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James R. Wilson

Publications and source records attributed to James R. Wilson.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2012

Ni coarsening in the three-phase solid oxide fuel cell anode - a phase-field simulation study

Ni coarsening in Ni-yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) solid oxide fuel cell anodes is considered a major reason for anode degradation. We present a predictive, quantative modeling framework based on the phase-field approach to systematically examine coarsening kinetics in such anodes. The initial structures for simulations are experimentally acquired functional layers of anodes. Sample size effects and error analysis of contact angles are examined. Three phase boundary (TPB) lengths and Ni surface areas are quantatively identified on the basis of the active, dead-end, and isolated phase clusters throughout coarsening. Tortuosity evolution of the pores is also investigated. We find that phase clusters with larger characteristic length evolve slower than those with smaller length scales. As a result, coarsening has small positive effects on transport, and impacts less on the active Ni surface area than the total counter part. TPBs, however, are found to be sensitive to local morphological features and are only indirectly correlated to the evolution kinetics of the Ni phase.

physics.comp-ph↗
arXiv2006

Bulk Viscosity, Decaying Dark Matter, and the Cosmic Acceleration

We discuss a cosmology in which cold dark-matter particles decay into relativistic particles. We argue that such decays could lead naturally to a bulk viscosity in the cosmic fluid. For decay lifetimes comparable to the present hubble age, this bulk viscosity enters the cosmic energy equation as an effective negative pressure. We investigate whether this negative pressure is of sufficient magnitude to account fo the observed cosmic acceleration. We show that a single decaying species in a flat, dark-matter dominated cosmology without a cosmological constant cannot reproduce the observed magnitude-redshift relation from Type Ia supernovae. However, a delayed bulk viscosity, possibly due to a cascade of decaying particles may be able to account for a significant fraction of the apparent cosmic acceleration. Possible candidate nonrelativistic particles for this scenario include sterile neutrinos or gauge-mediated decaying supersymmetric particles.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2002

A Model of Short Gamma-Ray Bursts: Heated Neutron Stars in Close Binary Systems

In this paper we present a model for the short (< 1 second) population of gamma-ray bursts. In this model heated neutron stars in a close binary system near its last stable orbit emit a large amount of neutrinos (~10^53 ergs). A fraction of these neutrinos will annihilate to form an e+e- pair plasma wind which will, in turn, expand and recombine to photons which make the gamma-ray burst. We study neutrino annihilation and show that a substantial fraction (~1/2) of energy deposited into e+e- pairs comes from inter-star neutrinos, where each member of the neutrino pair originates from each neutron star. Thus, in addition to the annihilation of neutrinos blowing off of a single star, there is a new source of baryon-free plasma that is deposited between the stars. To model the e+e- pair plasma wind between stars, we do three-dimensional relativistic numerical hydrodynamic calculations. We find that the time scale for these bursts, deriving from the baryon-free plasma, is less than one second and they will have a hot spectrum ~5 MeV. The energy in bursts is the order of 10^52 ergs.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2002

A Model for Short Gamma-Ray Bursts: Heated Neutron Stars in Close Binary Systems

In this paper we present a model for the short (< second) population of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this model heated neutron stars in a close binary system near their last stable orbit emit neutrinos at large luminosities (~ 10^53 ergs/sec). A fraction of these neutrinos will annihilate to form an electron-positron pair plasma wind which will, in turn, expand and recombine to photons which make the gamma-ray burst. We study neutrino annihilation and show that a substantial fraction (~ 50%) of energy deposited comes from inter-star neutrinos, where each member of the neutrino pair originates from each neutron star. Thus, in addition to the annihilation of neutrinos blowing off of a single star, we have a new source of baryon free energy that is deposited between the stars. To model the pair plasma wind between stars, we do three-dimensional relativistic numerical hydrodynamic calculations. Preliminary results are also presented of new, fully general relativistic calculations of gravitationally attracting stars falling from infinity with no angular momentum. These simulations exhibit a compression effect.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Asymmetric Supernovae from Magneto-Centrifugal Jets

