give rise to a parametric amplification mechanism and permit the gravitational field to pump energy into the boson field, greatly enhancing the amount of boson radiation. The significance of a radiative mechanism driven by collapse is that it can react back upon the collapsing source and deprive it of some of the very mass that drives the collapse via its self gravitation. If the mass loss is great enough, this may provide a mechanism to slow or even halt gravitational collapse in some cases

  9. Recent developments on high-energy gravitational scattering

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2015-01-01

    After a quick reminder of earlier results I will discuss some recent progress in the high-energy gravitational scattering of particles, strings, and branes and, in particular: 1. Gravitational bremsstrahlung; 2. Causality constraints in the presence of higher derivative corrections; 3. Absorption of an energetic closed string by a stack of D-branes. These developments should eventually help us understand how information is preserved in the quantum analog of classical gravitational collapse.

  10. Nondissipative gravitational turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurevich, A.V.; Zybin, K.P.

    1988-01-01

    The nonlinear stage of development of the Jeans instability in a cold nondissipative gravitating gas is considered. It is shown that for a time exceeding the Jeans time a nondissipative gravitational singularity (NGS) is formed in the vicinity of a local density maximum. The NGS is a stationary dynamic structure, the basis of which is the singularity. The density of the gas at the center of the NGS (for r → 0) tends to infinity, and the field potential and the mean velocity of the trapped gas, possess a power singularity. The turbulent state arises as the result of development of the instability in the case of an irregular initial density distribution. It is an hierarchic structure consisting of nested moving NGS of various sizes, the NGS of smaller dimensions being trapped in the field of a NGS of larger dimensions. The scaling relations for each given NGS in this case hold for both the gas density and density of smaller size trapped NGS. A brief comparison with the observational data shows that the real hierarchic structure of the Universe ranging from scales pertaining to spherical stellar clusters up to those of rich galaxy clusters is apparently a developed gravitational turbulence

  11. Theory of gravitational-inertial field of universe. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davtyan, O.K.

    1978-01-01

    Application of the equations of the gravitational-inertial field to the problem of free motion in the inertial field (to the cosmologic problem) leads to results according to which (1) all Galaxies in the Universe 'disperse' from each other according to Hubble's law, (2) the 'dispersion' of bodies represents a free motion in the inertial field and Hubble's law represents a law of motion of free body in the inertial field, (3) for arbitrary mean distribution densities of space masses different from zero the space is Lobachevskian. All critical systems (with Schwarzschild radius) are specific because they exist in maximal-inertial and gravitational potentials. The Universe represents a critical system, it exists under the Schwarzschild radius. In high-potential inertial and gravitational fields the material mass in a static state or in motion with deceleration is subject to an inertial and gravitational 'annihilation'. At the maximal value of inertial and gravitational potentials (= c 2 ) the material mass is being completely 'evaporated' transforming into radiation mass. The latter is being concentrated in the 'horizon' of the critical system. All critical systems-black holes-represent geon systems, i.e. local formations of gravitational-electromagnetic radiations, held together by their own gravitational and inertial fields. The Universe, being a critical system, is 'wrapped' in a geon crown. (author)

  12. Three-point statistics of cosmological stochastic gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adshead, Peter; Lim, Eugene A.

    2010-01-01

    We consider the three-point function (i.e. the bispectrum or non-Gaussianity) for stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves. We estimate the amplitude of this signal for the primordial inflationary background, gravitational waves generated during preheating, and for gravitational waves produced by self-ordering scalar fields following a global phase transition. To assess detectability, we describe how to extract the three-point signal from an idealized interferometric experiment and compute the signal to noise ratio as a function of integration time. The three-point signal for the stochastic gravitational wave background generated by inflation is unsurprisingly tiny. For gravitational radiation generated by purely causal, classical mechanisms we find that, no matter how nonlinear the process is, the three-point correlations produced vanish in direct detection experiments. On the other hand, we show that in scenarios where the B-mode of the cosmic microwave background is sourced by gravitational waves generated by a global phase transition, a strong three-point signal among the polarization modes is also produced. This may provide another method of distinguishing inflationary B-modes. To carry out this computation, we have developed a diagrammatic approach to the calculation of stochastic gravitational waves sourced by scalar fluids, which has applications beyond the present scenario.

  13. Stability of merons in gravitational models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akdeniz, K.G.; Hacinliyan, A.; Kalayci, J.

    1982-11-01

    The stability properties of merons are investigated in gravitational models by taking the DeAFF model as a theoretical laboratory. We find that in gravitational models containing Yang-Mills fields merons are unstable. Stability might be possible in N=4 supergravity models with Asub(μ)=0. (author)

  14. Considerations concerning the definition and distribution of gravitational energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gottlieb, I.; Ionescu-Pallas, N.

    1986-01-01

    In this paper the author reviews Einstein's gravitational field equations in a covariant form in a flat space-time. Several equations are examined for gravitational energy distribution. For a single pointlike gravitational source at rest, of mass, M/sub o/, they obtain E = M/sub o/c/sup 2/. For the case of Cartesian coordinates, agreement is obtained with Landau-Fock formulation of gravitational energy

  15. Chirality and gravitational parity violation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bargueño, Pedro

    2015-06-01

    In this review, parity-violating gravitational potentials are presented as possible sources of both true and false chirality. In particular, whereas phenomenological long-range spin-dependent gravitational potentials contain both truly and falsely chiral terms, it is shown that there are models that extend general relativity including also coupling of fermionic degrees of freedom to gravity in the presence of torsion, which give place to short-range truly chiral interactions similar to that usually considered in molecular physics. Physical mechanisms which give place to gravitational parity violation together with the expected size of the effects and their experimental constraints are discussed. Finally, the possible role of parity-violating gravity in the origin of homochirality and a road map for future research works in quantum chemistry is presented. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Gravitational Waves and Dark Energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter L. Biermann

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The idea that dark energy is gravitational waves may explain its strength and its time-evolution. A possible concept is that dark energy is the ensemble of coherent bursts (solitons of gravitational waves originally produced when the first generation of super-massive black holes was formed. These solitons get their initial energy as well as keep up their energy density throughout the evolution of the universe by stimulating emission from a background, a process which we model by working out this energy transfer in a Boltzmann equation approach. New Planck data suggest that dark energy has increased in strength over cosmic time, supporting the concept here. The transit of these gravitational wave solitons may be detectable. Key tests include pulsar timing, clock jitter and the radio background.

  17. The Galactic Distribution of Planets via Spitzer Microlensing Parallax

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Andrew; Yee, Jennifer; Carey, Sean; Shvartzvald, Yossi

    2018-05-01

    We will measure the Galactic distribution of planets by obtaining 'microlens parallaxes' of about 200 events, including 3 planetary events, from the comparison of microlens lightcurves observed from Spitzer and Earth, which are separated by >1.5 AU in projection. The proposed observations are part of a campaign that we have conducted with Spitzer since 2014. The planets expected to be identified in this campaign when combined with previous work will yield a first statistically significant measurement of the frequency of planets in the Galactic bulge versus the Galactic disk. As we have demonstrated in three previous programs, the difference in these lightcurves yields both the 'microlens parallax' (ratio of the lens-source relative parallax) to the Einstein radius, and the direction of lens-source relative motion. For planetary events, this measurement directly yields the mass and distance of the planet. This proposal is significantly more sensitive to planets than previous work because it takes advantage of the KMTNet observing strategy that covers >85 sq.deg t >0.4/hr cadence, 24/7 from 3 southern observatories and a alert system KMTNet is implementing for 2019. This same observing program also provides a unique probe of dark objects. It will yield an improved measurement of the isolated-brown-dwarf mass function. Thirteen percent of the observations will specifically target binaries, which will probe systems with dark components (brown dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes) that are difficult or impossible to investigate by other methods. The observations and methods from this work are a test bed for WFIRST microlensing.

