Recoil Speed Research Articles

Black Hole Formation Accompanied by the Supernova Explosion of a 40 M ⊙ Progenitor Star

We have simulated the collapse and evolution of the core of a solar-metallicity 40 M ⊙ star and find that it explodes vigorously by the neutrino mechanism, despite its very high “compactness.” Within ∼1.5 s of explosion, a black hole forms. The explosion is very asymmetrical and has a total explosion energy of ∼1.6 × 1051 erg. At black hole formation, its baryon mass is ∼2.434 M ⊙ and gravitational mass is 2.286 M ⊙. Seven seconds after black hole formation, an additional ∼0.2 M ⊙ is accreted, leaving a black hole baryon mass of ∼2.63 M ⊙. A disk forms around the proto−neutron star, from which a pair of neutrino-driven jets emanates. These jets accelerate some of the matter up to speeds of ∼45,000 km s−1 and contain matter with entropies of ∼50. The large spatial asymmetry in the explosion results in a residual black hole recoil speed of ∼1000 km s−1. This novel black hole formation channel now joins the other black hole formation channel between ∼12 and ∼15 M ⊙ discovered previously and implies that the black hole/neutron star birth ratio for solar-metallicity stars could be ∼20%. However, one channel leaves black holes in perhaps the ∼5–15 M ⊙ range with low kick speeds, while the other leaves black holes in perhaps the ∼2.5–3.0 M ⊙ mass range with high kick speeds. However, even ∼8.8 s after core bounce the newly formed black hole is still accreting at a rate of ∼2 × 10−2 M ⊙ s−1, and whether the black hole eventually achieves a significantly larger mass over time is yet to be determined.

Recoil Measurements in Drosophila Embryos: from Mounting to Image Analysis.

Tension and force propagation play a central role in tissue morphogenesis, as they enable sub- and supra-cellular shape changes required for the generation of new structures. Force is often generated by the cytoskeleton, which forms complex meshworks that reach cell-cell or cell-extracellular matrix junctions to induce cellular rearrangements. These mechanical properties can be measured through laser microdissection, which concentrates energy in the tissue of interest, disrupting its cytoskeleton. If the tissue is undergoing tension, this cut will induce a recoil in the surrounding regions of the cut. This protocol describes how one can perform laser microdissection experiments and subsequently measure the recoil speed of the sample of interest. While we explain how to carry out these experiments in Drosophila embryos, the recoil calibration and downstream analyses can be applied to other types of preparations. Key features Allows measuring tension in live Drosophila embryos with a relatively simple approach. Describes a quick way to mount a high number of embryos. Includes a segmentation-free recoil quantification that reduces bias and speeds up analysis. Graphical overview.

Formation of low-spinning 100 M⊙ black holes

Aims. It is speculated that a merger of two massive stellar-origin black holes in a dense stellar environment may lead to the formation of a massive black hole in the pair-instability mass gap (∼50−135 M⊙). Such a merger-formed black hole is expected to typically have a high spin (a ∼ 0.7). If such a massive black hole acquires another black hole it may lead to another merger detectable by LIGO/Virgo in gravitational waves. Acquiring a companion may be hindered by gravitational-wave kick/recoil, which accompanies the first merger and may quickly remove the massive black hole from its parent globular or nuclear cluster. We test whether it is possible for a massive merger-formed black hole in the pair-instability gap to be retained in its parent cluster and have low spin. Such a black hole would be indistinguishable from a primordial black hole. Methods. We employed results from numerical relativity calculations of black hole mergers to explore the range of gravitational-wave recoil velocities for various combinations of merging black hole masses and spins. We compared merger-formed massive black hole speeds with typical escape velocities from globular and nuclear clusters. Results. We show that a globular cluster is highly unlikely to form and retain a ∼100 M⊙ black hole if the spin of the black hole is low (a ≲ 0.3). Massive merger-formed black holes with low spins acquire high recoil speeds (≳ 200 km s−1) from gravitational-wave kick during formation that exceed typical escape speeds from globular clusters (∼ 50 km s−1). However, a very low-spinning (a ∼ 0.1) and massive (∼100 M⊙) black hole could be formed and retained in a galactic nuclear star cluster. Even though such massive merger-formed black holes with such low spins acquire high speeds during formation (∼ 400 km s−1), they may avoid ejection since massive nuclear clusters have high escape velocities (∼ 300−500 km s−1). A future detection of a massive black hole in the pair-instability mass gap with low spin would therefore not be proof of the existence of primordial black holes, which are sometimes claimed to have low spins and arbitrarily high masses.

Photodissociation by Circularly Polarized Light Yields Photofragment Alignment in Ozone Arising Solely from Vibronic Interactions.

