Interpretation of grazing impacts on Mars by the axial rotation theory

This paper calls attention to the fact that the distribution of grazing impacts on Mars, as described by Schultz and Lutz-Garihan (1982), agrees with the distribution predictable by the theory of planetary axial rotation based on the transmission of mass and angular momentum from a satellite system to its primary (Barricelli, 1972). A few additional implications of the theory are pointed out.     

Whispers from the Edge of Physics

Neutron stars involve extreme physics which is difficult (perhaps impossible) to explore in laboratory experiments. We have to turn to astrophysical observations, and try to extract information from the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum. In addition, neutron stars may radiate gravitational waves through a range of scenarios. This brief summary outlines some of the main ideas, focussing on what we do and do not know, and the challenges involved in trying to catch these faint whispers from the very edge of physics are described.     

Towards gravitational wave asteroseismology

We present new results for pulsating neutron stars. We have calculated the eigenfrequencies of the modes that one would expect to be the most important gravitational wave sources: the fundamental fluid f mode, the first pressure p mode and the first gravitational wave w mode, for twelve realistic equations of state. From these numerical data we have inferred a set of 'empirical relations' between the mode frequencies and the parameters of the star (the radius R and the mass M ). Some of these relations prove to be surprisingly robust, and we show how they can be used to extract the details of the star from observed modes. The results indicate that, should the various pulsation modes be detected by the new generation of gravitational wave detectors that come online in a few years, the mass and the radius of neutron stars can be deduced with errors no larger than a few per cent.     

The dogma of matters neutrino-transparency

In this paper the observed underrepresentation of solar neutrinos in the various detector experiments performed is tentatively interpreted as a result of a substantial and often variable obsorption of neutrinos by various layers of the Sun, contrary to the dogma of neutrino-transparency by matter.     

A toy model for global magnetar oscillation

The presence of a magnetic field in a neutron star interior results in a dynamical coupling between the fluid core and the elastic crust. We consider a simple toy-model where this coupling is taken into account and compute the system’s mode oscillations. Our results suggest that the notion of pure torsional crust modes is not useful for the coupled system, instead all modes excite Alfvén waves in the core. However, we also show that among a rich spectrum of global MHD modes the ones most likely to be excited by a fractured crust are those for which the crust and the core oscillate in concert. For our simple model, the frequencies of these modes are similar to the “pure crustal” frequencies. We advocate the significant implications of these results for the attempted theoretical interpretation of QPOs during magnetar flares in terms of neutron star oscillations.