  18. Experimental signatures of gravitational wave bursters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubath, Florian; Foffa, Stefano; Gasparini, Maria Alice; Maggiore, Michele; Sturani, Riccardo

    2005-01-01

    Gravitational wave bursters are sources which emit repeatedly bursts of gravitational waves, and have been recently suggested as potentially interesting candidates for gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Mechanisms that could give rise to a GW burster can be found for instance in highly magnetized neutron stars (the 'magnetars' which explain the phenomenon of soft gamma repeaters), in accreting neutron stars and in hybrid stars with a quark core. We point out that these sources have very distinctive experimental signatures. In particular, as already observed in the γ-ray bursts from soft gamma repeaters, the energy spectrum of the events is a power-law, dN∼E -γ dE with γ≅1.6, and they have a distribution of waiting times (the times between one outburst and the next) significantly different from the distribution of uncorrelated events. We discuss possible detection strategies that could be used to search for these events in existing gravitational wave detectors

  19. Nonlinear coupled Alfven and gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaellberg, Andreas; Brodin, Gert; Bradley, Michael

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we consider nonlinear interaction between gravitational and electromagnetic waves in a strongly magnetized plasma. More specifically, we investigate the propagation of gravitational waves with the direction of propagation perpendicular to a background magnetic field and the coupling to compressional Alfven waves. The gravitational waves are considered in the high-frequency limit and the plasma is modeled by a multifluid description. We make a self-consistent, weakly nonlinear analysis of the Einstein-Maxwell system and derive a wave equation for the coupled gravitational and electromagnetic wave modes. A WKB-approximation is then applied and as a result we obtain the nonlinear Schroedinger equation for the slowly varying wave amplitudes. The analysis is extended to 3D wave pulses, and we discuss the applications to radiation generated from pulsar binary mergers. It turns out that the electromagnetic radiation from a binary merger should experience a focusing effect, that in principle could be detected

  20. The effect of gravitational wave on electromagnetic field and the possibility about electromagnetic detection of gravitational wave

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tao Fuzhen; He Zhiqiang

    1983-01-01

    If the effect of gravitational wave on electromagnetic fields is used, and the gravitational wave is detected through the changes in electromagnetic fields, one can expect that the difficulty about the weakness of the signal of mechanical receiver can be avoided. Because of the effect of gravitational wave, the electromagnetic field emits energy, therefore, the energy which is detected will be higher than that by the mechanical receiver. The authors consider the Maxwell equations on the curved spacetime. They give solutions when the detecting fields are a free electromagnetic wave, standing wave and a constant field. (Auth.)

  1. Japanese space gravitational wave antenna DECIGO and DPF

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musha, Mitsuru

    2017-11-01

    The gravitational wave detection will open a new gravitational wave astronomy, which gives a fruitful insight about early universe or birth and death of stars. In order to detect gravitational wave, we planed a space gravitational wave detector, DECIGO (DECi-heltz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory), which consists of three drag-free satellites forming triangle shaped Fabry-Perot laser interferometer with the arm length of 1000 km, and whose strain sensitivity is designed to be 2x10-24 /√Hz around 0.1 Hz. Before launching DECIGO around 2030, a milestone mission named DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is planed to be launched whose main purpose is the feasibility test of the key technologies for DECIGO. In the present paper, the conceptual design and current status of DECIGO and DPF are reviewed.

  2. Hunting for dark particles with gravitational waves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giudice, Gian F.; McCullough, Matthew; Urbano, Alfredo [CERN, Theoretical Physics Department,Geneva (Switzerland)

    2016-10-03

    The LIGO observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger has begun a new era in fundamental physics. If new dark sector particles, be they bosons or fermions, can coalesce into exotic compact objects (ECOs) of astronomical size, then the first evidence for such objects, and their underlying microphysical description, may arise in gravitational wave observations. In this work we study how the macroscopic properties of ECOs are related to their microscopic properties, such as dark particle mass and couplings. We then demonstrate the smoking gun exotic signatures that would provide observational evidence for ECOs, and hence new particles, in terrestrial gravitational wave observatories. Finally, we discuss how gravitational waves can test a core concept in general relativity: Hawking’s area theorem.

  3. Hunting for Dark Particles with Gravitational Waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giudice, Gian F.

    2017-12-01

    The LIGO observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger has begun a new era in fundamental physics. If new dark sector particles, be they bosons or fermions, can coalesce into exotic compact objects (ECOs) of astronomical size, then the first evidence for such objects, and their underlying microphysical description, may arise in gravitational wave observations. In this work we study how the macroscopic properties of ECOs are related to their microscopic properties, such as dark particle mass and couplings. We then demonstrate the smoking gun exotic signatures that would provide observational evidence for ECOs, and hence new particles, in terrestrial gravitational wave observatories. Finally, we discuss how gravitational waves can test a core concept in general relativity: Hawking's area theorem.

  4. Hunting for dark particles with gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giudice, Gian F.; McCullough, Matthew; Urbano, Alfredo

    2016-01-01

    The LIGO observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger has begun a new era in fundamental physics. If new dark sector particles, be they bosons or fermions, can coalesce into exotic compact objects (ECOs) of astronomical size, then the first evidence for such objects, and their underlying microphysical description, may arise in gravitational wave observations. In this work we study how the macroscopic properties of ECOs are related to their microscopic properties, such as dark particle mass and couplings. We then demonstrate the smoking gun exotic signatures that would provide observational evidence for ECOs, and hence new particles, in terrestrial gravitational wave observatories. Finally, we discuss how gravitational waves can test a core concept in general relativity: Hawking’s area theorem.

  5. Gravitational waves from freely precessing neutron stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, D.I.

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess the likely detectability of gravitational waves from freely precessing neutron stars. We begin by presenting a neutron star model of sufficient complexity to take into account both the elasticity and fluidity of a realistic neutron star. We then examine the effect of internal dissipation (i.e. heat generation within the star) and gravitational radiation reaction on the wobble. This is followed by an examination of various astrophysical scenarios where some mechanism might pump the precessional motion. We estimate the gravitational wave amplitude in these situations. Finally, we conclude that gravitational radiation from freely precessing neutron stars is almost certainly limited to a level undetectable by a LIGO II detector by internal dissipation. (author)

  6. Hunting for Dark Particles with Gravitational Waves

    CERN Document Server

    Giudice, Gian F.; Urbano, Alfredo

    2016-01-01

    The LIGO observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger has begun a new era in fundamental physics. If new dark sector particles, be they bosons or fermions, can coalesce into exotic compact objects (ECOs) of astronomical size, then the first evidence for such objects, and their underlying microphysical description, may arise in gravitational wave observations. In this work we study how the macroscopic properties of ECOs are related to their microscopic properties, such as dark particle mass and couplings. We then demonstrate the smoking gun exotic signatures that would provide observational evidence for ECOs, and hence new particles, in terrestrial gravitational wave observatories. Finally, we discuss how gravitational waves can test a core concept in general relativity: Hawking's area theorem.