Strong toroidal magnetic fields generated in stellar collapse can generate magneto-centrifugal jets in analogy to those found in simulations of black hole accretion and explain why all core collapse supernovae are found to be substantially asymmetric and predominantly bi-polar. We describe two phases: the initial LeBlanc-Wilson jet and a subsequent protopulsar or toroidal jet that propagates at about the core escape velocity. The jets will produce bow shocks that tend to expel matter, including iron and silicon, into equatorial tori, accounting for observations of the element distribution in Cas A. A magnetic ``switch'' mechanism may apply in instances of low density and large magnetic field with subsequent increase in the speed and collimation of the toroidal jet, depositing relatively little momentum. The result could be enough infall to form a black hole with a third, highly relativistic jet that could catch up to the protopulsar jet after it has emerged from the star. The interaction of these two jets could generate internal shocks and explain the presence of iron lines in the afterglow. Recent estimates that typical gamma-ray burst energy is about 3x10^50 erg imply either a very low efficiency for conversion of rotation into jets, or a rather rapid turnoff of the jet process even though the black hole still rotates rapidly. Magnetars and ``hypernovae'' might arise in an intermediate parameter regime of energetic jets that yield larger magnetic fields and provide more energy than the routine case, but that are not so tightly collimated that they yield failed supernova. (slightly abridged)

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Neutrino Annihilation between Binary Neutron Stars

We calculate the neutrino pair annihilation rate into electron pairs between two neutron stars in a binary system. We present a closed formula for the energy deposition rate at any point between the stars, where each neutrino of a pair derives from each star, and compare this result to that where all neutrinos derive from a single neutron star. An approximate generalization of this formula is given to include the relativistic effects of gravity. We find that this inter-star neutrino annihilation is a significant contributor to the energy deposition between heated neutron star binaries. In particular, for two neutron stars near their last stable orbit, inter-star neutrino annihilation energy deposition is almost equal to that of single star energy deposition.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Gamma-Ray Bursts via the Neutrino Emission from Heated Neutron Stars

A model is proposed for gamma-ray bursts based upon a neutrino burst of about 10^52 ergs lasting a few seconds above a heated collapsing neutron star. This type of thermal neutrino burst is suggested by relativistic hydrodynamic studies of the compression, heating, and collapse of close binary neutron stars as they approach their last stable orbit, but may arise from other sources as well. We present a hydrodynamic simulation of the formation and evolution of the pair plasma associated with such a neutrino burst. This pair plasma leads to the production of ~10^51 - 10^52 ergs in gamma-rays with spectral and temporal properties consistent with observed gamma-ray bursts.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Bardeen-Petterson Effect and Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in X-Ray Binaries

The Bardeen-Petterson effect around a rapidly-rotating compact object causes a tilted accretion disk to warp into the equatorial plane of the rotating body. Viscous forces cause the accretion flow to divide into two distinct regions - an inner aligned accretion disk and an outer tilted accretion disk. The transition between these two occurs at a characteristic radius that depends on the mass and angular momentum of the central object and possibly on the accretion rate through the disk. We propose that accreting material passing through the transition region may generate quasi-periodic brightness oscillations (QPOs) such as have been observed in a number of X-ray binaries. We show that this effect may be present in the black-hole X-ray binary GRO J1655-40. We also argue that the QPO frequency range predicted by this model is consistent with observed QPO frequencies in both black-hole and neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

On the pair-electromagnetic pulse from an electromagnetic Black Hole surrounded by a Baryonic Remnant

