Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “gravity harmonics”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records

Harmonic analysis of 2d CFT partition functions

We apply the theory of harmonic analysis on the fundamental domain of SL(2, Z) to partition functions of two-dimensional conformal field theories. We decompose the partition function of c free bosons on a Narain lattice into eigenfunctions of the Laplacian of worldsheet moduli space H/SL(2, Z), and of target space moduli space O(c, c; Z)\O(c, c; R)/O(c)×O(c). This decomposition manifests certain properties of Narain theories and ensemble averages thereof. We extend the application of spectral theory to partition functions of general two-dimensional conformal field theories, and explore its meaning in connection to AdS 3 gravity. An implication of harmonic analysis is that the local operator spectrum is fully determined by a certain subset of degeneracies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A convergent genus expansion for the plateau

We conjecture a formula for the spectral form factor of a double-scaled matrix integral in the limit of large time, large density of states, and fixed temperature. The formula has a genus expansion with a nonzero radius of convergence. To understand the origin of this series, we compare to the semiclassical theory of “encounters” in periodic orbits. In Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity, encounters correspond to portions of the moduli space integral that mutually cancel (in the orientable case) but individually grow at low energies. At genus one we show how the full moduli space integral resolves the low energy region and gives a finite nonzero answer.

2D Gravity↗

Nonlinear dynamics of quadratic gravity in spherical symmetry

We present the first numerically stable nonlinear evolution for the leading-order gravitational effective field theory (quadratic gravity) in the spherically-symmetric sector. The formulation relies on (i) the harmonic gauge to cast the evolution system into quasilinear form (ii) the Cartoon method to reduce to spherical symmetry in keeping with the harmonic gauge, and (iii) order reduction to first order (in time) by means of introducing auxiliary variables. The well posedness of the respective initial-value problem is numerically confirmed by evolving randomly perturbed flat-space and black-hole initial data. In conclusion, our study serves as a proof-of-principle for the possibility of stable numerical evolution in the presence of higher derivatives.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gravitation and Mesh Adaption

The Gravitation and Mesh Adaptation (GaMA) toolbox consists of a set of Matlab classes for modeling the environment around asteroids and comets. A variety of gravitational models and supporting algorithms from are consolidated alongside a custom meshing utility tailored for the application. This allows the user to work within a single streamlined environment to import and manipulate surface definitions, probe the dynamical environment, integrate trajectories, and post-process results. For other applications, modified surface meshes can be exported. Gravity Models: 1) Werner's analytic polyhedron model 2) Mascon model 3) Gottlieb's spherical harmonic model 4) Approximate polyhedron models 5) Curvilinear surface models 6) Custom composite models Meshing Features: 1) Array-based half-edge data structure 2) Supports curvilinear surface definitions up to degree 4 3) Ray-tracing 4) Coarsening 5) Feature-based refinement 6) Projection 7) Smoothing 8) Mesh quality validity tests 9) Mesh repair Additional Features: 1) Solar radiation pressure model 2) Distant 3rd body model 3) Collision detection 4) Trajectory integration and post-processing 5) Visualization of surface fields

Pearl, Jason↗

Tidal Circularization of Binaries by Resonance Locking. I. The Importance of the Pre-main Sequence

Although tidal dissipation in binary stars has been studied for over a century, theoretical predictions have yet to match the observed properties of binary populations. This work quantitatively examines the recent proposal of tidal circularization by resonance locking, where tidal dissipation arises from resonances between the star’s natural oscillation frequencies and harmonics of the orbital frequency, and where resonances are “locked” for an extended period of time due to concurrent stellar evolution. We focus on tidal resonances with axi-symmetric gravity modes, and examine binaries with primary masses from one to two solar masses. We find that orbital evolution via resonance locking occurs primarily during the star’s pre-main-sequence phase, with the main-sequence phase contributing negligibly. Resonance locking, ignoring nonlinearity, can circularize binaries with peri-center distances out to ∼10 stellar radii, corresponding to circular periods of ∼4–6 days. However, we find resonantly excited gravity modes will become nonlinear in stellar cores, which prevents them from reaching their full, linear amplitudes. We estimate that such a “saturated resonance lock” reduces the circularization period by about a third, but resonance locking remains much more effective than the cumulative actions of equilibrium tides. In a companion paper, we examine recent binary data to compare against theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Coherent spin states and emergent de Sitter quasinormal modes