  7. Compensation for gravitational sag of bent mirror

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mao, Chengwen; Jiang, Hui; He, Yan; Liang, Dongxu; Lan, Xuying; Yan, Shuai [Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, CAS, Shanghai 201800 (China); Shu, De-ming [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Li, Aiguo, E-mail: aiguo.li@sinap.ac.cn [Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, CAS, Shanghai 201800 (China)

    2017-05-01

    The gravitational sag of aspheric bent mirrors with face-up or face-down geometry produces a nonnegligible optical error. As an effective compensation, width optimization is used to match the combined effects of the gravitational and bending moments. This method is described by analytical expressions and two calculation algorithms. The results of theoretical simulations and finite element analysis have proved that this method can reduce the slope error resulting from gravitational sag to the level of nano radians.

  8. New theory of space-time and gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denisov, V.I.; Logunov, A.A.

    1982-01-01

    It is shown that the general theory of relativity is not satisfactory physical theory, since in it there are no laws of conservation for the matter and gravitational field taken together and it does not satisfy the principle of correspondence with Newton's theory. In the present paper, we construct a new theory of gravitation which possesses conservation laws, can describe all the existing gravitational experiments, satisfies the correspondence principle, and predicts a number of fundamental consequences

  9. Compensation for gravitational sag of bent mirror

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Chengwen; Jiang, Hui; He, Yan; Liang, Dongxu; Lan, Xuying; Yan, Shuai; Shu, De-ming; Li, Aiguo

    2017-01-01

    The gravitational sag of aspheric bent mirrors with face-up or face-down geometry produces a nonnegligible optical error. As an effective compensation, width optimization is used to match the combined effects of the gravitational and bending moments. This method is described by analytical expressions and two calculation algorithms. The results of theoretical simulations and finite element analysis have proved that this method can reduce the slope error resulting from gravitational sag to the level of nano radians.

  10. Spatially modulated instabilities of holographic gauge-gravitational anomaly

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yan [Department of Space Science, and International Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science,Beihang University,Beijing 100191 (China); Instituto de Fisica Teorica UAM/CSIC, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid,Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Pena-Benitez, Francisco [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Perugia, I.N.F.N. Sezione di Perugia,Via A. Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia (Italy)

    2017-05-19

    We performed a study of the perturbative instabilities in Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with a gravitational Chern-Simons term, which is dual to a strongly coupled field theory with both chiral and mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly. With an analysis of the fluctuations in the near horizon regime at zero temperature, we found that there might be two possible sources of instabilities. The first one corresponds to a real mass-squared which is below the BF bound of AdS{sub 2}, and it leads to the bell-curve phase diagram at finite temperature. The effect of mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly is emphasised. Another source of instability is independent of gauge Chern-Simons coupling and exists for any finite gravitational Chern-Simons coupling. There is a singular momentum close to which unstable mode appears. The possible implications of this singular momentum are discussed. Our analysis suggests that the theory with a gravitational Chern-Simons term around Reissner-Nordström black hole is unreliable unless the gravitational Chern-Simons coupling is treated as a small perturbative parameter.

  11. Neutrino bursts and gravitational waves experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castagnoli, C; Galeotti, P; Saavedra, O [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Turin (Italy). Lab. di Cosmo-Geofisica

    1978-05-01

    Several experiments have been performed in many countries to observe gravitational waves or neutrino bursts. Since their simultaneous emission may occur in stellar collapse, the authors evaluate the effect of neutrino bursts on gravitational wave antennas and suggest the usefulness of a time correlation among the different detectors.

  12. Physics of interferometric gravitational wave detectors

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The Caltech-MIT joint LIGO project is operating three long-baseline interferometers (one of 2 km and two of 4 km) in order to unambiguously measure the infinitesimal displacements of isolated test masses which convey the signature of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources. An interferometric gravitational wave ...

  13. Lensing of Fast Radio Bursts as a Probe of Compact Dark Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, Julian B; Kovetz, Ely D; Dai, Liang; Kamionkowski, Marc

    2016-08-26

    The possibility that part of the dark matter is made of massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) remains poorly constrained over a wide range of masses, and especially in the 20-100  M_{⊙} window. We show that strong gravitational lensing of extragalactic fast radio bursts (FRBs) by MACHOs of masses larger than ∼20  M_{⊙} would result in repeated FRBs with an observable time delay. Strong lensing of a FRB by a lens of mass M_{L} induces two images, separated by a typical time delay ∼few×(M_{L}/30  M_{⊙})  msec. Considering the expected FRB detection rate by upcoming experiments, such as canadian hydrogen intensity mapping experiment (CHIME), of 10^{4} FRBs per year, we should observe from tens to hundreds of repeated bursts yearly, if MACHOs in this window make up all the dark matter. A null search for echoes with just 10^{4} FRBs would constrain the fraction f_{DM} of dark matter in MACHOs to f_{DM}≲0.08 for M_{L}≳20  M_{⊙}.

  14. Quantum biological gravitational wave detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopvillem, U.Kh.

    1985-01-01

    A possibility of producing biological detectors of gravitational waves is considered. High sensitivity of biological systems to outer effects can be ensured by existence of molecule subgroups in Dicke states. Existence of clusters in Dicke state-giant electric dipoles (GED) is supposed in the Froehlich theory. Comparison of biological and physical detectors shows that GED systems have unique properties for detection of gravitational waves if the reception range is narrow

  15. Approximate analytical method to evaluate diffraction crosstalk in free-space optical interconnects systems that use circular microlenses with finite uniform apertures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Ababneh, Nedal

    2014-07-01

    We propose an accurate analytical model to calculate the optical crosstalk of a first-order free space optical interconnects system that uses microlenses with circular apertures. The proposed model is derived by evaluating the resulted finite integral in terms of an infinite series of Bessel functions. Compared to the model that uses complex Gaussian functions to expand the aperture function, it is shown that the proposed model is superior in estimating the crosstalk and provides more accurate results. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed model gives results close to that of the numerical model with superior computational efficiency.

  16. Ectoparásitos Asociados a Machos y Hembras de Oxymycterus rufus (Rodentia: Muridae: Estudio comparativo en la Selva Marginal del río de La Plata, Argentina Ectoparasites Associated with Males and Females of Oxymycterus rufus (Rodentia: Muridae: Comparative Study in La Plata River Marshland, Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Lareschi

