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A spherically symmetrical ultra-relativistic blast wave is not an attractor of a generic asymmetric explosion. Spherical symmetry is reached only by the time the blast wave slows down to non-relativistic velocities, when the Sedov-Taylor-von Neumann attractor solution sets in. We show however, that a directed relativistic explosion, with the explosion momentum close to the explosion energy, produces a blast wave with a universal intermediate asymptotic -- a selfsimilar directed ultra-relativistic blast wave. This universality might be of interest for the astrophysics of gamma-ray burst afterglows., Comment: 9 pages

Convection that develops behind the shock front during the first second of a core-collapse supernova explosion is believed to play a crucial role in the explosion mechanism. We demonstrate that the resulting turbulent density fluctuations may be directly observable in the neutrino signal starting at t>~ 3-4 s after the onset of the explosion. The effect comes from the modulation of the MSW flavor transformations by the turbulent density fluctuations. We derive a simple and general criterion for neutrino flavor depolarization in a Kolmogorov-type turbulence and apply it to the turbulence seen in modern numerical simulations. The turbulence casts a "shadow", by making other features, such as the shock front, unobservable in the density range covered by the turbulence., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

We show that FFE (Force-Free Electrodynamics) describes pulsar magnetospheres -- even when radiation and particle wind power are comparable to the spin-down power. At the same time, we show that FFE is insufficient for calculating pulsar magnetospheres. This is because FFE admits a large family of stationary solutions with different currents flowing in the closed line region. To choose the actual solution one needs a model of current generation which goes beyond pure FFE. We calculate several FFE magnetospheres for the aligned rotator. The Poynting power of these solutions fills the range $c^{-3}\mu ^2\Omega^4~< ~L~ <~ 0.67 c^{-3}\mu ^2\Omega^4(c/\Omega R_s)^2$, for angular velocity $\Omega$ and magnetic field which is a pure dipole $\mu$ on the surface of the star of radius $R_s$. Anomalous braking indices of young pulsars might be explained by currents flowing in the closed-line region., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We formulate variation principle for force-free magnetosphere of an inclined pulsar: ${\cal E} +{\bf \Omega}\cdot {\bf M}$ ($\cal E$, ${\bf M}$ are electromagnetic energy and angular momentum, ${\bf \Omega}$ is the angular velocity of a star) is stationary under isotopological variations of magnetic field and arbitrary variations of electric field. The variation principle gives the reason for existence and proves local stability of current singular layers along magnetic separatrices. Magnetic field lines of inclined pulsar magnetosphere lie on magnetic surfaces, and do have magnetic separatrices. In the framework of the isotopological variation principle, inclined magnetospheres are expected to be simple deformations of the axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere. A singular line should exist on the light cylinder, where inner separatrix terminates and outer separatrix emanates. The electromagnetic field should have an inverse square root singularity near the singular line inside the inner magnetic separatrix. Large distance asymptotic solution is calculated, and used to estimate the pulsar power, $L\approx c^{-3}\mu ^2\Omega^4$ for spin-dipole inclinations $\lesssim 30^{\circ}$ ., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

We speculate that stationary force-free pulsar magnetospheres are screw unstable, and the spin-down power of real pulsars is carried by turbulent Poynting jets. The turbulent jet entrains poloidal flux as it propagates away from the star. Due to poloidal flux entrainment, poloidal field inside the jet decreases at a slower rate than the dipole's $r^{-3}$, and the pulsar power increases accordingly: $L\sim (\mu ^2\Omega^4/c^3)(\Omega R/c)^{-\alpha}$, where $\mu$ is the magnetic dipole, $\Omega$ is the frequency, $R$ is the neutron star radius, and $\alpha \lesssim 1$ is an index which depends on spin-dipole angle. Our speculation is of interest because it seems to provide the only possible explanation (without fine-tuning) of observed pulsar braking indices., Comment: 5 pages

Stationary force-free magnetosphere of an axisymmetric pulsar is shown to have a separatrix inclination angle of 77.3$^\circ$. The electromagnetic field has an $R^{-1/2}$ singularity inside the separatrix near the light cylinder. A numerical simulation of the magnetosphere which crudely reproduces these properties is presented. The numerical results are used to estimate the power of an axisymmetric pulsar: $L=(1\pm 0.1)\mu^2\Omega^4/c^3$. A need for a better numerical simulation is pointed out., Comment: 9 pages