As a toy model for the microscopic description of matter in de Sitter space, we consider a Hamiltonian acting on the spin-j representation of SU(2). This is a model with a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, from which quasinormal modes emerge in the large-spin limit. The path integral over coherent spin states can be evaluated at the semiclassical level and from it we find the single-particle de Sitter density of states, including 1/j corrections. Along the way, we discuss the use of quasinormal modes in quantum mechanics, starting from the paradigmatic upside-down harmonic oscillator.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Compact laser source with frequency modulators generating multiple lines

A compact laser source and a single sideband modulator used therein is disclosed. The compact laser source includes a seed laser and one or more channels, with each channel generating one or more output laser beams having corresponding different wavelengths. The compact laser source can be formed in whole or in part on a single optical motherboard to thereby minimize space and power requirements. By employing the disclosed single sideband modulator, harmonics in the generated output laser beams can be minimized. The compact laser source finds application in an atom interferometer (AI) system, which may be used to measure gravity, acceleration, or rotation of the AI system.

Lentine, Anthony L.↗

Supergravity black holes, Love numbers, and harmonic coordinates

A problem which has now come to a head in general relativity, primarily as a result of the many recent detections of gravitational waves from the coalescence of compact binaries, is that there are very few viable theories against which to “test” it. To perform realistic tests of theories of gravity, we need to be able to look beyond general relativity and evaluate the consistency of a parametrized, physically acceptable, family of black hole metric alternatives with observational data from, especially, gravitational wave detections using, for example, an agnostic Bayesian approach. In this paper we further examine properties of one class of such metrics, which in fact arise as solutions of ungauged supergravity. In particular, we examine the massless, neutral, minimally coupled scalar wave equation in a general stationary, axisymmetric background metric such as that of a charged rotating black hole, when the scalar field is either time independent or in the low-frequency, near-zone limit, with a view to calculating the Love numbers of tidal perturbations, and of obtaining harmonic coordinates for the background metric. For a four-parameter family of charged asymptotically flat rotating black hole solutions of ungauged supergravity theory known as STU black holes, which includes Kaluza-Klein black holes and the Kerr-Sen black hole as special cases, we find that all time-independent solutions, and hence the harmonic coordinates of the metrics, are identical to those of the Kerr solution. In the low-frequency limit we find the scalar fields exhibit the same SL(2,R) symmetry as holds in the case of the Kerr solution. We point out extensions of our results to a wider class of metrics, which includes solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Tidally Excited Modes and δ Scuti Pulsations in the Eclipsing Triple Star IM Persei

IM Per is a triple star system whose eclipsing pair masses and radii are accurate to within 1%. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curve of the program target exhibits partial eclipses and multiple oscillations with millimagnitude-level amplitudes. It is found that the oscillations affect eclipse timing measurements. Binary modeling of the high-quality TESS data indicates that the eclipsing components of the triple system are twin dwarfs with parameters of M {sub 2}/M {sub 1} = 0.995, R {sub 2}/R {sub 1} = 0.901, and Δ(T{sub eff,1}–T{sub eff,2}) = 12 K in an eccentric (e = 0.049), detached configuration. The third light of l {sub 3} = 0.054 may mostly come from a G-type tertiary companion. Our predicted parallax of 1.52 ± 0.09 mas is concurrent with the Gaia measurement of 1.52 ± 0.05 mas. Multifrequency analysis of the outside-eclipse residuals reveals 22 significant pulsation signals: 4 in the gravity-mode region (0.03−2.22 day{sup −1}) and 18 in the pressure-mode region (9.19−25.12 day{sup −1}). Of the low frequencies, f {sub 11} and f {sub 14} are orbital harmonics that can be identified as tidally excited modes. The pulsation periods and constants for the high frequencies, and the position in the Cepheid instability strip demonstrate that the pulsating component of IM Per is a δ Sct variable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A one-loop test of the near-AdS 2 /near-CFT 1 correspondence

