arXiv subjects

Cristina Manuel

Publications and source records attributed to Cristina Manuel.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Dissipative processes in superfluid neutron stars

We present some results about a novel damping mechanism of r-mode oscillations in neutron stars due to processes that change the number of protons, neutrons and electrons. Deviations from equilibrium of the number densities of the various species lead to the appearance in the Euler equations of the system of a dissipative mechanism, the so-called rocket effect. The evolution of the r-mode oscillations of a rotating neutron star are influenced by the rocket effect and we present estimates of the corresponding damping timescales. In the description of the system we employ a two-fluid model, with one fluid consisting of all the charged components locked together by the electromagnetic interaction, while the second fluid consists of superfluid neutrons. Both components can oscillate however the rocket effect can only efficiently damp the countermoving r-mode oscillations, with the two fluids oscillating out of phase. In our analysis we include the mutual friction dissipative process between the neutron superfluid and the charged component. We neglect the interaction between the two r-mode oscillations as well as effects related with the crust of the star. Moreover, we use a simplified model of neutron star assuming a uniform mass distribution.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Effective field theory and dispersion law of the phonons of a non-relativistic superfluid

We study the recently proposed effective field theory for the phonon of an arbitrary non-relativistic superfluid. After computing the one-loop phonon self-energy, we obtain the low temperature T contributions to the phonon dispersion law at low momentum, and see that the real part of those can be parametrized as a thermal correction to the phonon velocity. Because the phonons are the quanta of the sound waves, at low momentum their velocity should agree with the speed of sound. We find that our results match at order T^4ln(T) with those predicted by Andreev and Khalatnikov for the speed of sound, derived from the superfluid hydrodynamical equations and the phonon kinetic theory. We get also higher order corrections of order T^4, which are not reproduced pushing naively the kinetic theory computation. Finally, as an application, we consider the cold Fermi gas in the unitarity limit, and find a universal expression for the low T relative correction to the speed of sound for these systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Bulk viscosities of a cold relativistic superfluid: color-flavor locked quark matter

We consider the phonon contribution to the bulk viscosities $ζ_1, ζ_2$ and $ζ_3$ of a cold relativistic superfluid. We assume the low temperature $T$ regime and that the transport properties of the system are dominated by the phonons. We use kinetic theory in the relaxation time approximation and the low energy effective field theory of the corresponding system. The parametric dependence of the bulk viscosity coefficients is fixed once the equation of state is specified, and the phonon dispersion law to cubic order in momentum is known. We first present a general discussion, valid for any superfluid, then we focus on the color-flavor locked superfluid because all the parameters needed in the analysis can be computed in the high density limit of QCD, and also because of the possible astrophysical applications. For the three independent bulk viscosity coefficients we find that they scale with the temperature as $ζ_i \sim 1/T$, and that in the conformal limit only the third coefficient $ζ_3$ is non-zero.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Jet energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma by stream instabilities

We study the evolution of the plasma instabilities induced by two jets of particles propagating in opposite directions and crossing a thermally equilibrated non-Abelian plasma. In order to simplify the analysis we assume that the two jets of partons can be described with uniform distribution functions in coordinate space and by Gaussian distribution functions in momentum space. We find that while crossing the quark-gluon plasma, the jets of particles excite unstable chromomagnetic and chromoelectric modes. These fields interact with the particles (or hard modes) of the plasma inducing the production of currents; thus, the energy lost by the jets is absorbed by both the gauge fields and the hard modes of the plasma. We compare the outcome of the numerical simulations with the analytical calculation performed assuming that the jets of particles can be described by a tsunami-like distribution function. We find qualitative and semi-quantitative agreement between the results obtained with the two methods.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Dissipative superfluids, from cold atoms to quark matter

Some results about dissipative processes in superfluids are presented. We focus on fermionic superfluidity and restrict our analysis to the contribution of phonons to bulk viscosity, shear viscosity and thermal conductivity. At sufficiently low temperatures phonons give the dominant contribution to the transport coefficients if all the other low energy excitation of the system are gapped. We first consider a system of cold fermionic atoms close to the unitarity limit. Then we turn to the superfluid phase of quark matter that may be realized at high baryonic density.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Bulk viscosities for cold Fermi superfluids close to the unitary limit

We compute the coefficients of bulk viscosity for a non-relativistic superfluid corresponding to a fermionic system close to the unitarity limit. We consider the low temperature regime assuming that the transport properties of the system are dominated by phonons. To compute the coefficients of bulk viscosity we use kinetic theory in the relaxation time approximation and the low energy effective field theory of the corresponding system. We show that the three independent bulk viscosity coefficients, $ζ_1, ζ_2, ζ_3$, associated with irreversible flows vanish for phonons with a linear dispersion law. Considering a phonon dispersion law with a cubic term in momentum we find that in the conformal limit $ζ_1 = ζ_2=0$, while $ζ_3$ is non-zero. Including a conformal breaking term which arises for a large but finite s-wave scattering length, $a$, at the leading order in $1/a$ we obtain that $ζ_1 \propto 1/a$ and $ζ_2 \propto 1/a^2$.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2008