We present a direct determination of photofragment alignment produced by circularly polarized light in photolysis of a planar polyatomic molecule. This alignment arises via a new mechanism involving coherent excitation of two mutually perpendicular in-plane transition dipole moment components. The alignment is described by a new anisotropy parameter γ_{2}^{'} that was isolated by a unique laser polarization geometry. The determination of the parameter γ_{2}^{'} was realized in ozone photolysis at 266nm where dc slice images of O(^{1}D_{2}) atomic fragments were acquired. A model developed for interpretation of the photolysis mechanism shows that it can exist only in case of failure of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation when electronic and vibrational (vibronic) interactions have to be taken into account. This finding suggests that determination of the alignment parameter γ_{2}^{'} can be used as a key for direct insight into vibronic interactions in photolysis of polyatomic molecules. The results obtained for ozone photolysis via the Hartley band showed significant γ_{2}^{'} alignment but little recoil speed dependence, consistent with the notion that, as opposed to the situation for derivative coupling, under our experimental conditions, the vibronic contributions to the nonadiabatic dynamics are not dependent on recoil speed.

Hypervelocity impact cratering of chondritic meteorites: Implications for asteroid recoil

Porosities of asteroids range from 0 to >50%, with most >20%. Meteorites, which sample asteroids, have a similar range. Since porous targets react differently to hypervelocity cratering than non-porous targets, it is critical to measure the response of asteroid samples to impacts. We impacted 5 samples of the CV3 carbonaceous chondrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 4502 with a mean porosity of 2.1%, 7 samples of the ordinary chondrite NWA 869 with a mean porosity of 6.4%, and 1 sample of the ordinary chondrite Saratov with a porosity of 15.6%. Each meteorite was impacted by a 1/16” Al-sphere shot at 4.34 to 5.89 km/s at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun. Using high-speed video images we measured the recoil speed of each target and determined the momentum multiplication factor (b), the ratio between the recoil momentum of the target and the momentum of the impactor. b decreased with increasing porosity, consistent with hydrocode modeling. However, the b values are larger, with b = 3.37 for NWA 4502, 2.70 for NWA 869, and 1.49 for Saratov, than results from hydrocode modeling for 5 km/s impacts into porous rock targets. Even the most porous meteorite we impacted had substantial momentum enhancement from crater ejecta. This should be considered in design of kinetic impact missions and modeling alteration of asteroid orbits by collisions.

Energetic Parameters of Recoil During Explosion-Mechanical Drilling

Background. Modern methods of destruction are spending up to 90 % of energy to prepare for extraction. Specific energy consumption reaches 120 kW·h/m3. The study proposes a new energy efficient destruction of rocks with combined explosive-mechanical loads.Objective. Evidence of explosion-mechanical action machine’s recoil absence during explosive charges detonation.Methods. Determination of the factors that cause machine recoil during explosion; the study of the metal jet behavior at the moment of collision with a stope; research of recoil acceleration, speed and impact energy.Results. It is proved that the metal jet acts as a dynamic indenter directed to a stope. After the collision with a stope it "spreads" laterally and generates micro-cracks within 20 mm from the epicenter.Conclusions. The parameters of the machine recoil (acceleration of 0.0002 m/s2; energy 0.02 J) prove the absence of its horizontal and vertical movements during the explosion-mechanical destruction of rocks.

On the possible gamma-ray burst–gravitational wave association in GW150914

Data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor satellite observatory suggested that the recently discovered gravitational wave source, a pair of two coalescing black holes, was related to a gamma-ray burst. The observed high-energy electromagnetic radiation (above 50 keV) originated from a weak transient source and lasted for about 1 s. Its localization is consistent with the direction to GW150914. We speculate about the possible scenario for the formation of a gamma-ray burst accompanied by the gravitational-wave signal. Our model invokes a tight binary system consisting of a massive star and a black hole which leads to the triggering of a collapse of the star’s nucleus, the formation of a second black hole, and finally to the binary black hole merger. For the most-likely configuration of the binary spin vectors with respect to the orbital angular momentum in the GW150914 event, the recoil speed (kick velocity) acquired by the final black hole through gravitational wave emission is of the order of a few hundred km/s and this might be sufficient to get it closer to the envelope of surrounding material and capture a small fraction of matter from the remnant of the host star. The gamma-ray burst is produced by the accretion of this remnant matter onto the final black hole. The moderate spin of the final black hole suggests that the gamma-ray burst jet is powered by weak neutrino emission rather than the Blandford–Znajek mechanism, and hence explains the low power available for the observed GRB signal.

