1,721,033 research outputs found

    Nonparametric extensions of nuclear equations of state: probing the breakdown scale of relativistic mean-field theory

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    Phenomenological calculations of the properties of dense matter, such as relativistic mean-field theories, represent a pathway to predicting the microscopic and macroscopic properties of neutron stars. However, such theories do not generically have well-controlled uncertainties and may break down within neutron stars. To faithfully represent the uncertainty in this breakdown scale, we develop a hybrid representation of the dense-matter equation of state, which assumes the form of a relativistic mean-field theory at low densities, while remaining agnostic to any nuclear theory at high densities. To achieve this, we use a nonparametric equation of state model to incorporate the correlations of the underlying relativistic mean-field theory equation of state at low pressures and transition to more flexible correlations above some chosen pressure scale. We perform astrophysical inference under various choices of the transition pressure between the theory-informed and theory-agnostic models. We further study whether the chosen relativistic mean-field theory breaks down above some particular pressure and find no such evidence. Using simulated data for future astrophysical observations at about two-to-three times the precision of current constraints, we show that our method can identify the breakdown pressure associated with a potential strong phase transition

    ORBITAL DECAY OF HOT JUPITERS DUE TO NONLINEAR TIDAL DISSIPATION WITHIN SOLAR-TYPE HOSTS

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    We study the orbital evolution of hot Jupiters due to the excitation and damping of tidally driven g-modes within solar-type host stars. Linearly resonant g-modes (the dynamical tide) are driven to such large amplitudes in the stellar core that they excite a sea of other g-modes through weakly nonlinear interactions. By solving the dynamics of large networks of nonlinearly coupled modes, we show that the nonlinear dissipation rate of the dynamical tide is several orders of magnitude larger than the linear dissipation rate. We find stellar tidal quality factors Q[' over *] ≃ 10[superscript 5]–10[superscript 6] for systems with planet mass M[subscript p] ≳ 0.5M[subscript J] and orbital period P ≲ 2\;\mathrm{days},$ which implies that such systems decay on timescales that are small compared to the main-sequence lifetime of their solar-type hosts. According to our results, there are ≃ 10 currently known exoplanetary systems, including WASP-19b and HAT-P-36-b, with orbital decay timescales shorter than a Gyr. Rapid, tidally induced orbital decay may explain the observed paucity of planets with M[subscript p] ≳ M[subscript J] and P < 2 days around solar-type hosts and could generate detectable transit-timing variations in the near future.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory PHY-0757058)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX14AB40G

    Impact of the tidal p−g instability on the gravitational wave signal from coalescing binary neutron stars

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    Recent studies suggest that coalescing neutron stars are subject to a fluid instability involving the nonlinear coupling of the tide to p modes and g modes. Its influence on the inspiral dynamics and thus the gravitational wave signal is, however, uncertain because we do not know precisely how the instability saturates. Here we construct a simple, physically motivated model of the saturation that allows us to explore the instability’s impact as a function of the model parameters. We find that for plausible assumptions about the saturation, current gravitational wave detectors might miss >70% of events if only point particle waveforms are used. Parameters such as the chirp mass, component masses, and luminosity distance might also be significantly biased. On the other hand, we find that relatively simple modifications to the point particle waveform can alleviate these problems and enhance the science that emerges from the detection of binary neutron stars.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (ATP Grant NNX14AB40G)National Science Foundation (U.S.)Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observator

    OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS

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    Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates, the sensitive regions are swept across the sky. However, because the detectors do not acquire data uniformly over time, there is a net bias on detectable sources' right ascensions. Both LIGO detectors preferentially collect data during their local night; it is more than twice as likely to be local midnight than noon when both detectors are operating. We discuss these selection effects and how they impact LIGO's observations and electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. Beyond galactic foregrounds associated with seasonal variations, we find that equatorial observatories can access over 80% of the localization probability, while mid-latitudes will access closer to 70%. Facilities located near the two LIGO sites can observe sources closer to their zenith than their analogs in the south, but the average observation will still be no closer than 44° from zenith. We also find that observatories in Africa or the South Atlantic will wait systematically longer before they can begin observing compared to the rest of the world; though, there is a preference for longitudes near the LIGOs. These effects, along with knowledge of the LIGO antenna pattern, can inform EM follow-up activities and optimization, including the possibility of directing observations even before gravitational-wave events occur.National Science Foundation (U.S.)Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observator

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Tidal Dissipation in WASP-12

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    WASP-12 is a hot Jupiter system with an orbital period of P = 1.1 days, making it one of the shortest-period giant planets known. Recent transit timing observations by Maciejewski et al. and Patra et al. found a decreasing period with = 3.2 Myr. This has been interpreted as evidence of either orbital decay due to tidal dissipation or a long-term oscillation of the apparent period due to apsidal precession. Here, we consider the possibility that it is orbital decay. We show that the parameters of the host star are consistent with either a M ∗ ≃ 1.3 M o main sequence star or a M ∗ ≃ 1.2 M o subgiant. We find that if the star is on the main sequence, the tidal dissipation is too inefficient to explain the observed . However, if it is a subgiant, the tidal dissipation is significantly enhanced due to nonlinear wave-breaking of the dynamical tide near the star's center. The subgiant models have a tidal quality factor and an orbital decay rate that agrees well with the observed . It would also explain why the planet survived for ≃3 Gyr while the star was on the main sequence and yet is now inspiraling on a 3 Myr timescale. Although this suggests that we are witnessing the last ∼0.1% of the planet's life, the probability of such a detection is a few percent given the observed sample of ≃30 hot Jupiters in P 1.2 M o hosts

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods
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