Related papers: Astrophysical Naturalness
In a recent work we have argued that nosy energy momentum diffusion due to space-time discreteness at the Planck scale (naturally expected to arise from quantum gravity) can be responsible for the generation of a cosmological constant…
The status of searches for possible variation in the constants of nature from astronomical observation of molecules is reviewed, focusing on the dimensionless constant representing the proton-electron mass ratio $\mu=m_p/m_e$. The optical…
The most recent observations by the WMAP satellite provided us with data of unprecedented accuracy regarding the parameters describing the Standard Cosmological Model. The current matter-energy density of the Universe is close to its…
Recent observations suggest that a large fraction of the energy density of the universe has negative pressure. One explanation is vacuum energy density; another is quintessence in the form of a scalar field slowly evolving down a potential.…
Models of neutron stars are considered in the case of a uniform density distribution. An algebraic equation, valid for any equation of state, is obtained. This equation allows one to find the approximate mass of a star of a given density…
Stars accrete near invisible hydrogen dominated agglomerates. This population, the `dark matter,' effects the nature of stars. Measurements show plasma streams impacting Earth, planets, Sun and stars. This mass-energy source contradicts…
Astrophysical tests of the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings are a key probe of the standard paradigms in fundamental physics and cosmology. In this report we discuss updated constraints on the stability of the fine-structure…
The fact that dark matter (DM), thus far, has revealed itself only on scales of galaxies and larger, again thrusts onto astrophysics the opportunity and the responsibility to confront the age old mystery "What is the nature of matter?" By…
We study the influence of stellar metallicity on the fraction of stars with planets (i.e., the occurrence rate of planetary systems) and the average number of planets per star (i.e., the occurrence rate of planets). The former directly…
Why is there little dust in elliptical galaxies? Firstly, the universe is rational and the rationality is the proportional density distribution in any independent galaxy. Proportion means that the density distribution of stars is orderly.…
Recent numerical work by Wilson, Mathews, and Marronetti [J. R. Wilson, G. J. Mathews and P. Marronetti, Phys. Rev. D 54, 1317 (1996)] on the coalescence of massive binary neutron stars shows a striking instability as the stars come close…
We investigate the properties of the static neutron stars and strangeness-mixed stars, based on the equations of state derived from a pion mean-field approach. Using the empirical data on the pion-nucleus scattering and bulk properties of…
Neutron Stars (NSs) are compact stellar objects that are stable solutions in General Relativity. Their internal structure is usually described using an equation of state that involves the presence of ordinary matter and its interactions.…
In the context of the standard model of particle physics, there is a definite upper limit to the density of stable compact stars. However, if a more fundamental level of elementary particles exists, in the form of preons, stability may be…
We are at a specific period of modern cosmology, during which the large increase of the amount of data leads to the idea that the determination of cosmological parameters has been achieved with a rather good precision. There is a large…
This paper gives an overview of the properties of all possible equilibrium sequences of compact strange-matter stars with nuclear crusts, which range from strange stars to strange dwarfs. In contrast to their non-strange counterparts,…
Many gravitationally lensed quasars exhibit flux ratio "anomalies" that cannot be explained under the hypothesis that the lensing potential is smooth on scales smaller than one kpc. Micro-lensing by stars is a natural source of granularity…
This work investigates the main mechanism(s) that regulate the specific star formation rate (SSFR) in nearby galaxies, cross-correlating two proxies of this quantity -- the equivalent width of the \Ha\ line and the $(u-r)$ colour -- with…
Most astrophysical systems in our Universe are characterized by shallow gravitational potentials, with dimensionless compactness $|\Phi| \equiv r_s / R \ll 1$, where $r_{s}$ and $R$ are their Schwarzschild radius and typical size,…
Neutron stars have the strongest magnetic fields known anywhere in the Universe. In this review, I intend to give a pedagogical discussion of some of the related physics. Neutron stars exist because of Pauli's exclusion principle, in two…