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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Extending Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations: From The Onset Of Explosion To Shock Breakout, Michael A. Sandoval Aug 2021

Extending Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations: From The Onset Of Explosion To Shock Breakout, Michael A. Sandoval

Doctoral Dissertations

A core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is the result of a massive star’s core collapsing due to the inability of electron degeneracy pressure to provide sufficient support against gravity. Currently, there is a disconnect between when most three-dimensional CCSN simulations end (seconds) and when the explosion would reach the surface of the star and become visible (hours to days). We present three-dimensional simulations of CCSNe using the FLASH code that follow the progression of the explosion to the stellar surface, starting from neutrino-radiation hydrodynamic simulations of the first seconds performed with the Chimera code. We consider a 9.6-M zero-metallicity progenitor, starting …


Hubble's Law Implies Benford's Law For Distances To Galaxies, Theodore P. Hill, Ronald F. Fox Feb 2016

Hubble's Law Implies Benford's Law For Distances To Galaxies, Theodore P. Hill, Ronald F. Fox

Research Scholars in Residence

A recent article by Alexopoulos and Leontsinis presented empirical evidence that the first digits of the distances from the Earth to galaxies are a reasonably good fit to the probabilities predicted by Benford’s law, the well known logarithmic statistical distribution of significant digits. The purpose of the present article is to give a theoretical explanation, based on Hubble’s law and mathematical properties of Benford’s law, why galaxy distances might be expected to follow Benford’s law. The new galaxy-distance law derived here, which is robust with respect to change of scale and base, to additive and multiplicative computational or observational errors, …


A Search For Brief Optical Flashes Associated With The Seti Target Kic 8462852, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al Feb 2016

A Search For Brief Optical Flashes Associated With The Seti Target Kic 8462852, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

The F-type star KIC 8462852 has recently been identified as an exceptional target for search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) observations. We describe an analysis methodology for optical SETI, which we have used to analyze nine hours of serendipitous archival observations of KIC 8462852 made with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory between 2009 and 2015. No evidence of pulsed optical beacons, above a pulse intensity at the Earth of approximately , is found. We also discuss the potential use of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays in searching for extremely short duration optical transients in general.


Exceptionally Bright Tev Flares From The Binary Ls I+61 Degrees 303, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al Jan 2016

Exceptionally Bright Tev Flares From The Binary Ls I+61 Degrees 303, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

The TeV binary system LS I +61° 303 is known for its regular, non-thermal emission pattern that traces the orbital period of the compact object in its 26.5 day orbit around its B0 Ve star companion. The system typically presents elevated TeV emission around apastron passage with flux levels between 5% and 15% of the steady flux from the Crab Nebula (>300 GeV). In this article, VERITAS observations of LS I +61° 303 taken in late 2014 are presented, during which bright TeV flares around apastron at flux levels peaking above 30% of the Crab Nebula flux were detected. …


A Possible Detection Of Occultation By A Proto-Planetary Clump In Gm Cephei, W. P. Chen, S. C.-L. Hu, R. Errmann, Ch. Adam, Laurence A. Marschall Jan 2012

A Possible Detection Of Occultation By A Proto-Planetary Clump In Gm Cephei, W. P. Chen, S. C.-L. Hu, R. Errmann, Ch. Adam, Laurence A. Marschall

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

GM Cep in the young (~ 4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37 has been known to be an abrupt variable and to have a circumstellar disk with very active accretion. Our monitoring observations in 2009–2011 revealed the star to show sporadic ?are events, each with brightening of . 0.5 mag lasting for days. These brightening events, associated with a color change toward the blue, should originate from an increased accretion activity. Moreover, the star also underwent a brightness drop of ~ 1 mag lasting for about a month, during which the star became bluer when fainter. Such brightness drops seem …


Laboratory Astrophysics: Using Ebit Measurements To Interpret High Resolution Spectra From Celestial Sources, Carey Scott, Joshua Thompson, N. Hell, Greg V. Brown Aug 2011

Laboratory Astrophysics: Using Ebit Measurements To Interpret High Resolution Spectra From Celestial Sources, Carey Scott, Joshua Thompson, N. Hell, Greg V. Brown

STAR Program Research Presentations

Astrophysicists use radiation to investigate the physics controlling a variety of celestial sources, including stellar atmospheres, black holes, and binary systems. By measuring the spectrum of the emitted radiation, astrophysicists can determine a source’s temperature and composition. Accurate atomic data are needed for reliably interpreting these spectra. Here we present an overview of how LLNL’s EBIT facility is used to put the atomic data on sound footing for use by the high energy astrophysics community.


Shock Study In Fully Relativistic Isothermal Flows. Ii, Ruixin Yang, Menas Kafatos Jan 1995

Shock Study In Fully Relativistic Isothermal Flows. Ii, Ruixin Yang, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The isothermal shocks and their stabilities in fully relativistic accretion wedge flows onto black holes are studied. The jump condition across the shock is modified by the relativistic effects when the sound speed is comparable to the speed of light. With a new kind of instability analysis, it is found that only one of the two possible shocks is stable. The results are applied to the QPO behavior in galactic black hole candidates such as Cygnus X-1.