Mutual friction in a cold color flavor locked superfluid and r-mode instabilities in compact stars

Dissipative processes acting in rotating neutron stars are essential in preventing the growth of the r-mode instability. We estimate the damping time of r-modes of an hypothetical compact quark star made up by color flavor locked quark matter at a temperature $T \lesssim 0.01$ MeV. The dissipation that we consider is due to the the mutual friction force between the normal and the superfluid component arising from the elastic scattering of phonons with quantized vortices. This process is the dominant one for temperatures $T \lesssim 0.01$ MeV where the mean free path of phonons due to their self-interactions is larger than the radius of the star and they can be described as an ideal bosonic gas. We find that r-modes oscillations are efficiently damped by this mechanism for pulsars rotating at frequencies of the order of 1 Hz at most. Our analysis rules out the possibility that cold pulsars rotating at higher frequencies are entirely made up by color flavor locked quark matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Hydrodynamics of the CFL superfluid

At asymptotic high density and low temperature quarks form Cooper pairs in a color-flavor locked (CFL) configuration. The diquark condensates break spontaneously the baryon symmetry, and this fact makes the CFL phase also superfluid. At low temperatures the transport properties are dominated by the contribution of the superfluid phonon, the Goldstone boson associated to baryon symmetry breaking, in full analogy to what happens in superfluid He4. We discuss how to derive transport properties in the ultracold regime making use of an analogue model of gravity. We also review how this model can be used to study the scattering of phonons with quantized vortices in a rotating system. Finally, we consider the implications of these results in studying the rotational properties of compact stars made of CFL quark matter

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Jet-induced gauge field instabilities in the quark-gluon plasma

We discuss the properties of the collective modes of a system composed by a thermalized quark-gluon plasma traversed by a relativistic jet of partons. The transport equations obeyed by the components of the plasma and of the jet are studied in the Vlasov approximation. Assuming that the partons in the jet can be described with a tsunami-like distribution function we derive the expressions of the dispersion law of the collective modes. Then the behavior of the unstable gauge modes of the system is analyzed for various values of the velocity of the jet, of the momentum of the collective modes and of the angle between these two quantities. We find that the most unstable modes are those with momentum orthogonal to the velocity of the jet, and the effect is stronger for ultrarelativistic jet velocities. Our results suggest a new possible collective mechanism for the description of the jet quenching phenomena in heavy ion collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Transport theory for cold relativistic superfluids from an analogue model of gravity

We write a covariant transport equation for the phonon excitations of a relativistic superfluid valid at small temperatures. The hydrodynamical equations for this system are derived from the effective field theory associated to the superfluid phonons. We describe how to construct the kinetic theory for the phonon quasiparticles using a relativistic generalization of the analogue model of gravity developed by Unruh. This gravity analogy relies on the equivalence between the action of a phonon field moving in a superfluid background with that of a boson propagating in a given curved space-time. Exploiting this analogy we obtain continuity equations for the phonon current, entropy and energy-momentum tensor in a covariant form, valid in any reference frame. Our aim is to shed light on some aspects of transport phenomena of relativistic superfluidity. In particular, we are interested in the low temperature regime of the color flavor locked phase, which is a color superconducting and superfluid phase of high density QCD that may be realized in the core of neutron stars.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Chromohydrodynamical instabilities induced by relativistic jets

We study the properties of the chromohydrodynamical instabilities induced by a relativistic jet that crosses the quark-gluon plasma. Assuming that the jet of particles and the plasma can be described using a hydrodynamical approach, we derive and discuss the dispersion laws for the unstable collective modes. In our analysis the chromohydrodynamical equations for the collective modes are tackled in the linear response approximation. Such an approximation, valid for short time scales, allows to study in a straightforward way the dependence of the dispersion laws of the collective modes on the velocity of the jet, on the magnitude of the momentum of the collective mode and on the angle between these two quantities. We find that unstable modes arise for velocity of the jet larger than the speed of the sound of the plasma and only modes with momenta smaller than a certain values are unstable. Moreover, for ultrarelativistic velocities of the jet the longitudinal mode becomes stable and the most unstable modes correspond to relative angles between the velocity of the jet and momentum of the collective mode larger than $\sim π/8$. Our results suggest an alternative mechanism for the description of the jet quenching phenomenon, where the jet crossing the plasma loses energy exciting colored unstable modes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Exciting gauge unstable modes of the quark-gluon plasma by relativistic jets

We present a study of the properties of the collective modes of a system composed by a thermalized quark-gluon plasma traversed by a relativistic jet of partons. We find that when the jet traverses the system unstable gauge field modes are excited and grow on very short time scales. The aim is to provide a novel mechanism for the description of the jet quenching phenomenon, where the jet crossing the plasma loses energy exciting colored unstable modes. In order to simplify the analysis we employ a linear response approximation, valid for short time scales. We assume that the partons in the jet can be described with a tsunami-like distribution function, whereas we treat the quark-gluon plasma employing two different approaches. In the first approach we adopt a Vlasov approximation for the kinetic equations, in the second approach we solve a set of fluid equations. In both cases we derive the expressions of the dispersion law of the collective unstable modes and compare the results obtained.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Jet-induced gauge field instabilities in the quark-gluon plasma: A kinetic theory approach