Suppression of the accretion rate in thin discs around binary black holes

We present three-dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations investigating the dependence of the accretion rate on the disc thickness around an equal-mass, circular black hole binary system. We find that for thick/hot discs, with $H/R\gtrsim 0.1$, the binary torque does not prevent the gas from penetrating the cavity formed in the disc by the binary (in line with previous investigations). The situation drastically changes for thinner discs, in this case the mass accretion rate is suppressed, such that only a fraction (linearly dependent on $H/R$) of the available gas is able to flow within the cavity and accrete on to the binary. Extrapolating this result to the cold and thin accretion discs expected around supermassive black hole binary systems implies that this kind of systems accretes less material than predicted so far, with consequences not only for the electromagnetic and gravitational waves emissions during the late inspiral phase but also for the recoil speed of the black hole formed after binary coalescence, thus influencing also the evolutionary path both of the binary and of the host galaxy. Our results, being scale-free, are also applicable to equal mass, circular binaries of stellar mass black holes, such as the progenitor of the recently discovered gravitational wave source GW150914.

Cosmological simulations of decaying dark matter: implications for small-scale structure of dark matter haloes

We present a set of N-body simulations of a class of models in which an unstable dark matter particle decays into a stable non-interacting dark matter particle, with decay lifetime comparable to the Hubble time. We study the effects of the kinematic recoil velocity received by the stable dark matter on the structures of dark matter halos ranging from galaxy-cluster to Milky Way mass scales. For Milky Way-mass halos, we use high-resolution, zoom-in simulations to explore the effects of decays on Galactic substructure. In general, halos with circular velocities comparable to the magnitude of kick velocity are most strongly affected by decays. We show that decaying dark matter models with lifetimes comparable to Hubble time and recoil speeds about 20-40 km/s can significantly reduce both the abundance of Galactic subhalos and the internal densities of the subhalos. We also compare subhalo circular velocity profiles with observational constraints on the Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies. Interestingly, we find that decaying dark matter models that do not violate current astrophysical constraints, can significantly mitigate both the well-documented "missing satellites problem" and the more recent "too big to fail problem" associated with the abundances and densities of Local Group dwarf satellite galaxies. A relatively unique feature of late decaying dark matter models is that they predict significant evolution of halos as a function of time. This is an important consideration because at high redshifts, prior to decays, decaying models exhibit the same sequence of structure formation as cold dark matter. We conclude that models of decaying dark matter make predictions that are relevant for the interpretation of observations of small galaxies in the Local Group and can be tested or constrained by the kinematics of Local Group dwarf galaxies as well as by forthcoming large-scale surveys.

Supercooled water drops impacting superhydrophobic textures.

Understanding the interaction of supercooled metastable water with superhydrophobic surface textures is of fundamental significance for unraveling the mechanisms of icing as well as of practical importance for the rational development of surface treatment strategies to prevent icing. We investigate the problem of supercooled water drops impacting superhydrophobic textures for drop supercooling down to -17 °C and find that increased viscous effects significantly influence all stages of impact dynamics, in particular, the impact and meniscus impalement behavior, with severe implications to water retention by the textures (sticky versus rebounding drop) and possible icing. Viscous effects in water supercooling conditions cause a reduction of drop maximum spreading (∼25% at an impact speed of 3 m/s for a millimetric drop) and can significantly decrease the drop recoil speed when the meniscus partially penetrates into the texture, leading to an increase of the contact time up to a factor of 2 in supercooling conditions compared to room temperature. We also show that meniscus penetration upon drop impact occurs with full penetration at the center, instead of ring shape, common to room temperature drop impact. To this end, we describe an unobserved mechanism for superhydrophobicity breakdown: unlike for room temperature drops, where transition from bouncing to sticky (impaled) behavior occurs sharply at the condition of full texture penetration, with a bubble captured at the point of impact, under supercooled conditions, the full penetration velocity threshold is increased markedly (increasing by ∼25%, from 2.8 to 3.5 m/s) and no bubble is entrapped. However, even though only partial texture penetration takes place, failure to completely dewet because of viscous effects can still prohibit complete supercooled drop rebound.

Spin-polarized hydrogen Rydberg time-of-flight: experimental measurement of the velocity-dependent H atom spin-polarization.

We have developed a new experimental method allowing direct detection of the velocity dependent spin-polarization of hydrogen atoms produced in photodissociation. The technique, which is a variation on the H atom Rydberg time-of-flight method, employs a double-resonance excitation scheme and experimental geometry that yields the two coherent orientation parameters as a function of recoil speed for scattering perpendicular to the laser propagation direction. The approach, apparatus, and optical layout we employ are described here in detail and demonstrated in application to HBr and DBr photolysis at 213 nm. We also discuss the theoretical foundation for the approach, as well as the resolution and sensitivity we achieve.