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo del presente estudio es comparar parámetros e índices de infestación de los ectoparásitos asociados a cada sexo de Oxymycterus rufus (Fischer. El índice de densidad relativa de los machos fue 4,4% y el de las hembras 5,0%. Se recolectaron 873 ectoparásitos de 38 machos y 1015 de 43 hembras. La riqueza y la diversidad específica de los ectoparásitos fueron 12,0 y 1,2 en los machos, 11,0 y 0,7 en las hembras. La similitud entre machos y hembras de acuerdo a sus ectoparásitos fue del 87%. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el sexo del huésped influenciaría la prevalencia y abundancia media de aquellas especies ectoparásitas que en estudios previos mostraron preferencia por O. rufus, tales como Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (Berlese (abundancia media = 3,5 y prevalencia = 65,8% en los machos; abundancia media = 1,6 y prevalencia = 50,0% en las hembras, Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans (abundancia media = 10,9 y prevalencia = 29,0% en los machos; abundancia media = 18,7 y prevalencia = 32,6% en los machos y Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst (abundancia media = 7,8 y prevalencia = 63,0% en los machos; abundancia media = 2,7 y prevalencia = 52,6% en las hembras. Esta información es importante desde un punto de vista epidemiológico.Infestation parameters and indexes of ectoparasites associated with each sex of Oxymycterus rufus (Fischer are compared. Males relative density index = 4.4%, females RDI = 5.0%. A total of 873 ectoparasites were collected on 38 males, and 1015 on 43 females; specific richness = 12.0, specific diversity = 1.2 on males, and S = 11.0 H = 0.7 on females. The similarity between both sexes according to their ectoparasites was of 87.0%. The results obtained show that host sex may influence on the prevalence and mean abundance of those ectoparasites which in previous studies have showed preference for O. rufus, such as Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (Berlese (mean abundance = 3.5 and prevalence = 65.8% in males; mean

  17. Relic gravitational waves and the generalized second law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izquierdo, German; Pavon, Diego

    2004-01-01

    The generalized second law of gravitational thermodynamics is applied to the present era of accelerated expansion of the Universe. In spite of the fact that the entropy of matter and relic gravitational waves inside the event horizon diminish, the mentioned law is fulfilled provided that the expression for the entropy density of the gravitational waves satisfies a certain condition

  18. Gravitational waves

    CERN Document Server

    Ciufolini, I; Moschella, U; Fre, P

    2001-01-01

    Gravitational waves (GWs) are a hot topic and promise to play a central role in astrophysics, cosmology, and theoretical physics. Technological developments have led us to the brink of their direct observation, which could become a reality in the coming years. The direct observation of GWs will open an entirely new field: GW astronomy. This is expected to bring a revolution in our knowledge of the universe by allowing the observation of previously unseen phenomena, such as the coalescence of compact objects (neutron stars and black holes), the fall of stars into supermassive black holes, stellar core collapses, big-bang relics, and the new and unexpected.With a wide range of contributions by leading scientists in the field, Gravitational Waves covers topics such as the basics of GWs, various advanced topics, GW detectors, astrophysics of GW sources, numerical applications, and several recent theoretical developments. The material is written at a level suitable for postgraduate students entering the field.

  19. Gravitation in the 'quasi-classical' theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wignall, J.W.G.; Zangari, M.

    1990-01-01

    The 'quasi-classical' picture of particles as extendend periodic disturbances in a classical nonlinear field, previously shown to imply all the equations of Maxwell electrodynamics with very little formal input, is here applied to the other known long-range force, gravitation. It is shown that the picture's absolute interpretation of inertial mass and four-potential as measures of the local spacing between equal-phase hypersurfaces, together with the empirically established proportionality of gravitational 'charge' to inertial mass, leads naturally to the gravitational red-shift formula, and it thus provides a physical basis for the spacetime curvature that is the central idea of Einstein's general theory of relativity. 16 refs., 1 fig

  20. Structure of gauge and gravitational anomalies*

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez-Gaume, L.; Ginsparg, P.

    1985-01-01

    It is shown how the form of the gauge and gravitational anomalies in quantum field theories may be derived from classical index theorems. The gravitational anomaly in both Einstein and Lorentz form is considered and their equivalence is exhibited. The formalism of gauge and gravitational theories is reviewed using the language of differential geometry, and notions from the theory of characteristic classes necessary for understanding the classical index theorems are introduced. The treatment of known topological results includes a pedagogical derivation of the Wess-Zumino effective Lagrangian in abitrary even dimension. The relation between various forms of the anomaly present in the literature is also clarified

  1. Gravitational waves from binary black holes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    It is almost a century since Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves as one of the consequences of his general theory of relativity. A brief historical overview including Chandrasekhar's contribution to the subject is first presented. The current status of the experimental search for gravitational waves and the ...

  2. A generalized variational principle of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Tahir, A.

    1987-09-01

    Generalized fourth order differential equations of gravitation are derived. Though similar to those earlier obtained by Lanczos, the present derivation is based on more general assumptions. The geometry-gravity dualism is discussed and the nonlinearity of gravitation is shown to be constrained by the curvature of space. (author). 5 refs

  3. Dark Energy and Inflation from Gravitational Waves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonid Marochnik

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this seven-part paper, we show that gravitational waves (classical and quantum produce the accelerated de Sitter expansion at the start and at the end of the cosmological evolution of the Universe. In these periods, the Universe contains no matter fields but contains classical and quantum metric fluctuations, i.e., it is filled with classical and quantum gravitational waves. In such evolution of the Universe, dominated by gravitational waves, the de Sitter state is the exact solution to the self-consistent equations for classical and quantum gravitational waves and background geometry for the empty space-time with FLRW metric. In both classical and quantum cases, this solution is of the instanton origin since it is obtained in the Euclidean space of imaginary time with the subsequent analytic continuation to real time. The cosmological acceleration from gravitational waves provides a transparent physical explanation to the coincidence, threshold and “old cosmological constant” paradoxes of dark energy avoiding recourse to the anthropic principle. The cosmological acceleration from virtual gravitons at the start of the Universe evolution produces inflation, which is consistent with the observational data on CMB anisotropy. Section 1 is devoted to cosmological acceleration from classical gravitational waves. Section 2 is devoted to the theory of virtual gravitons in the Universe. Section 3 is devoted to cosmological acceleration from virtual gravitons. Section 4 discusses the consistency of the theory with observational data on dark energy and inflation. The discussion of mechanism of acceleration and cosmological scenario are contained in Sections 5 and 6. Appendix contains the theory of stochastic nonlinear gravitational waves of arbitrary wavelength and amplitude in an isotropic Universe.

  4. Arachis pintoi COMO COBERTURA DE SUELO EN CULTIVOS DE PLÁTANO MACHO (Musa AAB) EN CÁRDENAS, TABASCO, MÉXICO

    OpenAIRE

    Eder Ramos Hernández; Ángel Sol Sánchez; Armando Guerrero Peña; José J. Obrador Olán

    2011-01-01

    El experimento se realizó en Cárdenas, Tabasco enuna plantación de plátano macho, en un suelo con texturafranca, pH moderadamente ácido, contenido de materiaorgánica y nitrógeno total bajo; con la finalidad de evaluar larepuesta al establecimiento de Arachis pintoi Krap. y Greg.como una cobertura viva. El diseño experimental fue bloquescompletos al azar con tres replicas. Se evaluaron tresporcentajes de sombra producida por el cultivo de plátanomacho (21, 45 y 50 %). El establecimiento de A. ...

  5. The sky pattern of the linearized gravitational memory effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mädler, Thomas; Winicour, Jeffrey

    2016-01-01

    The gravitational memory effect leads to a net displacement in the relative positions of test particles. This memory is related to the change in the strain of the gravitational radiation field between infinite past and infinite future retarded times. There are three known sources of the memory effect: (i) the loss of energy to future null infinity by massless fields or particles, (ii) the ejection of massive particles to infinity from a bound system and (iii) homogeneous, source-free gravitational waves. In the context of linearized theory, we show that asymptotic conditions controlling these known sources of the gravitational memory effect rule out any other possible sources with physically reasonable stress–energy tensors. Except for the source-free gravitational waves, the two other known sources produce gravitational memory with E -mode radiation strain, characterized by a certain curl-free sky pattern of their polarization. Thus our results show that the only known source of B -mode gravitational memory is of primordial origin, corresponding in the linearized theory to a homogeneous wave entering from past null infinity. (paper)

  6. Discovery of a bright microlensing event with planetary features towards the Taurus region: a super-Earth planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nucita, A. A.; Licchelli, D.; De Paolis, F.; Ingrosso, G.; Strafella, F.; Katysheva, N.; Shugarov, S.