We analyze quantum fluctuations around black hole solutions to the Jackiw-Teitelboim model. We use harmonic analysis on Euclidean AdS 2 to show that the logarithmic corrections to the partition function are determined entirely by quadratic holomorphic differentials, even when conformal symmetry is broken and harmonic modes are no longer true zero modes. Our quantum-corrected partition function agrees precisely with the SYK result. We argue that our effective quantum field theory methods and results generalize to other theories of two-dimensional dilaton gravity.

2D Gravity↗

Variable Blue Straggler Stars in the Open Cluster NGC 6819 Observed in the Kepler “Superstamp” Field

Abstract NGC 6819 is an open cluster of age 2.4 Gyr that was in the NASA Kepler spacecraft’s field of view from 2009 to 2013. The central part of the cluster was observed in a 200 × 200 pixel “superstamp” during these four years in 30 minute cadence photometry, providing a unique, high-precision, long time-series data set. The cluster contains “blue straggler” stars, i.e., stars on the main sequence above the cluster turnoff that should have left the main sequence to become red giants. We present light curves and pulsation frequency analyses derived from custom photometric reductions for five confirmed cluster members—four blue stragglers and one star near the main-sequence turnoff. Two of these stars show a rich spectrum of δ Scuti pulsation modes, with 236 and 124 significant frequencies identified, respectively, while two stars show mainly low-frequency modes, characteristic of γ Doradus variable stars. The fifth star, a known active X-ray binary, shows only several harmonics of two main frequencies. For the two δ Scuti stars, we use a frequency separation–mean density relation to estimate their mean densities, and then use these values along with their effective temperature to derive their stellar masses and radii. For the two stars showing low frequencies, we searched for period-spacing sequences that may be representative of gravity-mode or Rossby-mode sequences, but found no clear sequences. The common age for the cluster members, considered along with the frequencies, will provide valuable constraints for asteroseismic analyses, and may shed light on the origin of the blue stragglers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Sedimentation and shear-induced dynamics of spheroids in fluids with spatial viscosity variations

A generalized reciprocal theorem is used to relate the force and torque induced on a particle in an inertia-less fluid with small variation in viscosity to integrals involving Stokes flow fields and the spatial dependence of viscosity. These resistivity expressions are analytically evaluated using spheroidal harmonics and then used to obtain the mobility of the spheroid during sedimentation, and in linear flows, of a fluid with linear viscosity stratification. The coupling between the rotational and translational motion induced by stratification rotates the spheroid’s centerline, creating a variety of rotational and translational dynamics dependent upon the particle’s aspect ratio, κ, and the component of the stratification unit vector in the gravity direction, d g . Spheroids with 0.55 ⪅ κ ⪅ 2.0 exhibit the largest variety of settling behaviors. Interestingly, this range covers most microplastics and typical microorganisms. One of the modes include a stable orientation dependent only on κ and d g , but independent of initial orientation, thus allowing for the potential control of settling angles and sedimentation rates. In a simple shear flow, cross-streamline migration occurs due to the stratification-induced force generated on the particle. Similarly, a particle no longer stays at the stagnation point of a uniaxial extensional flow. While fully analytical results are obtained for spheroids, numerical simulations provide a source of validation. These simulations also provide additional insights into the stratification-induced force- and torque-producing mechanisms through the stratification-induced stress, which is not accessed in the reciprocal theorem-based analytical calculations.

