Equal-mass Case Research Articles

P -wave heavy quarkonium spectrum with next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy

We compute the heavy quarkonium mass of $l\not= 0$ (angular momentum) states, with otherwise arbitrary quantum numbers, with next-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (N$^3$LL) accuracy. This constitutes the first observable in heavy quarkonium for which two orders of the weak-coupling expansion sensitive to the ultrasoft scale are known and the resummation of ultrasoft logarithms is made. We also obtain, for the first time, resummed N$^3$LL expressions for the different fine and hyperfine energy splittings of these states, which are not sensitive to the ultrasoft scale but still require resummation of (hard) logarithms. We do this analysis for the equal and non-equal mass cases. We also study an alternative computational scheme that treats the static potential exactly. We then perform a comprehensive phenomenological analysis: we apply these results to the $n=2$, $l=1$ bottomonium, $B_c$ and charmonium systems and study their convergence.

From star-disc encounters to numerical solutions for a subset of the restricted three-body problem

Various astrophysical processes are known, where the fly-by of a massive object affects matter initially supported against gravity by rotation. Examples are perturbations of galaxies, protoplanetary discs or planetary systems. We approximate such events as subset of the restricted three-body problem by considering only perturbations of non-interacting low-mass objects initially on circular Keplerian orbits. In this paper we present a new parametrisation of the initial conditions of this problem. Under certain conditions the initial positions of the low-mass objects can be specified largely independent of the initial position of the perturber. Exploiting additionally the known scalings of the problem reduces the parameter space of initial conditions for one specific perturbation to two dimensions. To this two-dimensional initial condition space we have related the final properties of the perturbed trajectories of the low-mass objects from our numerical simulations. That way, maps showing the effect of the perturbation on the low-mass objects have been created, which provide a new view on the perturbation process. Comparing the maps for different mass-ratios reveals that the perturbations by low- and high-mass perturbers are dominated by different physical processes. The equal-mass case is a complicated mixture of the other two cases. Since the final properties of trajectories with similar initial conditions are usually also similar, the results of the limited number of integrated trajectories can be generalised to the full presented parameter space by interpolation. Since our results are also unique within the accuracy strived for, they constitute general numerical solutions for this subset of the restricted three-body problem. As such, they can be used to predict the evolution of real physical problems by simple transformations like scaling and without further simulations. (...)

Gravitational waves and mass ejecta from binary neutron star mergers: Effect of the mass ratio

We present new (3+1)D numerical relativity simulations of the binary neutron star (BNS) merger and postmerger phase. We focus on a previously inaccessible region of the binary parameter space spanning the binary's mass-ratio $q\sim1.00-1.75$ for different total masses and equations of state, and up to $q\sim2$ for a stiff BNS system. We study the mass-ratio effect on the gravitational waves (GWs) and on the possible electromagnetic emission associated to dynamical mass ejecta. We compute waveforms, spectra, and spectrograms of the GW strain including all the multipoles up to $l=4$. The mass-ratio has a specific imprint on the GW multipoles in the late-inspiral-merger signal, and it affects qualitatively the spectra of the merger remnant. The multipole effect is also studied by considering the dependency of the GW spectrograms on the source's sky location. Unequal mass BNSs produce more ejecta than equal mass systems with ejecta masses and kinetic energies depending almost linearly on $q$. We estimate luminosity peaks and light curves of macronovae events associated to the mergers using a simple approach. For $q\sim2$ the luminosity peak is delayed for several days and can be up to four times larger than for the $q=1$ cases. The macronova emission associated with the $q\sim2$ BNS is more persistent in time and could be observed for weeks instead of few days ($q=1$) in the near infrared. Finally, we estimate the flux of possible radio flares produced by the interaction of relativistic outflows with the surrounding medium. Also in this case a large $q$ can significantly enhance the emission and delay the peak luminosity. Overall, our results indicate that BNS merger with large mass ratio have EM signatures distinct from the equal mass case and more similar to black hole - neutron star binaries.