    2018-05-01

    The transient event labelled as TCP J05074264+2447555 recently discovered towards the Taurus region was quickly recognized to be an ongoing microlensing event on a source located at distance of only 700-800 pc from Earth. Here, we show that observations with high sampling rate close to the time of maximum magnification revealed features that imply the presence of a binary lens system with very low-mass ratio components. We present a complete description of the binary lens system, which host an Earth-like planet with most likely mass of 9.2 ± 6.6 M⊕. Furthermore, the source estimated location and detailed Monte Carlo simulations allowed us to classify the event as due to the closest lens system, being at a distance of ≃380 pc and mass ≃0.25 M⊙.

  7. Gravitational wave memory in ΛCDM cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bieri, Lydia; Garfinkle, David; Yunes, Nicolás

    2017-01-01

    We examine gravitational wave memory in the case where sources and detector are in a ΛCDM cosmology. We consider the case where the Universe can be highly inhomogeneous, but gravitational radiation is treated in the short wavelength approximation. We find results very similar to those of gravitational wave memory in an asymptotically flat spacetime; however, the overall magnitude of the memory effect is enhanced by a redshift-dependent factor. In addition, we find the memory can be affected by lensing. (paper)

  8. Gravitational wave searches using the DSN (Deep Space Network)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, S.J.; Armstrong, J.W.

    1988-01-01

    The Deep Space Network Doppler spacecraft link is currently the only method available for broadband gravitational wave searches in the 0.01 to 0.001 Hz frequency range. The DSN's role in the worldwide search for gravitational waves is described by first summarizing from the literature current theoretical estimates of gravitational wave strengths and time scales from various astrophysical sources. Current and future detection schemes for ground based and space based detectors are then discussed. Past, present, and future planned or proposed gravitational wave experiments using DSN Doppler tracking are described. Lastly, some major technical challenges to improve gravitational wave sensitivities using the DSN are discussed

  9. Gravitational lensing in plasmic medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bisnovatyi-Kogan, G. S., E-mail: gkogan@iki.rssi.ru; Tsupko, O. Yu., E-mail: tsupko@iki.rssi.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-15

    The influence of plasma on different effects of gravitational lensing is reviewed. Using the Hamiltonian approach for geometrical optics in a medium in the presence of gravity, an exact formula for the photon deflection angle by a black hole (or another body with a Schwarzschild metric) embedded in plasma with a spherically symmetric density distribution is derived. The deflection angle in this case is determined by the mutual combination of different factors: gravity, dispersion, and refraction. While the effects of deflection by the gravity in vacuum and the refractive deflection in a nonhomogeneous medium are well known, the new effect is that, in the case of a homogeneous plasma, in the absence of refractive deflection, the gravitational deflection differs from the vacuum deflection and depends on the photon frequency. In the presence of a plasma nonhomogeneity, the chromatic refractive deflection also occurs, so the presence of plasma always makes gravitational lensing chromatic. In particular, the presence of plasma leads to different angular positions of the same image if it is observed at different wavelengths. It is discussed in detail how to apply the presented formulas for the calculation of the deflection angle in different situations. Gravitational lensing in plasma beyond the weak deflection approximation is also considered.

  10. GLINT. Gravitational-wave laser INterferometry triangle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aria, Shafa; Azevedo, Rui; Burow, Rick; Cahill, Fiachra; Ducheckova, Lada; Holroyd, Alexa; Huarcaya, Victor; Järvelä, Emilia; Koßagk, Martin; Moeckel, Chris; Rodriguez, Ana; Royer, Fabien; Sypniewski, Richard; Vittori, Edoardo; Yttergren, Madeleine

    2017-11-01

    When the universe was roughly one billion years old, supermassive black holes (103-106 solar masses) already existed. The occurrence of supermassive black holes on such short time scales are poorly understood in terms of their physical or evolutionary processes. Our current understanding is limited by the lack of observational data due the limits of electromagnetic radiation. Gravitational waves as predicted by the theory of general relativity have provided us with the means to probe deeper into the history of the universe. During the ESA Alpach Summer School of 2015, a group of science and engineering students devised GLINT (Gravitational-wave Laser INterferometry Triangle), a space mission concept capable of measuring gravitational waves emitted by black holes that have formed at the early periods after the big bang. Morespecifically at redshifts of 15 big bang) in the frequency range 0.01 - 1 Hz. GLINT design strain sensitivity of 5× 10^{-24} 1/√ { {Hz}} will theoretically allow the study of early black holes formations as well as merging events and collapses. The laser interferometry, the technology used for measuring gravitational waves, monitors the separation of test masses in free-fall, where a change of separation indicates the passage of a gravitational wave. The test masses will be shielded from disturbing forces in a constellation of three geocentric orbiting satellites.

  11. The 'gravitating' tensor in the dualistic theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahanta, M.N.

    1989-01-01

    The exact microscopic system of Einstein-type field equations of the dualistic gravitation theory is investigated as well as an analysis of the modified energy-momentum tensor or so called 'gravitating' tensor is presented

  12. Gravitational Waves from a Dark Phase Transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwaller, Pedro

    2015-10-30

    In this work, we show that a large class of models with a composite dark sector undergo a strong first order phase transition in the early Universe, which could lead to a detectable gravitational wave signal. We summarize the basic conditions for a strong first order phase transition for SU(N) dark sectors with n_{f} flavors, calculate the gravitational wave spectrum and show that, depending on the dark confinement scale, it can be detected at eLISA or in pulsar timing array experiments. The gravitational wave signal provides a unique test of the gravitational interactions of a dark sector, and we discuss the complementarity with conventional searches for new dark sectors. The discussion includes the twin Higgs and strongly interacting massive particle models as well as symmetric and asymmetric composite dark matter scenarios.

  13. Supersymmetry and gravitational duality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Argurio, Riccardo; Dehouck, Francois; Houart, Laurent

    2009-01-01

    We study how the supersymmetry algebra copes with gravitational duality. As a playground, we consider a charged Taub-Newman-Unti-Tamburino(NUT) solution of D=4, N=2 supergravity. We find explicitly its Killing spinors, and the projection they obey provides evidence that the dual magnetic momenta necessarily have to appear in the supersymmetry algebra. The existence of such a modification is further supported using an approach based on the Nester form. In the process, we find new expressions for the dual magnetic momenta, including the NUT charge. The same expressions are then rederived using gravitational duality.

  14. Discovery of two new gravitation lens systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guertler, J.

    1988-01-01

    The discovery of new quasar and radio galaxy double images produced by the gravitation lens effect is reported. The light deflecting galaxies acting as gravitational lenses could be made visible by means of image processing procedures

  15. Some aspects of gravitational waves in an isotropic background universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandey, S.N.