Single scalar field inflation with a generic, non-quadratic in derivatives, field Lagrangian is considered. It is shown that non-Gaussianity of curvature perturbations is characterized by two dimensionless amplitudes. One of these amplitudes can be expressed in terms of the usual inflationary observables -- the scalar power, the tensor power, and the tensor index. This consistency relation provides an observational test for the single scalar inflation., Comment: 6 pages

Acceleration of the universe might be driven by a continuous elastic medium -- elastic dark energy (Bucher and Spergel 1999). Elastic dark energy can stably support equations of state with pressure to energy ratio w > -4/3. Stable expansion with w<-1 combined with an assumption of ``reheating of elastic energy'' leads to exotic possibilities such as Expanding Cyclic Universe -- an ever-expanding universe with periodically repeating inflationary epochs., Comment: 4 pages

Inflation of a universe filled by an elastic continuous medium is considered. Elastic inflation, while capable of describing current observations, is qualitatively different from standard inflationary models. The scalar and tensor modes keep evolving after crossing the horizon. Due to this superhorizon evolution, the amplitude of the tensor mode (inflationary gravitational wave) is not simply proportional to the energy density of the universe at the time of horizon crossing. The spectral index of tensor modes can be positive., Comment: 12 pages

It is noted that inflation driven by a three form with arbitrary self coupling satisfies a consistency relation $n_S-1=2n_T$, between spectral indices of scalar and tensor cosmological perturbations. The standard consistency relation for the ratio of the amplitudes of perturbations is only valid for quadratic self coupling of the three form., Comment: 4 pages

Curvature perturbations generated after the end of inflation are estimated for a generic multi-field inflationary potential. The curvature perturbations are generated by conversion of inflationary isocurvature perturbations, similar to curvaton and inhomogeneous reheating scenarios. During inflation, the trajectory along which the fields are rolling down will fluctuate. When inflation ends, the fields enter the oscillatory phase along different directions in different parts of the universe. Different oscillatory trajectories can have different effective equations of state and reheating rates, so that different parts of the universe will evolve differently. This translates the isocurvature perturbations into the curvature perturbations. If all light fields make similar contributions to the potential energy, the postinflationary curvature perturbations are much smaller than the standard inflationary curvature perturbations. But if different light fields make very different contributions to the potential energy, the postinflationary curvature perturbations can exceed the inflationary perturbations. The characteristic feature of postinflationary perturbations is non-Gaussianity $\sim \pm 1$., Comment: 10 pages

To describe a massive graviton in 4D Minkowski space-time one introduces a quadratic term in the Lagrangian. This term, however, can lead to a readjustment or instability of the background instead of describing a massive graviton on flat space. We show that for all local Lorentz-invariant mass terms Minkowski space is unstable. We start with the Pauli-Fierz (PF) term that is the only local mass term with no ghosts in the linearized approximation. We show that nonlinear completions of the PF Lagrangian give rise to instability of Minkowski space. We continue with the mass terms that are not of a PF type. Although these models are known to have ghosts in the linearized approximations, nonlinear interactions can lead to background change due to which the ghosts are eliminated. In the latter case, however, the graviton perturbations on the new background are not massive. We argue that a consistent theory of a massive graviton on flat space can be formulated in theories with extra dimensions. They require an infinite number of fields or non-local description from a 4D point of view., Comment: 16 pages; references and comments added

Perturbations in a universe with matter and cosmological constant are computed in terms of the primordial scalar perturbation up to second order. The calculation is easy -- a generalization of the spherical dust solution. Our expression might allow accurate measurements of the primordial non-Gaussianity., Comment: 8 pages

The Particle Data Group gives an upper bound on the photon mass $m < 2 \times 10^{-16}$eV from a laboratory experiment and lists, but does not adopt, an astronomical bound $m < 3 \times 10^{-27}$eV, both of which are based on the plausible assumption of large galactic vector-potential. We argue that the interpretations of these experiments should be changed, which alters significantly the bounds on $m$. If $m$ arises from a Higgs effect, both limits are invalid because the Proca vector-potential of the galactic magnetic field may be neutralized by vortices giving a large-scale magnetic field that is effectively Maxwellian. In this regime, experiments sensitive to the Proca potential do not yield a useful bound on $m$. As a by-product, the non-zero photon mass from Higgs effect predicts generation of a primordial magnetic field in the early universe. If, on the other hand, the galactic magnetic field is in the Proca regime, the very existence of the observed large-scale magnetic field gives $m^{-1}\gtrsim 1$kpc, or $m\lesssim 10^{-26}$eV., Comment: 9 pages, discussion of primordial magnetic field added