Periodic orbits in the free-fall three-body problem

Periodic solutions of the general free-fall three-body problem are investigated for the case of equal masses. The initial conditions are chosen on a Hill surface in form space. The use of the form space reduces the dimension of the problem and makes it possible to represent the region of possible initial conditions on the Hill surface, together with a color scale. The regions obtained can be used to improve the precision of the initial conditions for the periodic orbits in the free-fall three-body problem.

Gravitational wave luminosity and net momentum flux in head-on mergers of black holes: Radiative patterns and mode mixing

We show that gravitational wave radiative patterns from a point test particle falling radially into a Schwarzschild black hole, as derived by Davis, Ruffini, Press and Price [M. Davis et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 27, 1466 (1971).], are present in the nonlinear regime of head-on mergers of black holes. We use the Bondi-Sachs characteristic formulation and express the gravitational wave luminosity and the net momentum flux in terms of the news functions. We then evaluate the ($\ensuremath{-}2$)-spin-weighted $\ensuremath{\ell}$-multipole decomposition of these quantities via exact expressions valid in the nonlinear regime and defined at future null infinity. Our treatment is made in the realm of Robinson-Trautman dynamics, with characteristic initial data corresponding to the head-on merger of two black holes. We consider mass ratios in the range $0.01\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\le}1$. We obtain the exponential decay with $\ensuremath{\ell}$ of the total energy contributed by each multipole $\ensuremath{\ell}$, with an accurate linear correlation in the log-linear plot of the points up to $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.7$. Above this mass ratio the contribution of the odd modes to the energy decreases faster than that of the even modes, leading to the breaking of the linear correlation; for $\ensuremath{\alpha}=1$ the energy in all odd modes is zero. The dominant contribution to the total radiated energy comes from the quadrupole mode $\ensuremath{\ell}=2$ corresponding, for instance, to about $\ensuremath{\simeq}84%$ for small mass ratios up to $\ensuremath{\simeq}99.8%$ for the limit case $\ensuremath{\alpha}=1$. The total rescaled radiated energy ${E}_{W}^{\text{total}}/{m}_{0}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}$ decreases linearly with decreasing $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, yielding for the point particle limit $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ the value $\ensuremath{\simeq}0.0484$, about 5 times larger than the result of Davis et al. [1]. The mode decomposition of the net momentum flux and of the associated gravitational wave impulses results in an adjacent-even-odd mode-mixing pattern. We obtain that the impulses contributed by each $(\ensuremath{\ell},\ensuremath{\ell}+1)$ mixed mode also accurately satisfy the exponential decay with $\ensuremath{\ell}$, for the whole mass ratio domain considered, $0.01\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\alpha}l1$. The (2, 3) mode contributions to the total impulses are dominant. The mode-mixing effect can also be seen in the decomposition of the net kick velocity imparted to the system by the gravitational wave emission. The mixed mode impulses reach a maximum at $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.7$; for $\ensuremath{\alpha}g0.7$ the impulses decrease and are zero in the equal mass case, due to the decrease to zero of the odd modes of the news functions.

Unequal mass binary neutron star mergers and multimessenger signals

We study the merger of binary neutron stars with different mass ratios adopting three different realistic, microphysical nuclear equations of state, as well as incorporating neutrino cooling effects. In particular, we concentrate on the influence of the equation of state on the gravitational wave signature and also on its role, in combination with neutrino cooling, in determining the properties of the resulting hypermassive neutron star, of the neutrinos produced, and of the ejected material. The ejecta we find are consistent with other recent studies that find that small mass ratios produce more ejecta than equal mass cases (up to some limit) and this ejecta is more neutron rich. This trend indicates the importance with future kilonovae observations of measuring the individual masses of an associated binary neutron star system, presumably from concurrent gravitational wave observations, in order to be able to extract information about the nuclear equation of state.