    1981-06-01

    Gravitational waves are an inescapable consequence of the relativistic theory of gravitation. They are meaningfully comparable with electromagnetic waves. However, they are not conformally invariant. So, to investigate this property for gravitational waves, modified field equations are obtained of which the underlying Lagrangian is based on gravitation only. It gives, if helicity is preserved, amplitude modification, and the wave is represented by Bessel function of zero order. Some aspects of this theory are discussed with reference to gravitational waves only. (author)

  16. Gravitational waves in hybrid quintessential inflationary models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sa, Paulo M; Henriques, Alfredo B

    2011-01-01

    The generation of primordial gravitational waves is investigated within the hybrid quintessential inflationary model. Using the method of continuous Bogoliubov coefficients, we calculate the full gravitational-wave energy spectrum. The post-inflationary kination period, characteristic of quintessential inflationary models, leaves a clear signature on the spectrum, namely, a sharp rise of the gravitational-wave spectral energy density Ω GW at high frequencies. For appropriate values of the parameters of the model, Ω GW can be as high as 10 -12 in the MHz-GHz range of frequencies.

  17. Finding A Planet Through the Dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2018-05-01

    Finding planets in the crowded galactic center is a difficult task, but infrared microlensing surveys give us a fighting chance! Preliminary results from such a study have already revealed a new exoplanet lurking in the dust of the galactic bulge.Detection BiasesUKIRT-2017 microlensing survey fields (blue), plotted over a map showing the galactic-plane dust extinction. The location of the newly discovered giant planet is marked with blue crosshairs. [Shvartzvald et al. 2018]Most exoplanets weve uncovered thus far were found either via transits dips in a stars light as the planet passes in front of its host star or via radial velocity wobbles of the star as the orbiting planet tugs on it. These techniques, while highly effective, introduce a selection bias in the types of exoplanets we detect: both methods tend to favor discovery of close-in, large planets orbiting small stars; these systems produce the most easily measurable signals on short timescales.For this reason, microlensing surveys for exoplanets have something new to add to the field.Search for a LensIn gravitational microlensing, we observe a background star as it is briefly magnified by a passing foreground star acting as a lens. If that foreground star hosts a planet, we observe a characteristic shape in the observed brightening of the background star, and the properties of that shape can reveal information about the foreground planet.A diagram of how planets are detected via gravitational microlensing. The detectable planet is in orbit around the foreground lens star. [NASA]This technique for planet detection is unique in its ability to explore untapped regions of exoplanet parameter space with microlensing, we can survey for planets around all different types of stars (rather than primarily small, dim ones), planets of all masses near the further-out snowlines where gas and ice giants are likely to form, and even free-floating planets.In a new study led by a Yossi Shvartzvald, a NASA postdoctoral

  18. Analysis of the gravitational coupled collisionless Boltzmann-poisson equations and numerical simulations of the formation of self-gravitating systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, Fabrice

    2004-01-01

    We study the formation of self-gravitating systems and their properties by means of N-body simulations of gravitational collapse. First, we summarize the major analytical results concerning the collisionless Boltzmann equation and the Poisson's equation which describe the dynamics of collisionless gravitational systems. We present a study of some analytical solutions of this coupled system of equations. We then present the software used to perform the simulations. Some of this has been parallelized and implemented with the aid of MPI. For this reason we give a brief overview of it. Finally, we present the results of the numerical simulations. Analysis of these results allows us to explain some features of self-gravitating systems and the initial conditions needed to trigger the Antonov instability and the radial orbit instability. (author) [fr

  19. Gravitational-wave research: Current status and future prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorne, K.S.

    1980-01-01

    There is a reasonably good change that in the 1980s cosmic gravitational waves will be discovered and will become a powerful tool for astronomy. This prospect has stimulated a three-pronged research effort. First, relativity theorists are developing new mathematical tools for the analysis of gravitational radiation: including (i) methods of analyzing the generation of gravity waves by sources with strong self-gravity and large internal velocities (e.g., collisions of black holes), (ii) methods of computing radiation reaction in sources, and (iii) methods of analyzing how gravitational waves propagate through our lumpy curved-space Universe. Second, astrophysicists are attempting to identify the most promissing sources of gravitational waves, and are using the relativity theorists' mathematical tools to estimate the characteristics of the waves they emit. Third, with the estimated wave characteristics in mind, experimenters are designing and constructing a second generation of gravitational-wave detectors: detectors of three types: Doppler tracking of interplanetary spacecraft, Earth-based laser interferometers, and Earth-based Weber-type resonant bars. This article reviews, in brief, all three prongs of the research effort and gives references to more detailed articles about specialized aspects of gravitational-wave physics

  20. Inertial reference frames and gravitational forces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santavy, I.

    1981-01-01

    The connection between different definitions of inertial, i.e. fundamental, reference frames and the corresponding characterisation of gravitational fields by gravitational forces are considered from the point of view of their possible interpretation in university introductory courses. The introduction of a special class of reference frames, denoted 'mixed reference frames' is proposed and discussed. (author)

  1. Gravitational-wave detection using redshifted 21-cm observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bharadwaj, Somnath; Guha Sarkar, Tapomoy

    2009-01-01

    A gravitational-wave traversing the line of sight to a distant source produces a frequency shift which contributes to redshift space distortion. As a consequence, gravitational waves are imprinted as density fluctuations in redshift space. The gravitational-wave contribution to the redshift space power spectrum has a different μ dependence as compared to the dominant contribution from peculiar velocities. This, in principle, allows the two signals to be separated. The prospect of a detection is most favorable at the highest observable redshift z. Observations of redshifted 21-cm radiation from neutral hydrogen hold the possibility of probing very high redshifts. We consider the possibility of detecting primordial gravitational waves using the redshift space neutral hydrogen power spectrum. However, we find that the gravitational-wave signal, though present, will not be detectable on superhorizon scales because of cosmic variance and on subhorizon scales where the signal is highly suppressed.

  2. Congratulations on the direct detection of gravitational waves

    CERN Multimedia

    2016-01-01

    This week saw the announcement of an extraordinary physics result: the first direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which includes the GEO team, and the Virgo Collaboration, using the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, USA.   Albert Einstein predicted gravitational waves in a paper published 100 years ago in 1916. They are a natural consequence of the theory of general relativity, which describes the workings of gravity and was published a few months earlier. Until now, they have remained elusive. Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in space-time produced by violent gravitational phenomena. Because the fractional change in the space-time geometry can be at the level of 10-21 or smaller, extremely sophisticated, high-sensitivity instruments are needed to detect them. Recently, the Advanced LIGO detector increased its sensitivity by alm...

  3. Advanced instrumentation for Solar System gravitational physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peron, Roberto; Bellettini, G.; Berardi, S.; Boni, A.; Cantone, C.; Coradini, A.; Currie, D. G.; Dell'Agnello, S.; Delle Monache, G. O.; Fiorenza, E.; Garattini, M.; Iafolla, V.; Intaglietta, N.; Lefevre, C.; Lops, C.; March, R.; Martini, M.; Nozzoli, S.; Patrizi, G.; Porcelli, L.; Reale, A.; Santoli, F.; Tauraso, R.; Vittori, R.