The interaction of an expanding Pair-Electromagnetic pulse (PEM pulse) with a shell of baryonic matter surrounding a Black Hole with electromagnetic structure (EMBH) is analyzed for selected values of the baryonic mass at selected distances well outside the dyadosphere of an EMBH. The dyadosphere, the region in which a super critical field exists for the creation of electron-positron pairs, is here considered in the special case of a Reissner-Nordstrom geometry. The interaction of the PEM pulse with the baryonic matter is described using a simplified model of a slab of constant thickness in the laboratory frame (constant-thickness approximation) as well as performing the integration of the general relativistic hydrodynamical equations. The validation of the constant-thickness approximation, already presented in a previous paper Ruffini, et al.(1999) for a PEM pulse in vacuum, is here generalized to the presence of baryonic matter. It is found that for a baryonic shell of mass-energy less than 1% of the total energy of the dyadosphere, the constant-thickness approximation is in excellent agreement with full general relativistic computations. The approximation breaks down for larger values of the baryonic shell mass, however such cases are of less interest for observed Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). On the basis of numerical computations of the slab model for PEM pulses, we describe (i) the properties of relativistic evolution of a PEM pulse colliding with a baryonic shell; (ii) the details of the expected emission energy and observed temperature of the associated GRBs for a given value of the EMBH mass; 10^3 solar masses, and for baryonic mass-energies in the range 10^{-8} to 10^{-2} the total energy of the dyadosphere.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Gamma-Ray Bursts via Pair Plasma Fireballs from Heated Neutron Stars

In this paper we model the emission from a relativistically expanding electron-positron pair plasma fireball originating near the surface of a heated neutron star. This pair fireball is deposited via the annihilation of neutrino pairs emanating from the surface of the hot neutron star. The heating of neutron stars may occur in close neutron star binary systems near their last stable orbit. We model the relativistic expansion and subsequent emission of the plasma and find 10^51 to 10^52 ergs in gamma-rays are produced with spectral and temporal properties consistent with observed gamma-ray bursts.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

On the Pair Electromagnetic Pulse of a Black Hole with Electromagnetic Structure

We study the relativistically expanding electron-positron pair plasma formed by the process of vacuum polarization around an electromagnetic black hole (EMBH). Such processes can occur for EMBH's with mass all the way up to $6\cdot 10^5M_\odot$. Beginning with a idealized model of a Reissner-Nordstrom EMBH with charge to mass ratio $ξ=0.1$, numerical hydrodynamic calculations are made to model the expansion of the pair-electromagnetic pulse (PEM pulse) to the point that the system is transparent to photons. Three idealized special relativistic models have been compared and contrasted with the results of the numerically integrated general relativistic hydrodynamic equations. One of the three models has been validated: a PEM pulse of constant thickness in the laboratory frame is shown to be in excellent agreement with results of the general relativistic hydrodynamic code. It is remarkable that this precise model, starting from the fundamental parameters of the EMBH, leads uniquely to the explicit evaluation of the parameters of the PEM pulse, including the energy spectrum and the astrophysically unprecedented large Lorentz factors (up to $6\cdot 10^3$ for a $10^3 M_{\odot}$ EMBH). The observed photon energy at the peak of the photon spectrum at the moment of photon decoupling is shown to range from 0.1 MeV to 4 MeV as a function of the EMBH mass. Correspondingly the total energy in photons is in the range of $10^{52}$ to $10^{54}$ ergs, consistent with observed gamma-ray bursts. In these computations we neglect the presence of baryonic matter which will be the subject of forthcoming publications.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

On Evolution of the Pair-Electromagnetic Pulse of a Charge Black Hole

Using hydrodynamic computer codes, we study the possible patterns of relativistic expansion of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse (P.E.M. pulse); a hot, high density plasma composed of photons, electron-positron pairs and baryons deposited near a charged black hole (EMBH). On the bases of baryon-loading and energy conservation, we study the bulk Lorentz factor of expansion of the P.E.M. pulse by both numerical and analytical methods.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

Binary Neutron Stars Systems: Irrotational Quasi-Equilibrium Sequences

We report on numerical results from an independent formalism to describe the quasi-equilibrium structure of nonsynchronous binary neutron stars in general relativity. This is an important independent test of controversial numerical hydrodynamic simulations which suggested that nonsynchronous neutron stars in a close binary can experience compression and even collapse prior to the last stable circular orbit. We show that the interior density indeed increases as irrotational binary neutron stars approach their last orbits for particular values of the compaction ratio. The observed compression is however at a significantly reduced level.

gr-qc↗