ANALYSIS OF TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION BY THE GRAND TACK MODEL: SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND TACK LOCATION

ABSTRACT The Grand Tack model of terrestrial planet formation has emerged in recent years as the premier scenario used to account for several observed features of the inner solar system. It relies on the early migration of the giant planets to gravitationally sculpt and mix the planetesimal disk down to ∼1 au, after which the terrestrial planets accrete from material remaining in a narrow circumsolar annulus. Here, we investigate how the model fares under a range of initial conditions and migration course-change (“tack”) locations. We run a large number of N-body simulations with tack locations of 1.5 and 2 au and test initial conditions using equal-mass planetary embryos and a semi-analytical approach to oligarchic growth. We make use of a recent model of the protosolar disk that takes into account viscous heating, includes the full effect of type 1 migration, and employs a realistic mass–radius relation for the growing terrestrial planets. Our results show that the canonical tack location of Jupiter at 1.5 au is inconsistent with the most massive planet residing at 1 au at greater than 95% confidence. This favors a tack farther out at 2 au for the disk model and parameters employed. Of the different initial conditions, we find that the oligarchic case is capable of statistically reproducing the orbital architecture and mass distribution of the terrestrial planets, while the equal-mass embryo case is not.

Measurability of the tidal deformability by gravitational waves from coalescing binary neutron stars

Combining new gravitational waveforms derived by long-term (14--16 orbits) numerical-relativity simulations with waveforms by an effective-one-body (EOB) formalism for coalescing binary neutron stars, we construct hybrid waveforms and estimate the measurability for the dimensionless tidal deformability of the neutron stars, $\Lambda$, by advanced gravitational-wave detectors. We focus on the equal-mass case with the total mass $2.7M_\odot$. We find that for an event at a hypothetical effective distance of $D_{\rm eff}=200$ Mpc, the distinguishable difference in the dimensionless tidal deformability will be $\approx 100$, 400, and 800 at 1-$\sigma$, 2-$\sigma$, and 3-$\sigma$ levels, respectively, for advanced LIGO. If the true equation of state is stiff and the typical neutron-star radius is $R \gtrsim 13 $ km, our analysis suggests that the radius will be constrained within $\approx 1$ km at 2-$\sigma$ level for an event at $D_{\rm eff}=200$ Mpc. On the other hand, if the true equation of state is soft and the typical neutron-star radius is $R\lesssim 12$ km , it will be difficult to narrow down the equation of state among many soft ones, although it is still possible to discriminate the true one from stiff equations of state with $R\gtrsim 13$ km. We also find that gravitational waves from binary neutron stars will be distinguished from those from spinless binary black holes at more than 2-$\sigma$ level for an event at $D_{\rm eff}=200$ Mpc. The validity of the EOB formalism, Taylor-T4, and Taylor-F2 approximants as the inspiral waveform model is also examined.

Bifurcations of Central Configurations in the Four-Body Problem with Some Equal Masses

We study the bifurcations of central configurations of the Newtonian four-body problem when some of the masses are equal. First, we continue numerically the solutions for the equal mass case, and we find values of the mass parameter at which the number of solutions changes. Then, using the Krawczyk method and some result of equivariant bifurcation theory, we rigorously prove the existence of such bifurcations and classify them.

Magnetism in Strongly Interacting One-Dimensional Quantum Mixtures.

We consider two species of bosons in one dimension near the Tonks-Girardeau limit of infinite interactions. For the case of equal masses and equal intraspecies interactions, the system can be mapped to a S=1/2 XXZ Heisenberg spin chain, thus allowing one to access different magnetic phases. Using a powerful ansatz developed for the two-component Fermi system, we elucidate the evolution from few to many particles for the experimentally relevant case of an external harmonic confinement. In the few-body limit, we already find clear evidence of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin correlations as the ratio of intraspecies and interspecies interactions is varied. Furthermore, we observe the rapid emergence of symmetry-broken magnetic ground states as the particle number is increased. We therefore demonstrate that systems containing only a few bosons are an ideal setting in which to realize the highly sought-after itinerant ferromagnetic phase.