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Stratified flows↗

Sequence modeling of higher-order wave modes of quasi-circular, spinning, non-precessing binary black hole mergers

Higher-order gravitational wave modes from quasi-circular, spinning, non-precessing binary-black-hole (BBH) mergers encode rich information about the nonlinear dynamics of strong-field gravity. We present a transformer-based sequence-completion surrogate that, given an early-inspiral segment, forecasts the subsequent late inspiral, merger, and ringdown. The intended applications are (i) patching or completing expensive or interrupted numerical-relativity (NR) simulations and (ii) providing late-time cross-checks and rapid hybridization studies. The training set is built from the NRHybSur3dq8 surrogate, which provides spherical-harmonic modes up to $\ell$ ≤ 4 (excluding (4, 0) and (4,±1), and including (5, 5)) for mass ratios q ≤ 8, dimensionless spin components s$^{z}_{1,2}$ ϵ[–0.8, 0.8], and inclination angles θ ϵ [0, π]. Waveforms are supplied on the interval t ϵ [–5000M, –100 M) and the model autoregressively generates the plus and cross polarizations (h + , h x ) on t ϵ [–100 M, 130M]. Training on the Delta supercomputer with 16 NVIDIA A100 GPUs required ~15 h on more than 14 million hybrid waveforms. Evaluation on a held-out test set of 840,000 samples yields mean and median overlaps of 0.996 and 0.997, respectively, with respect to the surrogate ground truth.

black-hole merger↗

Constraining gravity with a new precision 𝐸 𝐺 estimator using Planck + SDSS BOSS data

The 𝐸 𝐺 statistic is a discriminating probe of gravity developed to test the prediction of general relativity (GR) for the relation between gravitational potential and clustering on the largest scales in the observable Universe. We present a novel high-precision estimator for the 𝐸 𝐺 statistic using CMB lensing and galaxy clustering correlations that carefully matches the effective redshifts across the different measurement components to minimize corrections. A suite of detailed tests is performed to characterize the estimator’s accuracy, its sensitivity to assumptions and analysis choices, and the non-Gaussianity of the estimator’s uncertainty is characterized. After finalization of the estimator, it is applied to Planck CMB lensing and SDSS CMASS and LOWZ galaxy data. We report the first harmonic space measurement of 𝐸 𝐺 using the LOWZ sample and CMB lensing and also updated constraints using the final CMASS sample and the latest Planck CMB lensing map. We find $\hat{𝐸}$$^{Planck+CMASS}_{𝐺}$ = 0.3⁢6$^{+0.06}_{−0.05}$⁢(68.27%) and $\hat{𝐸}$$^{Planck+LOWZ}_{𝐺}$ = 0.4⁢0$^{+0.11}_{−0.09}$⁢(68.27%), with additional subdominant systematic error budget estimates of 2% and 3%, respectively. Using Ω m,0 constraints from Planck and SDSS BAO observations, Λ⁢CDM-GR predicts 𝐸$^{GR}_ {𝐺}$⁡(𝑧 =0.555) = 0.401 ± 0.005 and 𝐸$^{GR}_{𝐺}$⁡(𝑧 =0.316) = 0.452 ± 0.005 at the effective redshifts of the CMASS and LOWZ based measurements. We report the measurement to be in good statistical agreement with the Λ⁢CDM-GR prediction and report that the measurement is also consistent with the more general GR prediction of scale independence for 𝐸 𝐺 . Furthermore, this work provides a carefully constructed and calibrated statistic with which 𝐸 𝐺 measurements can be confidently and accurately obtained with upcoming survey data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gravity of two photon decay and its quantum coherence