ALIGNMENT OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE BINARY ORBITS AND SPINS

Recent studies of accretion onto supermassive black hole binaries suggest that much, perhaps most, of the matter eventually accretes onto one hole or the other. If so, then for binaries whose inspiral from ~1 pc to 0.001 - 0.01 pc is driven by interaction with external gas, both the binary orbital axis and the individual black hole spins can be reoriented by angular momentum exchange with this gas. Here we show that, unless the binary mass ratio is far from unity, the spins of the individual holes align with the binary orbital axis in a time few-100 times shorter than the binary orbital axis aligns with the angular momentum direction of the incoming circumbinary gas; the spin of the secondary aligns more rapidly than that of the primary by a factor ~(m_1/m_2)^{1/2}>1. Thus the binary acts as a stabilizing agent, so that for gas-driven systems, the black hole spins are highly likely to be aligned (or counteraligned if retrograde accretion is common) with each other and with the binary orbital axis. This alignment can significantly reduce the recoil speed resulting from subsequent black hole merger.

Design and Analysis of Magneto-Rheological Dampers under Impact Loads

In order to improve recoil mechanism’s buffering function of automatic weapon, using Newton’s second law, its recoil movement is analyzed and design model of magneto-rheological (MR) damper under impact loads is built. Structure parameter and control strategy are defined. Dampers’ characteristic curves at different magnetizing currents and different recoil speeds are tested on a damper indicator test bench. Some weapon’s recoil forces are artificially computed. The research results indicate that MR dampers have a perfect damping plateau effect. Recoil force of automatic weapon will be reduced by a big margin using the property that MR fluid can change at applied magnetic to control damping rules.

Dissociation energy and vibrational predissociation dynamics of the ammonia dimer

Experiments using infrared excitation of either the intramolecular symmetric N-H stretch (ν(NH,S)) or the intramolecular antisymmetric N-H stretch (ν(NH,A)) of the ammonia dimer ((NH(3))(2)) in combination with velocity-map ion imaging provide new information on the dissociation energy of the dimer and on the energy disposal in its dissociation. Ion imaging using resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization to probe individual rovibrational states of one of the ammonia monomer fragments provides recoil speed distributions. Analyzing these distributions for different product states gives a dissociation energy of D(0) = 660 ± 20 cm(-1) for the dimer. Fitting the distributions shows that rotations are excited up to their energetic limit and determines the correlation of the fragment vibrations. The fragments NH(3)(ν(2) = 3(+)) and NH(3)(ν(2) = 2(+)) have a vibrational ground-state partner NH(3)(ν = 0), but NH(3)(ν(2) = 1(+)) appears in partnership with another fragment in ν(2) = 1. This propensity is consistent with the idea of minimizing the momentum gap between the initial and final states by depositing a substantial fraction of the available energy into internal excitation.

Photostop: production of zero-velocity molecules by photodissociation in a molecular beam

Photostop is an accessible technique capable of producing atoms or molecules at a standstill in the laboratory frame. Starting with a NO2/Xe molecular beam with a mean velocity of 415 m s−1 and a longitudinal translational temperature of 6 K, NO2 molecules are photodissociated to yield NO(X ) fragments with a recoil speed equal to the molecular beam speed. The fraction of NO fragments that recoil opposite to the molecular beam are produced with a 6 K longitudinal velocity distribution centred at zero. The NO molecules are allowed to ‘evaporate’ from the probe volume by waiting for 10 µs and the molecules left behind are probed with a translational temperature of 1.6 K along the molecular beam axis and an estimated density of 107 cm−3 per quantum state. Through the choice of suitable precursors, the photostop technique has the potential to extend the list of atoms and molecules that can be slowed or trapped. It should be possible to accumulate density in a trap through consecutive loading of multiple pulses. †Current address: AECL Chalk River Laboratories, Deep River ON, K0J 1J0, Canada.