We generalize a recently proposed mechanism for the origin of primordial metric perturbations in inflationary models. Quantum fluctuations of light scalar fields during inflation give rise to super-horizon fluctuations of masses and reaction rates of various particles. Reheating, freeze-out, and matter-domination processes become inhomogeneous and generate super-horizon metric perturbations. We also calculate the degree of non-Gaussianity $f_{nl}$ for this new model of cosmological perturbations. The precise value of $f_{nl}$ depends on the specific models, but $|f_{nl}|\sim$few is a natural lower bound for our mechanisms. This is much larger than the currently assumed theoretical value $f_{nl}\sim tilt \lesssim 0.05$, and is thought to be observable. In a particularly attractive model of inhomogeneous mass-domination, the non-Gaussianity of perturbations generated by our mechanism is simply $f_{nl}=5$, irrespective of the detailed structure of the underlying field theory., Comment: 13 pages

We propose a new mechanism to generate density perturbations in inflationary models. Spatial fluctuations in the decay rate of the inflaton field to ordinary matter lead to fluctuations in the reheating temperature. We argue that in most realistic models of inflation the coupling of the inflaton to normal matter is determined by the vacuum expectation values of fields in the theory. If those fields are light during inflation (this is a generic situation in the minimal models of supersymmetric inflation) they will fluctuate leading to density perturbations through the proposed mechanism. We show that these fluctuations could easily dominate over the ones generated through the standard mechanism. The new scenario has several consequences for inflation model building and observations. The proposed mechanism allows to generate the observed level of density perturbations with a much lower scale of inflation and thus generically predicts a smaller level of gravitational waves. The relation between the slope of the spectrum of the produced density perturbations and the potential of the inflaton field is different from the standard relations obtained in the context of slow roll inflation. Because the field responsible for the fluctuations is not the inflaton, it can have significantly larger self couplings and thus density perturbations could be non-Gaussian. The non-Gaussianity can be large enough to be detectable by CMB and Large Scale Structure observations., Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure

Propagation of a blast wave due to strong explosion in the center of a power-law-density ($\rho \propto r^{-\alpha}$) spherically symmetric atmosphere is studied. For adiabatic index of 5/3, the solution was known to be self-similar, (of type I) for $\alpha <3$, self-similar (of type II) for $\alpha >3.26$, and unknown in between. We find a self-similar solution for $3<\alpha <3.26$, and give a (tentative) numerical proof that this solution is indeed an asymptotic of the strong explosion. This self-similar solution is neither of type I (dimensional analysis does not work), nor of type II (the index of the solution is known without solving an eigenvalue problem)., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Cosmologically motivated theories that explain small acceleration rate of the Universe via modification of gravity at very large, horizon or super-horizon distances, can be tested by precision gravitational measurements at much shorter scales, such as the Earth-Moon distance. Contrary to the naive expectation the predicted corrections to the Einsteinian metric near gravitating sources are so significant that fall within sensitivity of the proposed Lunar Ranging experiments. The key reason for such corrections is the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity present in linearized versions of all such theories, and its subsequent absence at the non-linear level ala Vainshtein.

We discuss bounds on the strength of the magnetic fields that could be buried in the radiative zone of the Sun. The field profiles and decay times are computed for all axisymmetric toroidal Ohmic decay eigenmodes with lifetimes exceeding the age of the Sun. The measurements of the solar oblateness yield a bound <~ 7 MG on the strength of the field. A comparable bound is expected to come from the analysis of the splitting of the solar oscillation frequencies. The theoretical analysis of the double diffusive instability also yields a similar bound. The oblateness measurements at their present level of sensitivity are therefore not expected to measure a toroidal field contribution., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

Effective heat conduction in a random variable magnetic field should be equal to one third of the Spitzer's value. Recent observations indicate that this heat conduction is sufficient to account for the bremsstrahlung in cooling X-ray clusters., Comment: 3 pages