    2010-05-01

    The Solar System is a complex laboratory for testing gravitational physics. Indeed, its scale and hierarchical structure make possible a wide range of tests for gravitational theories, studying the motion of both natural and artificial objects. The usual methodology makes use of tracking information related to the bodies, fitted by a suitable dynamical model. Different equations of motion are provided by different theories, which can be therefore tested and compared. Future exploration scenarios show the possibility of placing deep-space probes near the Sun or in outer Solar System, thereby extending the available experimental data sets. In particular, the Earth-Moon is the most accurately known gravitational three-body laboratory, which is undergoing a new, strong wave of research and exploration (both robotic and manned). In addition, the benefits of a synergetic study of planetary science and gravitational physics are of the greatest importance (as shown by the success of the Apollo program), especially in the Earth-Moon, Mars-Phobos, Jovian and Saturnian sub-suystems. This scenarios open critical issues regarding the quality of the available dynamical models, i.e. their capability of fitting data without an excessive number of empirical hypotheses. A typical case is represented by the non-gravitational phenomena, which in general are difficult to model. More generally, gravitation tests with Lunar Laser Ranging, inner or outer Solar System probes and the appearance of the so-called 'anomalies'(like the one indicated by the Pioneers), whatever their real origin (either instrumental effects or due to new physics), show the necessity of a coordinated improvement of tracking and modelization techniques. A common research path will be discussed, employing the development and use of advanced instrumentation to cope with current limitations of Solar System gravitational tests. In particular, the use of high-sensitivity accelerometers, combined with microwave and laser

  4. Detecting the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colacino, Carlo Nicola

    2017-12-01

    The stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) is by far the most difficult source of gravitational radiation detect. At the same time, it is the most interesting and intriguing one. This book describes the initial detection of the SGWB and describes the underlying mathematics behind one of the most amazing discoveries of the 21st century. On the experimental side it would mean that interferometric gravitational wave detectors work even better than expected. On the observational side, such a detection could give us information about the very early Universe, information that could not be obtained otherwise. Even negative results and improved upper bounds could put constraints on many cosmological and particle physics models.

  5. The present gravitational wave detection effort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riles, Keith

    2010-01-01

    Gravitational radiation offers a new non-electromagnetic window through which to observe the universe. The LIGO and Virgo Collaborations have completed a first joint data run with unprecedented sensitivities to gravitational waves. Results from searches in the data for a variety of astrophysical sources are presented. A second joint data run with improved detector sensitivities is underway, and soon major upgrades will be carried out to build Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo with expected improvements in event rates of more than 1000. In parallel there is a vigorous effort in the radio pulsar community to detect nHz gravitational waves via the timing residuals in an array of pulsars at different locations in the sky.

  6. Produção de sementes macho-estéreis em arroz Male-sterile rice seed production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Bragantini

    2001-02-01

    Full Text Available A obtenção comercial de sementes da linhagem macho-estéril é uma das limitações para viabilizar a produção de híbridos de arroz (Oryza sativa L.. Este trabalho buscou estudar três proporções entre a linhagem macho-estéril (linhagem A e a mantenedora (linhagem B. As proporções estudadas foram 8:4, 10:2 e 14:4. As características avaliadas para determinar qual das proporções apresenta maior potencial foram: número e porcentagem de grãos cheios por panículas, e número de grãos de pólen por unidade de área. A proporção 8:4 produziu maior porcentagem de grãos cheios por panícula que as outras duas, mas, proporcionalmente, ocupa maior área física com a linhagem B no campo. Foram observadas diferenças estatísticas na porcentagem de grãos cheios entre as amostras coletadas nas várias fileiras da linhagem A (diferentes distâncias da fonte polinizadora, e observou-se uma influência marcante com relação à direção predominante dos ventos. O número de grãos de pólen foi igual para todas as relações e distâncias da fonte de pólen; por isso, não foi o fator determinante das diferenças observadas em porcentagem de grãos cheios por panícula. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a proporção 10:2 é a de maior potencial para a produção comercial de sementes da linhagem macho-estéril.Commercial male-sterile rice (Oryza sativa L. seed production is one of the limitations to allow large scale hybrid seed production. This work studied three ratios between male-sterile line (A line and maintainer (B line. The A:B ratios used in the study were: 8:4, 10:2 and 14:4. The evaluated traits to determine which ratio is more suitable were: number and percentage of filled grains per panicle and number of pollen grains per unit area. The 8:4 ratio produced statistically significant higher percentage of filled grains per panicle than the other two, but proportionally it requires more field area for the B line. Statistical

  7. Gravitational Field Shielding by Scalar Field and Type II Superconductors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang B. J.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The gravitational field shielding by scalar field and type II superconductors are theoret- ically investigated. In accord with the well-developed five-dimensional fully covariant Kaluza-Klein theory with a scalar field, which unifies the Einsteinian general relativity and Maxwellian electromagnetic theory, the scalar field cannot only polarize the space as shown previously, but also flatten the space as indicated recently. The polariza- tion of space decreases the electromagnetic field by increasing the equivalent vacuum permittivity constant, while the flattening of space decreases the gravitational field by decreasing the equivalent gravitational constant. In other words, the scalar field can be also employed to shield the gravitational field. A strong scalar field significantly shield the gravitational field by largely decreasing the equivalent gravitational constant. According to the theory of gravitational field shielding by scalar field, the weight loss experimentally detected for a sample near a rotating ceramic disk at very low tempera- ture can be explained as the shielding of the Earth gravitational field by the Ginzburg- Landau scalar field, which is produced by the type II superconductors. The significant shielding of gravitational field by scalar field produced by superconductors may lead to a new spaceflight technology in future.

  8. Interaction of gravitational waves with magnetic and electric fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrabes, C.; Hogan, P. A.

    2010-01-01

    The existence of large-scale magnetic fields in the universe has led to the observation that if gravitational waves propagating in a cosmological environment encounter even a small magnetic field then electromagnetic radiation is produced. To study this phenomenon in more detail we take it out of the cosmological context and at the same time simplify the gravitational radiation to impulsive waves. Specifically, to illustrate our findings, we describe the following three physical situations: (1) a cylindrical impulsive gravitational wave propagating into a universe with a magnetic field, (2) an axially symmetric impulsive gravitational wave propagating into a universe with an electric field and (3) a 'spherical' impulsive gravitational wave propagating into a universe with a small magnetic field. In cases (1) and (3) electromagnetic radiation is produced behind the gravitational wave. In case (2) no electromagnetic radiation appears after the wave unless a current is established behind the wave breaking the Maxwell vacuum. In all three cases the presence of the magnetic or electric fields results in a modification of the amplitude of the incoming gravitational wave which is explicitly calculated using the Einstein-Maxwell vacuum field equations.

  9. How Spherical Is a Cube (Gravitationally)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanny, Jeff; Smith, David

    2015-01-01

    An important concept that is presented in the discussion of Newton's law of universal gravitation is that the gravitational effect external to a spherically symmetric mass distribution is the same as if all of the mass of the distribution were concentrated at the center. By integrating over ring elements of a spherical shell, we show that the…

  10. Gravitational-wave astronomy: delivering on the promises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schutz, B. F.

    2018-05-01

    Now that LIGO and Virgo have begun to detect gravitational-wave events with regularity, the field of gravitational-wave astronomy is beginning to realize its promise. Binary black holes and, very recently, binary neutron stars have been observed, and we are already learning much from them. The future, with improved sensitivity, more detectors and detectors like LISA in different frequency bands, has even more promise to open a completely hidden side of the Universe to our exploration. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'.