Ingredients for an efficient thermal diode

We provide convincing empirical evidence that long-range interactions strongly enhance the rectification effect which takes place in mass graded systems. Even more importantly the rectification does not decrease with the increase of the system size. Large rectification is obtained also for the equal-mass case and with graded on-site potential. These results allow to overcome current limitations of the rectification mechanism and open the way for a realistic implementation of efficient thermal diodes.

The complete catalogue of light curves in equal-mass binary microlensing

The light curves observed in microlensing events due to binary lenses span an extremely wide variety of forms, characterised by U-shaped caustic crossings and/or additional smoother peaks. However, all peaks of the binary-lens light curve can be traced back to features of caustics of the lens system. Moreover, all peaks can be categorised as one of only four types (cusp-grazing, cusp-crossing, fold-crossing or fold-grazing). This enables us to present the first complete map of the parameter space of the equal-mass case by identifying regions in which light curves feature the same number and nature of peaks. We find that the total number of morphologies that can be obtained is 73 out of 232 different regions. The partition of the parameter space so-obtained provides a new key to optimise modelling of observed events through a clever choice of initial conditions for fitting algorithms.

A variational approach to repulsively interacting three-fermion systems in a one-dimensional harmonic trap

We study a three-body system with zero-range interactions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap. The system consists of two spin-polarized fermions and a third particle which is distinct from two others (2+1 system). First we assume that the particles have equal masses. For this case the system in the strongly and weakly interacting limits can be accurately described using wave function factorized in hyperspherical coordinates. Inspired by this result we propose an interpolation ansatz for the wave function for arbitrary repulsive zero-range interactions. By comparison to numerical calculations, we show that this interpolation scheme yields an extremely good approximation to the numerically exact solution both in terms of the energies and also in the spin-resolved densities. As an outlook, we discuss the case of mass imbalanced systems in the strongly interacting limit. Here we find spectra that demonstrate that the triply degenerate spectrum at infinite coupling strength of the equal mass case is in some sense a singular case as this degeneracy will be broken down to a doubly degenerate or non-degenerate ground state by any small mass imbalance.

Black hole binaries in galactic nuclei and gravitational wave sources

Stellar black hole (BH) binaries are one of the most promising gravitational wave (GW) sources for GW detection by the ground-based detectors. Nuclear star clusters (NCs) located at the centre of galaxies are known to harbour massive black holes (MBHs) and to be bounded by a gravitational potential by other galactic components such as the galactic bulge. Such an environment of NCs provides a favourable conditions for the BH–BH binary formation by the gravitational radiation capture due to the high BH number density and velocity dispersion. We carried out detailed numerical study of the formation of BH binaries in the NCs using a series of N-body simulations for equal-mass cases. There is no mass segregation introduced. We have derived scaling relations of the binary formation rate with the velocity dispersion of the stellar system beyond the radius of influence and made estimates of the rate of formation of BH binaries per unit comoving volume and thus expected detection rate by integrating the binary formation rate over galaxy population within the detection distance of the advanced detectors. We find that the overall formation rates for BH–BH binaries per NC is ∼10−10 yr−1 for the Milky Way-like galaxies and weakly dependent on the mass of MBH as Γ ∝ |$M_{\rm MBH}^{3/28}$|⁠. We estimate the detection rate of 0.02–14 yr−1 for advanced LIGO/Virgo considering several factors such as the dynamical evolution of NCs, the variance of the number density of stars and the mass range of MBH giving uncertainties.

Self-adjoint Dirac type Hamiltonians in one space dimension with a mass jump

Physical self-adjoint extensions and their spectra of the one-dimensional Dirac type Hamiltonian operator, in which both the mass and velocity are constant except for a finite jump at one point of the real axis, are found correctly. Different boundary conditions on envelope wave functions are studied and the limiting case of equal masses (with no mass jump) is reviewed. Transport across one-dimensional heterostructures described by the Dirac equation is considered.

Nonergodicity of the Nose-Hoover chain thermostat in computationally achievable time.

