arXiv subjects

Mew-Bing Wan

Publications and source records attributed to Mew-Bing Wan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Gravitational collapse and formation of universal horizons in Einstein-aether theory

We numerically study the gravitational collapse of a massless scalar field with spherical symmetry in Einstein-aether theory, and show that apparent, spin-0 and dynamical universal horizons (dUHs) can be all formed. The spacetime and the aether field are well-behaved and regular, including regions nearby these horizons (but away from the center of spherical symmetry). The spacetime outside the apparent and spin-0 horizons settles down to a static configuration, and some of such resulting static black holes were already found numerically in the literature. On the other hand, the proper distance of the outermost dUH from the apparent (or spin-0) horizon keeps increasing on $\mboxæ$ther-orthogonal time slices. This indicates that the outermost dUH is evolving into the causal boundary, even for excitations with large speeds of propagation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

GiRaFFE: An Open-Source General Relativistic Force-Free Electrodynamics Code

We present GiRaFFE, the first open-source general relativistic force-free electrodynamics (GRFFE) code for dynamical, numerical-relativity generated spacetimes. GiRaFFE adopts the strategy pioneered by McKinney and modified by Paschalidis and Shapiro to convert a GR magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) code into a GRFFE code. In short, GiRaFFE exists as a modification of IllinoisGRMHD, a user-friendly, open-source, dynamical-spacetime GRMHD code. Both GiRaFFE and IllinoisGRMHD leverage the Einstein Toolkit's highly-scalable infrastructure to make possible large-scale simulations of magnetized plasmas in strong, dynamical spacetimes on adaptive-mesh refinement (AMR) grids. We demonstrate that GiRaFFE passes a large suite of both flat and curved-spacetime code tests passed by a number of other state-of-the-art GRFFE codes, and is thus ready for production-scale simulations of GRFFE phenomena of key interest to relativistic astrophysics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Effects of magnetic field topology in black hole-neutron star mergers: Long-term simulations

We report long-term simulations of black hole-neutron star binary mergers where the neutron star possesses an asymmetric magnetic field dipole. Focusing on the scenario where the neutron star is tidally disrupted by the black hole, we track the evolution of the binary up to $\approx 100$ms after the merger. We uncover more than one episode of thermally driven winds being launched along a funnel wall in all these cases beginning from $\approx 25$ms after the merger. On the other hand, we are unable to conclude presently whether the amount of ejected mass increases with the \it{degree} of asymmetry. A large-scale magnetic field configuration in the poloidal direction is formed along the funnel wall accompanied by the generation of a large Poynting flux. The magnetic field in the accretion disk around the black hole remnant is amplified by the nonaxisymmetric magnetorotational instability (MRI). The MRI growth is estimated to be in the ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) regime and thus would be free from significant effects induced by potential neutrino radiation. However, the asymmetry in the magnetic field leads to increased turbulence, which causes the vertical magnetic field in the accretion disk to grow largely in a nonlinear manner.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Explicit flavor symmetry breaking and holographic compact stars

We study the effects of flavor symmetry breaking on holographic dense matter and compact stars in the D4/D6 model. To this end, two light flavors and one intermediate mass flavor are considered. For two light quarks, we investigate how the strong isospin violation affects the properties of holographic dense matter and compact stars. We observe that quark-antiquark condensates are flavor dependent and show interesting behavior near the transition from dense matter with only one flavor to matter with two flavors. An intermediate mass quark is introduced to investigate the role of the third flavor. The mass-radius relations of holographic compact stars with three flavors show that the mass-radius curve changes drastically at a transition density from which the third flavor begins to appear in the matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Directed Motion of Elongated Active Polymers

Previous work shows that a net directed motion arises from a system of individual particles undergoing run-and-tumble dynamics in the presence of an array of asymmetric barriers. Here, we show that when the individual particle is replaced by a chain of particles linked to each other by spring forces (polymer), the rectification is enhanced. It is found that the rectification increases when the number of particles in each polymer, as well as its length, increases. In addition, the rectification increases when the size of the opening between neighboring funnel tips, lo, decreases. Interestingly, if the conformal entropic difference exceeds the thermal diffusion, net directed motion is observed even when the run-and-tumble dynamics approaches Brownian motion. Also, when the inelastic collisions between the particles and the barriers are replaced by elastic collisions, a reversed rectification is observed.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2011

Universality and properties of neutron star type I critical collapses

We study the neutron star axisymmetric critical solution previously found in the numerical studies of neutron star mergers. Using neutron star-like initial data and performing similar merger simulations, we demonstrate that the solution is indeed a semi-attractor on the threshold plane separating the basin of a neutron star and the basin of a black hole in the solution space of the Einstein equations. In order to explore the extent of the attraction basin of the neutron star semiattractor, we construct initial data phase spaces for these neutron star-like initial data. From these phase spaces, we also observe several interesting dynamical scenarios where the merged object is supported from prompt collapse. The properties of the critical index of the solution, in particular, its dependence on conserved quantities, are then studied. From the study, it is found that a family of neutron star semi-attractors exist that can be classified by both their rest masses and ADM masses.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Holographic equations of state and astrophysical compact objects

We solve the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation using an equation of state (EoS) calculated in holographic QCD. The aim is to use compact astrophysical objects like neutron stars as an indicator to test holographic equations of state. We first try an EoS from a dense D4/D8/\textoverline {D8} model. In this case, however, we could not find a stable compact star, a star satisfying pressure-zero condition with a radius $R$, $p(R)=0$, within a reasonable value of the radius. This means that the EoS from the D4/D8/\textoverline {D8} model may not support any stable compact stars or may support one whose radius is very large. This might be due to a deficit of attractive force from a scalar field or two-pion exchange in the D4/D8/\textoverline {D8} model. Then, we consider D4/D6 type models with different number of quark flavors, $N_f=1,2,3$. Though the mass and radius of a holographic star is larger than those of normal neutron stars, the D4/D6 type EoS renders a stable compact star.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Properties of Neutron Star Critical Collapses

Critical phenomena in gravitational collapse opened a new mathematical vista into the theory of general relativity and may ultimately entail fundamental physical implication in observations. However, at present, the dynamics of critical phenomena in gravitational collapse scenarios are still largely unknown. My thesis seeks to understand the properties of the threshold in the solution space of the Einstein field equations between the black hole and neutron star phases, understand the properties of the neutron star critical solution and clarify the implication of these results on realistic astrophysical scenarios. We develop a new set of neutron star-like initial data to establish the universality of the neutron star critical solution and analyze the structure of neutron star and neutron star-like critical collapses via the study of the phase spaces. We also study the different time scales involved in the neutron star critical solution and analyze the properties of the critical index via comparisons between neutron star and neutron star-like initial data. Finally, we explore the boundary of the attraction basin of the neutron star critical solution and its transition to a known set of non-critical fixed points.

gr-qc↗