A linear analytical solution is derived for the gravitational shock wave produced by a particle of mass M that decays into a pair of null particles. The resulting space-time is shown to be unperturbed and isotropic, except for a discontinuous perturbation on a spherical null shell. Formulae are derived for the perturbation as a function of polar angle, as measured by an observer at the origin observing clocks on a sphere at distance R. The effect of the shock is interpreted physically as an instantaneous displacement in time and velocity when the shock passes the clocks. The time displacement is shown to be anisotropic, dominated by a quadrupole harmonic aligned with the particle-decay axis, with a magnitude δτ ~ GM/c 3 , independent of R. The velocity displacement is isotropic. The solution is used to derive the gravitational effect of a quantum state with a superposition of a large number of randomly oriented, statistically isotropic particle decays. This approach is shown to provide a well-controlled approximation to estimate the magnitude of gravitational fluctuations in systems composed of null point particles up to the Planck energy in a causal diamond of duration τ = 2R/c, as well as quantum-gravitational fluctuations of black holes and cosmological horizons. Coherent large-angle quantum distortions of macroscopic geometry from fluctuations up to the Planck scale are shown to grow linearly with the duration, with a variance $\langle$δτ 2 $\rangle$ ~ τtP much larger than that produced in models without causal quantum coherence.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Amplitudes, supersymmetric black hole scattering at $\mathcal{O}\left({G}^5\right)$, and loop integration

We compute the potential-graviton contribution to the scattering amplitude, the radial action, and the scattering angle of two extremal black holes in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 supergravity at the fifth post-Minkowskian order and to next-to-leading order in a large mass expansion (first self-force order). Properties of classical unitarity cuts allow us to focus on the integration-by-parts reduction of planar integrals, while nonplanar integrals at this order are obtained from the planar ones by straightforward manipulations. We present the solution to the differential equations for all master integrals necessary to evaluate the classical scattering amplitudes of massive scalar particles at this order in all gravitational theories, in particular in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 supergravity, and in general relativity. Despite the appearance of higher-weight generalized polylogarithms and elliptic functions in the solution to the differential equation for master integrals, the final supergravity answer is remarkably simple and contains only (harmonic) polylogarithmic functions up to weight 2. The systematic analysis of elliptic integrals discussed here, as well as the particular organization of boundary integrals in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 observables are independent of supersymmetry and may have wider applications, including to aspects of collider physics.

Black Holes↗

Quantum mechanical out-of-time-ordered-correlators for the anharmonic (quartic) oscillator

Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) have been suggested as a means to study quantum chaotic behavior in various systems. In this work, I calculate OTOCs for the quantum mechanical anharmonic oscillator with quartic potential, which is classically integrable and has a Poisson-like energy-level distribution. For low temperature, OTOCs are periodic in time, similar to results for the harmonic oscillator and the particle in a box. For high temperature, OTOCs exhibit a rapid (but power-like) rise at early times, followed by saturation consistent with 2 < x 2 >T < p 2 > T at late times. At high temperature, the spectral form factor decreases at early times, bounces back and then reaches a plateau with strong fluctuations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Entanglement and confinement in coupled quantum systems

We study some general properties of coupled quantum systems. We consider simple interactions between two copies of identical Hamiltonians such as the SYK model, Pauli spin chains with random magnetic field and harmonic oscillators. Such couplings make the ground states close to the thermofield double states of the uncoupled Hamiltonians. For the coupled SYK model, we push the numerical computation further towards the thermodynamic limit so that an extrapolation in the size of the system is possible. We find good agreement between the extrapolated numerical result and the analytic result in the large-q limit. We also consider the coupled gauged matrix model and vector model, and argue that the deconfinement is associated with the loss of the entanglement, similarly to the previous observation for the coupled SYK model. The understanding of the microscopic mechanism of the confinement/deconfinement transition enables us to estimate the quantum entanglement precisely, and backs up the dual gravity interpretation which relates the deconfinement to the disappearance of the wormhole. Our results demonstrate the importance of the entanglement between the color degrees of freedom in the emergence of the bulk geometry from quantum field theory via holography.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