  11. Superconductor in a weak static gravitational field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ummarino, Giovanni Alberto [Dipartimento DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI-Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); Gallerati, Antonio [Dipartimento DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy)

    2017-08-15

    We provide the detailed calculation of a general form for Maxwell and London equations that takes into account gravitational corrections in linear approximation. We determine the possible alteration of a static gravitational field in a superconductor making use of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations, providing also an analytic solution in the weak field condition. Finally, we compare the behavior of a high-T{sub c} superconductor with a classical low-T{sub c} superconductor, analyzing the values of the parameters that can enhance the reduction of the gravitational field. (orig.)

  12. New Metrics from a Fractional Gravitational Field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Nabulsi, Rami Ahmad

    2017-01-01

    Agop et al. proved in Commun. Theor. Phys. (2008) that, a Reissner–Nordstrom type metric is obtained, if gauge gravitational field in a fractal spacetime is constructed by means of concepts of scale relativity. We prove in this short communication that similar result is obtained if gravity in D-spacetime dimensions is fractionalized by means of the Glaeske–Kilbas–Saigo fractional. Besides, non-singular gravitational fields are obtained without using extra-dimensions. We present few examples to show that these gravitational fields hold a number of motivating features in spacetime physics. (paper)

  13. The theory of space, time and gravitation

    CERN Document Server

    Fock, V

    2015-01-01

    The Theory of Space, Time, and Gravitation, 2nd Revised Edition focuses on Relativity Theory and Einstein's Theory of Gravitation and correction of the misinterpretation of the Einsteinian Gravitation Theory. The book first offers information on the theory of relativity and the theory of relativity in tensor form. Discussions focus on comparison of distances and lengths in moving reference frames; comparison of time differences in moving reference frames; position of a body in space at a given instant in a fixed reference frame; and proof of the linearity of the transformation linking two iner

  14. Gravitational waves in hybrid quintessential inflationary models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sa, Paulo M [Departamento de Fisica, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro (Portugal); Henriques, Alfredo B, E-mail: pmsa@ualg.pt, E-mail: alfredo.henriques@ist.utl.pt [Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica - CENTRA and Departamento de Fisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, UTL, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2011-09-22

    The generation of primordial gravitational waves is investigated within the hybrid quintessential inflationary model. Using the method of continuous Bogoliubov coefficients, we calculate the full gravitational-wave energy spectrum. The post-inflationary kination period, characteristic of quintessential inflationary models, leaves a clear signature on the spectrum, namely, a sharp rise of the gravitational-wave spectral energy density {Omega}{sub GW} at high frequencies. For appropriate values of the parameters of the model, {Omega}{sub GW} can be as high as 10{sup -12} in the MHz-GHz range of frequencies.

  15. Observing a Gravitational Wave Background With Lisa

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Tinto, M; Armstrong, J; Estabrook, F

    2000-01-01

    .... Comparison of the conventional Michelson interferometer observable with the fully-symmetric Sagnac data-type allows unambiguous discrimination between a gravitational wave background and instrumental noise. The method presented here can be used to detect a confusion-limited gravitational wave background.

  16. Problems of generation and reception of gravitational waves. [Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pisarev, A F [Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (USSR)

    1975-01-01

    The present day status of the problems of gravitation, wave radiation and reception is surveyed. The physical presentation and mathematical description of the processes of radiation, propagation and interaction of gravitation waves with matter and the electromagnetic field are given. The experiments on the search for gravitation waves of astophysical nature are analysed. The laboratory and cosmic sources of these waves and the methods of their reception are described. Special attention is drawn to the analysis of the proposals to perform a complete laboratory gravitation wave experiment.

  17. Desenvolvimento corporal e testicular em machos de codornas de corte e de postura de 25 a 360 dias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana C. Santos

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Codornas do tipo carne e tipo ovos foram analisadas para determinar o desenvolvimento reprodutivo, a puberdade e o início da senilidade. Para tal, 288 codornas (144 codornas de corte e 144 de postura foram acompanhadas desde a eclosão até os 360 dias de idade. As aves foram distribuídas por idade em 18 grupos, sendo 8 codornas/grupo/tipo de codorna. Após 35 dias as codornas foram mantidas em condições de fotoperíodo de dias longos (17luz: 7escuro. O peso vivo e os valores morfométricos e histológicos testiculares foram determinados em cada período. Os dados obtidos foram analisados para determinar a curva de crescimento e o comportamento dos parâmetros analisados. O modelo que mais se adequou aos dados foi o modelo não linear de Gompertz (Y=A exp [-B e (-kt]. O peso vivo e as características testiculares macro e microscópicas apresentaram comportamento alométrico entre si, sendo que, aproximadamente aos 60 dias os machos apresentaram-se sexualmente desenvolvidos, e estabilizaram o peso corporal por volta dos 100 dias. O testículo direito é mais cranial que o esquerdo e diferem em relação a comprimento e largura, porém não foi observada diferenças (P>0,05 para peso testicular. As codornas de corte apresentaram peso corporal e peso testicular maiores que as codornas de postura, porém as codornas de postura apresentaram peso relativo testicular maior. Durante todo o período analisado os machos puderam ser considerados sexualmente aptos. Os reprodutores apresentaram características sexuais ativas até os 360 dias de idade, representadas pelo tamanho testicular e pela atividade celular nos túbulos seminíferos.

  18. The problem of infinite self-energy in electrodynamics and gravitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinha, K P; Sivaram, C [Indian Inst. of Science, Bangalore. Div. of Physics and Mathematical Sciences

    1975-02-01

    The appearance of infinities in the self-energies of point particles in both classical and quantum electrodynamics has been a persistent problem for the last several decades. This problem is discussed at length in relation to the Newtonian theory of gravitation and the modern (relativity) theory on gravitation. Gravitational contraction and the mass and radius of the electron are treated in detail. The spacetime properties around the Schwarzchild radius of the electron are modified to explain the divergences. The quantum gravitational mass and the quantum gravitational length are mentioned. It is pointed out that the out-off at the Schwarzchild radius applies not only to photon but also to the virtual quanta of all fields with which the particle interacts. Arguments are extended to explain the gravitational interactions of the proton. The interactions of the hadrons through f-gravity are explained. Recent work on renormalisibility (i.e. removal of divergences) of quantum gravitation are mentioned.

  19. Scalar-metric and scalar-metric-torsion gravitational theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldersley, S.J.

    1977-01-01

    The techniques of dimensional analysis and of the theory of tensorial concomitants are employed to study field equations in gravitational theories which incorporate scalar fields of the Brans-Dicke type. Within the context of scalar-metric gravitational theories, a uniqueness theorem for the geometric (or gravitational) part of the field equations is proven and a Lagrangian is determined which is uniquely specified by dimensional analysis. Within the context of scalar-metric-torsion gravitational theories a uniqueness theorem for field Lagrangians is presented and the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations are given. Finally, an example of a scalar-metric-torsion theory is presented which is similar in many respects to the Brans-Dicke theory and the Einstein-Cartan theory

  20. Linear interaction of gravitational waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciubotariu, C.D.

    1992-01-01

    Starting with the linearized Einstein equations written in the same form as Maxwell equations, a damping term is found in the wave equation. The analogy with the propagation of the electromagnetic wave in ohmic media is obvious if we introduce an 'ohmic relation' for gravitational interaction. The possibility of the amplification of gravitational waves by a suitable choice of the velocity field of a dust ('dust with negative viscosity'), for example by the use of the free-electron laser principle, is indicated. (Author)