We reexamine the transition magnetic moment solution to the solar neutrino problem. We argue that the absence of large time variations in the Super-Kamiokande rate provides strong evidence against spin-flavor flip in the solar convective zone. Spin-flavor flip could, however, occur in the primordial magnetic field in the radiative zone. We compute the longest lived toroidal mode for this field and show that spin-flavor flip in the radiative zone can account for all available solar data., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, version accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics

It has been suggested that the laws of thermodynamics are violated by what we have called a convection-dominated accretion flow (or a 1/2-law accretion flow) -- an accretion flow characterized by a constant outflow of energy. We show that both the 1/2-law flow and the Bondi flow (also known as ADAF, advection dominated accretion flow) are thermodynamically admissible., Comment: 4 pages

It was suggested that observations of the solar system exclude massive gravity, in the sense that the graviton mass must be rigorously zero. This is because there is a discontinuity in the linearized gravity theory at graviton mass equal to zero. The linearized Schwarzschild metric is not recovered for infinitesimal graviton mass, contradicting observations on light deviation by the Sun and Mercury perihelion advance. It was then argued that non-perturbative effects make the massive gravity theory continuous in the graviton mass. Both the original suggestion and its refutation were based on a non-covariant and linearized action, and the physical interpretation of these results remained questionable. Here we use a covariant quasi-massive gravity theory that is known to be discontinuous in the graviton mass in the linear approximation. We show that non-perturbative effects do restore the continuity; the weak-field Schwarzschild solution is recovered in the limit of small graviton mass. We also show that weak-field Schwarzschild with matter is recovered for infinitesimal graviton mass. Thus: Observations of the solar system only put an upper limit on the graviton mass (in the context of the gravity theory that we use, inverse graviton mass, as measured at distances of order inverse graviton mass, is $\gtrsim 100$ Mpc). But graviton can be massive, with a cosmologically interesting mass., Comment: 6 pages

A direct numerical simulation of a strong relativistic collisionless shock propagating into an unmagnetized medium has been performed in two spatial dimensions. It is found that: (i) collisionless shock exists, (ii) particle acceleration is insignificant, (iii) the shock does not generate ``quasi-static'' magnetic fields, contrary to recent claims by other authors. All our results agree with a simple plasma-physical model of collisionless shocks. On the other hand, astrophysical evidence indicates that shocks do accelerate charged particles, and GRB phenomenology indicates that shocks do generate strong magnetic fields. The conflict between the simplest plasma-physical model and astronomical observations of collisionless shocks is discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJL

A relativistic collisionless shock propagating into an unmagnetized medium leaves behind a strong large-scale magnetic field. This seems to follow from two assumptions: (i) GRB afterglows are explained by synchrotron emission of a relativistic shock, (ii) magnetic field can't exist on microscopic scales only, it would decay by phase space mixing. Assumption (i) is generally accepted because of an apparent success of the shock synchrotron phenomenological model of GRB afterglow. Assumption (ii) is confirmed in this work by a low-dimensional numerical simulation. One may hypothesize that relativistic shock velocities are not essential for the magnetic field generation, and that all collisionless shocks propagating into an unmagnetized medium generate strong large-scale magnetic fields. If this hypothesis is true, the first cosmical magnetic fields could have been generated in shocks of the first virialized objects., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

At low densities, when radiation of an accreting gas is dynamically unimportant, quasi-spherical non-radiative accretion flow is formed around a compact object. We show that the density of the flow is n\propto r^{-1/2}. The gas compression is much weaker than the standard Bondi's, n\propto r^{-3/2}, because most of the gas does not reach the compact object. It can either circulate indefinitely long or it can be launched to infinity., Comment: 4 pages, submitted to ApJL

Linear eigenmodes of a spherically symmetrical ultra-relativistic blast wave (the Blandford-McKee, BMK, solution) are calculated. The BMK solution is shown to be stable and strongly non-universal. It is stable because all the eigenmodes decay. Non-universality of the BMK solution (BMK is not an intermediate asymptotic) is a consequence of causality. In terms of eigenmodes -- some eigenmodes decay too slowly. For each degree l, there exists an eigenmode which decays at the smallest rate. The amplitude of this eigenmode, defined as relative perturbation of energy behind the shock front, is constant at early time. Later, when the blast wave slows down to Gamma = l/10, an oscillatory decay commences, and the amplitude drops to less than 10% of the initial value at Gamma = l/100. The non-universality is surprisingly strong. Near the end of the ultra-relativistic stage, perturbations with l<200, that is more than 10,000 different harmonics, are suppressed by less than a factor of 10. Spherical symmetry is only reached by the time the blast wave slows down to non-relativistic velocities, when the Sedov/Taylor/von Neumann solution sets in., Comment: 6 pages, submitted to ApJL

