Related papers: Two amateur astronomers at Berkeley
We analytically work out the long-term variations caused on the motion of a planet orbiting a star by a very distant, pointlike massive object X. Apart from the semi-major axis a, all the other Keplerian osculating orbital elements…
A collection is made of presently unexplained phenomena within our Solar system and in the universe. These phenomena are (i) the Pioneer anomaly, (ii) the flyby anomaly, (iii) the increase of the Astronomical Unit, (iv) the quadrupole and…
This is the introductive paper to the volume "Symmetries in Physics: Philosophical Reflections", Cambridge University Press, 2003. We begin with a brief description of the historical roots and emergence of the concept of symmetry that is at…
Using the focusing equation, the equation for the cosmological angular diameter distance is derived, based on the ideas of Academician Ya.B. Zel'dovich, namely, that the distribution of matter at small angles is not homogeneous, and the…
Solar neutrino physics is an exciting and difficult field of research for physicists, where astrophysics, elementary particle and nuclear physics meet. \ The Sun produces the energy that life has been using on Earth for many years, about…
We note that in general there exist two basic aspects in any branch of physics, including cosmology - one dealing with the attributes of basic constituents and forces of nature, the other dealing with how structures arise from them and how…
We review some major, open issues in the current modelling of low and intermediate mass, main sequence stars based on seismological studies. In the present paper, the solar case is discussed together with current problems that are common to…
For more than half a century, dualities have been at the heart of modern physics. From quantum mechanics to statistical mechanics, condensed matter physics, quantum field theory and quantum gravity, dualities have proven useful in solving…
Continuous high-precision photometry of stars, provided by space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, and K2, represents a unique way to study stellar rotation and magnetism. The coupling of these studies of the surface dynamics with…
We introduce some early considerations of physical and mathematical impossibility as preludes to the Goedel incompleteness theorems. We consider some informal aspects of these theorems and their underlying assumptions and discuss some the…
We present a simple method for fitting parametrized mass models of the Milky Way to observational constraints. We take a Bayesian approach which allows us to take into account input from photometric and kinematic data, and expectations from…
This is a chapter for a planned collective volume entitled "New spaces in mathematics and physics" (M. Anel, G. Catren Eds.). The first part contains a short formal exposition of supergeometry as it is understood by mathematicians. The…
The solar system and the hydrogen atom are two well known systems on different scales and look unrelated: The former is a classical system on the scale of about billions of kilometers and the latter a quantum system of about tens of…
The optical and infrared spectra of a wide variety of `cool' astronomical objects including the Sun, sunspots, K-, M- and S-type stars, carbon stars, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets are reviewed. The review provides the necessary…
While purely philosophical in the early times, and still very speculative at the beginning of the twentieth century, Cosmology has gradually entered into the realm of experimental science over the past eighty years. It has raised some…
Three-body and n-body problems in celestial mechanics are age-old and challenging puzzles. In recent years, several breakthroughs are made in finding periodic orbits for three-body problem. And Bohua Sun proposed a conjecture on Kepler's…
Our knowledge of magnetic activity of stars is mostly based on the study of the Sun and some spectroscopic surveys of a few hundreds of stars. However, the detailed mechanisms of the solar magnetic activity cycle are not fully understood.…
A simple way, accessible to undergraduates, is given to understand measurements in quantum mechanics. The ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics is natural and provides this simple access to the measurement problem. This paper…
This monograph discusses dualities in physics: what dualities are, their main examples--from quantum mechanics and electrodynamics to statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and string theory--and the philosophical questions they raise.…
The fields of occultation and microlensing are linked historically. Early this century, occultation of the Sun by the Moon allowed the apparent positions of background stars projected near the limb of the Sun to be measured and compared…