The widely used Nose-Hoover chain (NHC) thermostat in molecular dynamics simulations is generally believed to impart the canonical distribution as well as quasi- (i.e., space-filling) ergodicity on the thermostatted physical system (PS). Working with the standard single harmonic oscillator, we prove analytically that the two-chain Nose-Hoover thermostat with unequal thermostat masses approaches the standard Nose-Hoover dynamics, and hence the PS loses its canonical and quasiergodic nature. We also show through numerical simulations over substantially long times that for certain Poincaré sections, for both the equal and unequal thermostat mass cases, the bivariate distribution function of position and momentum (x,p) and of reservoir degrees of freedom (ξ,η) lose their Gaussian nature. Further, the four-dimensional x-p-ξ-η extended phase space exhibits two holes of nonzero measure. The NHC thermostat therefore does not generate the canonical distribution or preserve quasiergodicity for the PS.

The two-loop sunrise graph in two space-time dimensions with arbitrary masses in terms of elliptic dilogarithms

We present the two-loop sunrise integral with arbitrary non-zero masses in two space-time dimensions in terms of elliptic dilogarithms. We find that the structure of the result is as simple and elegant as in the equal mass case, only the arguments of the elliptic dilogarithms are modified. These arguments have a nice geometric interpretation.

Gravitational wave recoils in non-axisymmetric Robinson–Trautman spacetimes

We examine the gravitational wave recoil waves and the associated net kick velocities in non-axisymmetric Robinson-Trautman spacetimes. We use characteristic initial data for the dynamics corresponding to non-head-on collisions of black holes. We make a parameter study of the kick distributions, corresponding to an extended range of the incidence angle $\rho_0$ in the initial data. For the range of $\rho_0$ examined ($3^{\circ} \leq \rho_0 \leq 110^{\circ}$) the kick distributions as a function of the symmetric mass parameter $\eta$ satisfy a law obtained from an empirical modification of the Fitchett law, with a parameter $C$ that accounts for the non-zero net gravitational momentum wave fluxes for the equal mass case. The law fits accurately the kick distributions for the range of $\rho_0$ examined, with a rms normalized error of the order of $5 \%$. For the equal mass case the nonzero net gravitational wave momentum flux increases as $\rho_0$ increases, up to $\rho_0 \simeq 55^{\circ}$ beyond which it decreases. The maximum net kick velocity is about $190 {\rm km/s}$ for for the boost parameter considered. For $\rho_0 \geq 50^{\circ}$ the distribution is a monotonous function of $\eta$. The angular patterns of the gravitational waves emitted are examined. Our analysis includes the two polarization modes present in wave zone curvature.

Zero-temperature equation of state and phase diagram of repulsive fermionic mixtures

We compute the zero-temperature equation of state of a mixture of two fermionic atomic species with repulsive interspecies interactions using second-order perturbation theory. We vary the interaction strength, the population, and the mass imbalance, and we analyze the competition between different states: homogeneous, partially separated, and fully separated. The canonical phase diagrams are determined for various mass ratios, including the experimentally relevant case of the $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$-$^{40}\mathrm{K}$ mixture. We find substantial differences with respect to the equal-mass case: phase separation occurs at weaker interaction strength, and the partially separated state can be stable even in the limit of a large majority of heavy atoms. We highlight the effects due to correlations by making comparisons with previous mean-field results.

Quantum Boltzmann equation for a mobile impurity in a degenerate Tonks-Girardeau gas

We investigate the large-time asymptotical behavior of a mobile impurity immersed in a degenerate Tonks-Girardeau gas. We derive a correct weak-coupling kinetic equation valid for arbitrary ratio of masses of gas and impurity particles. When gas particles are either lighter or heavier than the impurity we find that our theory is equivalent to the Boltzmann theory with the collision integral calculated via the Fermi Golden Rule. On the contrary, in the equal-mass case, Fermi Golden Rule treatment gives false results due to not accounting for multiple coherent scattering events. The latter are treated by the ressummation of ladder diagrams, which leads to a new kinetic equation. The asymptotic momentum of the impurity produced from this equation coincides with the result obtained by means of the Bethe ansatz.