RECOILING MASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN GAS-RICH GALAXY MERGERS

The asymmetric emission of gravitational waves produced during the coalescence of a massive black hole (MBH) binary imparts a velocity "kick" to the system that can displace the hole from the center of its host. Here we study the trajectories and observability of MBHs recoiling in three (one major, two minor) gas-rich galaxy merger remnants that were previously simulated at high resolution, and in which the pairing of the MBHs had been shown to be successful. We run new simulations of MBHs recoiling in the major merger remnant with Mach numbers in the range 1<M<6, and use simulation data to construct a semi-analytical model for the orbital evolution of MBHs in gas-rich systems. We show that: 1) in major merger remnants the energy deposited by the moving hole into the rotationally supported, turbulent medium makes a negligible contribution to the thermodynamics of the gas. This contribution becomes significant in minor merger remnants, potentially allowing for an electromagnetic signature of MBH recoil; 2) in major merger remnants, the combination of both deeper central potential well and drag from high-density gas confines even MBHs with kick velocities as high as 1200 km/s within 1 kpc from the host's center; 3) kinematically offset nuclei may be observable for timescales of a few Myr in major merger remnants in the case of recoil velocities in the range 700-1,000 km/s; 4) in minor mergers remnants the effect of gas drag is weaker, and MBHs with recoil speeds in the range 300-600 km/s will wander through the host halo for longer timescales. When accounting for the probability distribution of kick velocities, however, we find that the likelihood of observing recoiling MBHs in gas-rich galaxy mergers is very low, typically below 10^-5 - 10^-6.

Slice imaging of nitric acid photodissociation: The O($^1$1D) + HONO channel

We report an imaging study of nitric acid (HNO(3)) photodissociation near 204 nm with detection of O((1)D), one of the major decomposition products in this region. The images show structure reflecting the vibrational distribution of the HONO coproduct and significant angular anisotropy that varies with recoil speed. The images also show substantial alignment of the O((1)D) orbital, which is analyzed using an approximate treatment that reveals that the polarization is dominated by incoherent, high order contributions. The results offer additional insight into the dynamics of the dissociation of nitric acid through the S(3) (2 (1)A(')) excited state, resolving an inconsistency in previously reported angular distributions, and pointing the way to future studies of the angular momentum polarization.

Determination of differential cross sections and kinetic energy release of co-products from central sliced images in photo-initiated dynamic processes

For photo-initiated inelastic and reactive collisions, dynamic information can be extracted from central sliced images of state-selected Newton spheres of product species. An analysis framework has been established to determine differential cross sections and the kinetic energy release of co-products from experimental images. When one of the reactants exhibits a high recoil speed in a photo-initiated dynamic process, the present theory can be employed to analyze central sliced images from ion imaging or three-dimensional sliced fluorescence imaging experiments. It is demonstrated that the differential cross section of a scattering process can be determined from the central sliced image by a double Legendre moment analysis, for either a fixed or continuously distributed recoil speeds in the center-of-mass reference frame. Simultaneous equations which lead to the determination of the kinetic energy release of co-products can be established from the second-order Legendre moment of the experimental image, as soon as the differential cross section is extracted. The intensity distribution of the central sliced image, along with its outer and inner ring sizes, provide all the clues to decipher the differential cross section and the kinetic energy release of co-products.

Dark-matter decays and Milky Way satellite galaxies

We consider constraints on a phenomenological dark-matter model consisting of two nearly degenerate particle species using observed properties of the Milky Way satellite galaxy population. The two parameters of this model, assuming the particle masses are $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$, are ${v}_{\mathrm{k}}$, the recoil speed of the daughter particle, and $\ensuremath{\tau}$, the lifetime of the parent particle. The satellite constraint that spans the widest range of ${v}_{\mathrm{k}}$ is the number of satellites that have a mass within 300 pc ${\mathrm{M}}_{300}&gt;5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}{\mathrm{M}}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$, although constraints based on ${\mathrm{M}}_{300}$ in the classical dwarfs and the overall velocity function are competitive for ${v}_{\mathrm{k}}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}50\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}\text{ }{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. In general, we find that $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\lesssim}30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Gyr}$ is ruled out for $20\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}\text{ }{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\lesssim}{v}_{\mathrm{k}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}200\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}\text{ }{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, although we find that the limits on $\ensuremath{\tau}$ for fixed ${v}_{\mathrm{k}}$ can change by a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}3$ depending on the star-formation histories of the satellites. We advocate using the distribution of ${\mathrm{M}}_{300}$ in Milky Way satellites, determined by next-generation all-sky surveys and follow-up spectroscopy, as a probe of dark-matter physics.

Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

There have been two articles in this journal1,2 that described a pair of collision carts used to demonstrate vividly the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. One cart had a series of washers that were mounted rigidly on a rigid wooden framework, the other had washers mounted on rubber bands stretched across a framework. The rigidly mounted cart bounced off a wall with little loss of velocity; the rubber mounted version had very little recoil speed and came to a halt. For teachers who would like a faster way to demonstrate the effect with a less elaborate device demanding less skill to prepare, we describe a single cart with just one moving part and easily made, serving as a model that demonstrates the idea of both elastic and inelastic collisions. The finished product is shown in Fig. 1.