We discuss the properties of the collective modes of a system composed by a thermalized quark-gluon plasma traversed by a relativistic jet of partons. The transport equations obeyed by the components of the plasma and of the jet are studied in the Vlasov approximation. Assuming that the partons in the jet can be described with a tsunami-like distribution function we derive the expressions of the dispersion law of the collective modes. Then the behavior of the unstable gauge modes of the system is analyzed for various values of the velocity of the jet, of the momentum of the collective modes and of the angle between these two quantities. We find that the most unstable modes are those with momentum orthogonal to the velocity of the jet and that these instabilities appear when the velocity of the jet is higher than a threshold value, which depends on the plasma and jet frequencies. The results obtained within the Vlasov approximation are compared with the corresponding results obtained using a chromohydrodynamical approach.The effect we discuss here suggests a possible collective mechanism for the description of the jet quenching phenomena in heavy ion collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Bulk viscosity in a cold CFL superfluid

We compute one of the bulk viscosity coefficients of cold CFL quark matter in the temperature regime where the contribution of mesons, quarks and gluons to transport phenomena is Boltzmann suppressed. In that regime dissipation occurs due to collisions of superfluid phonons, the Goldstone modes associated to the spontaneous breaking of baryon symmetry. We first review the hydrodynamics of relativistic superfluids, and remind that there are at least three bulk viscosity coefficients in these systems. We then compute the bulk viscosity coefficient associated to the normal fluid component of the superfluid. In our analysis we use Son's effective field theory for the superfluid phonon, amended to include scale breaking effects proportional to the square of the strange quark mass m_s. We compute the bulk viscosity at leading order in the scale breaking parameter, and find that it is dominated by collinear splitting and joining processes. The resulting transport coefficient is zeta=0.011 m_s^4/T, growing at low temperature T until the phonon fluid description stops making sense. Our results are relevant to study the rotational properties of a compact star formed by CFL quark matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Exciting the quark-gluon plasma with a relativistic jet

We discuss the properties of a system composed by a static plasma traversed by a jet of particles. Assuming that both the jet and the plasma can be described using a hydrodynamical approach, and in the conformal limit, we find that unstable modes arise when the velocity of the jet is larger than the speed of the sound of the plasma and only modes with momenta smaller than a certain values are unstable. Moreover, for ultrarelativistic velocities of the jet the most unstable modes correspond to relative angles between the velocity of the jet and momentum of the collective mode ~ pi/4. Our results suggest an alternative mechanism for the description of the jet quenching phenomenon, where the jet crossing the plasma loses energy exciting colored unstable modes. In LHC this effect should be seen with an enhanced production of hadrons for some specific values of their momenta and in certain directions of momenta space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Chromo-Hydrodynamic Approach to the Unstable Quark-Gluon Plasma

We derive hydrodynamic-like equations that are applicable to short-time scale color phenomena in the quark-gluon plasma. The equations are solved in the linear response approximation, and the gluon polarization tensor is derived. As an application, we study the collective modes in a two-stream system and find plasma instabilities when the fluid velocity is larger than the speed of sound in the plasma. The chromo-hydrodynamic approach, discussed here in detail, should be considered as simpler over other approaches and well-designed for numerical studies of the dynamics of an unstable quark-gluon plasma.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Color superconductivity in a strong external magnetic field

We explore the effects of an applied strong external magnetic field in a three flavor massless color superconductor. The long-range component of the B field that penetrates the superconductor enhances some quark condensates, leading to a different condensation pattern. The external field also reduces the flavor symmetries in the system, and thus it changes drastically the corresponding low energy physics. Our considerations are relevant for the study of highly magnetized compact stars.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Color-Superconducting Gap in the Presence of a Magnetic Field

We explore the effects of an external magnetic field in the structure and magnitude of the diquark condensate in a three massless quark flavor color superconductor. It is shown that the long-range component $\widetilde{B}$ of the external magnetic field that penetrates the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase modifies its gap structure, producing a new phase of lower symmetry. Our analysis is performed within an NJL effective field theory with four-fermion interactions, inspired by one-gluon exchange. Using Ritus' method, we compute the quark propagators in the presence of a background magnetic field, and derive the gap equations for arbitrary values of the field. An analytical solution is found for strong magnetic fields. A main outcome of our study is that the $\widetilde{B}$ field tends to strengthen the gaps that get contributions from pairs of $\widetilde{Q}$-charged quarks. These gaps are enhanced through the field-dependent density of states of the $\widetilde{Q}$-charged quarks on the Fermi surface. Our considerations are relevant for the study of highly magnetized compact stars.

hep-ph↗