We review five different derivations that demonstrate that the Salpeter formula for the plasma corrections to fusion rates is valid at the center of the sun with insignificant errors (~ percent). We point out errors in several recent papers that have obtained a variety of answers, some even with the wrong sign or the wrong functional dependence., Comment: Related information at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~jnb

We show how an idealized high-frequency VLBI can probe the metric of nearby supermassive black holes. No quantitative assumptions about plasma dynamics are used in the suggested diagnostic, which is based on strong-field lensing., Comment: 4 pages

MeV seed photons produced in shocks in a variable ultra-relativistic outflow gain energy by the Fermi mechanism, because the photons Compton scatter off relativistically colliding shells. The Fermi-modified high-energy photon spectrum has a non-universal slope and a universal cutoff. A significant increase in the total radiative efficiency is possible. In some gamma ray bursts, most of the power might be emitted at the high-energy cutoff for this mechanism, which would be close to 100 MeV for outflows with a mean bulk Lorentz factor of 100., Comment: 8 pages, submitted to ApJL

Two possible explanations for the low luminosity of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy are (1) an accretion rate of order the canonical Bondi value (roughly 10^{-5} solar masses per year), but a very low radiative efficiency for the accreting gas or (2) an accretion rate much less than the Bondi rate. Both models can explain the broad-band spectrum of the Galactic Center. We show that they can be distinguished using the linear polarization of synchrotron radiation. Accretion at the Bondi rate predicts no linear polarization at any frequency due to Faraday depolarization. Low accretion rate models, on the other hand, have much lower gas densities and magnetic field strengths close to the black hole; polarization may therefore be observable at high frequencies. If confirmed, a recent detection of linear polarization from Sgr A$^*$ above 150 GHz argues for an accretion rate of order 10^{-8} solar masses per year, much less than the Bondi rate. This test can be applied to other low-luminosity galactic nuclei., Comment: final version accepted by ApJ; references added, somewhat shortened

Two-temperature spherical accretion flows produce $\approx 100$ Mev gamma-rays from the decay of neutral pions created in proton-proton collisions close to the black hole; they also produce $\sim 10$ keV X-rays by bremsstrahlung emission at large radii. The gamma-ray to X-ray luminosity ratio is nearly independent of black hole mass and accretion rate. It does depend sensitively on the radial density profile of the accretion flow through the parameter a, where $n \propto r^{-a}$. For the canonical Bondi value of a = 3/2, the gamma-ray to X-ray luminosity ratio is $\approx 30$. We interpret a recent Chandra detection coincident with the massive black hole at the Galactic Center as being thermal bremsstrahlung emission from the accretion flow. With this normalization, the expected gamma-ray luminosity is $\approx 10^{35}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ if a = 3/2. This is nearly two orders of magnitude above the detection threshold of the GLAST telescope. For $a \approx 1/2$, however, (a value suggested by recent theoretical arguments), the expected gamma-ray luminosity is only $\approx 10^{29}$ ergs s$^{-1}$; GLAST should therefore provide an important probe of the true accretion rate and radial density profile of the accretion flow onto Sgr A*., Comment: 8 pages; submitted to ApJ Letters

Cold dark matter (CDM) models predict small-scale structure in excess of observations of the cores and abundance of dwarf galaxies. These problems might be solved, and the virtues of CDM models retained, even without postulating {\it ad hoc} dark matter particle or field interactions, if the dark matter is composed of ultra-light scalar particles (m ~ 10^{-22}eV), initially in a (cold) Bose-Einstein condensate, similar to axion dark matter models. The wave properties of the dark matter stabilize gravitational collapse providing halo cores and sharply suppressing small-scale linear power., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRL

Non-radiating, advection-dominated, accretion flows are convectively unstable. We calculate the two-dimensional (r-theta) structure of such flows assuming that (1) convection transports angular momentum inwards, opposite to normal viscosity and (2) viscous transport by other mechanisms (e.g., magnetic fields) is weak (alpha << 1). Under such conditions convection dominates the dynamics of the accretion flow and leads to a steady state structure that is marginally stable to convection. We show that the marginally stable flow has a constant temperature and rotational velocity on spherical shells, a net flux of energy from small to large radii, zero net accretion rate, and a radial density profile proportional to r^{-1/2}, flatter than the r^{-3/2} profile characteristic of spherical accretion flows. This solution accurately describes the full two-dimensional structure of recent axisymmetric numerical simulations of advection-dominated accretion flows., Comment: final version accepted by ApJ; discussion expanded, references added

When a bright spot in a high-inclination disk orbits a black hole, its light is periodically lensed and Doppler shifted. If the spots occupy a narrow range of radii, a quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) will result. I calculate the QPO frequency assuming that the spots appear near r_max - the radius of the maximal proper radiation flux from the disk. The calculated frequency depends on the black hole mass and spin. For the microquasar GRO J1655-40, the black hole mass is known and a 300 Hz QPO was observed. The inferred black hole spin is about 60% of the maximal. The orbit precession frequency at r_max is 20Hz, this QPO was also observed in GRO J1655-40. An approximate formula for r_max is given., Comment: 4 pages, submitted to ApJ

I have shown that the enhancement of fusion rates in stars due to electrostatic screening does not depend on the Gamow energy of the fusing nuclei (in the classical weak screening limit). Opher and Opher have recently published an ApJ paper claiming that my proof is wrong. I show here that their arguments are incorrect., Comment: 2 pages, submitted to ApJ

A Kerr black hole can flare quasi-periodically, if it is magnetically connected to the accretion disk. The flares extract the rotational energy of the hole. The flaring occurs because the hole twists the magnetic field lines beyond the threshold of the screw instability., Comment: 8 pages, submitted to ApJ

When a black hole accretes slowly, the radiative cooling of the infalling gas is weak and the accretion disk does not form. A hot collisionless quasi-spherical halo is formed instead. The properties of such halos are discussed. The rate of accretion, the radiative efficiency, and the temperature and density near the hole are evaluated., Comment: 7 pages, Proceedings IAU Symposium 195

The optical afterglows of the gamma ray bursts can be strongly polarized, in principle up to tens of percents, if: (i) the afterglow is synchrotron radiation from an ultra-relativistic blast, (ii) the blast is beamed during the afterglow phase, i.e. the shock propagates within a narrow jet, (iii) we observe at the right time from the right viewing angle, (iv) magnetic fields parallel and perpendicular to the jet have different proper strengths., Comment: 5 pages, submitted to ApJ

We show that flows of pure electromagnetic energy are subject to instabilities familiar from hydrodynamics and plasma physics---Kelvin-Helmholtz and screw instabilities. In the framework of force-free electrodynamics, it is found that electric-like tangential discontinuities are Kelvin-Helmholtz-unstable. All non-trivial cylindrically symmetrical magnetic configurations are screw-unstable. The Poynting jet of the Goldreich-Julian pulsar is screw-unstable if the current density in the polar cap region exceeds the charge density times the speed of light. This may be the process that determines the pulsar luminosity., Comment: 8 pages, submitted to ApJ

The rate of turbulent spherical accretion onto a compact object might be much smaller than the Bondi rate. It is suggested that the rate of accretion onto Sgr A-star is much smaller than the Bondi rate., Comment: 3 pages, submitted to ApJ

We calculate the proton distribution function due to heating by subsonic (Alfvenic) turbulence in a weakly magnetized collisionless plasma. The distribution function is nonthermal. For non-relativistic energies, it is an exponential of the magnitude of the proton velocity. For ultra-relativistic energies, it can be characterized as a power law with a momentum-dependent slope., Comment: 7 pages, submitted to ApJ

The observed frequency shifts of the high-degree solar fundamental mode are explained using a simple geometrical optics approximation. The predicted fractional frequency shift is proportional to the mean squared velocity of the convection flow at the surface of the Sun and inversely proportional to the group velocity of the mode squared. The data converge to the predicted behavior at very high degrees. The inferred root mean squared convection velocity is 1.3 km/s., Comment: 4 pages, submitted to ApJ

GRB afterglow polarization is discussed. We find an observable, up to 10%, polarization, if the magnetic field coherence length grows at about the speed of light after the field is generated at the shock front. Detection of a polarized afterglow would show that collisionless ultrarelativistic shocks can generate strong large scale magnetic fields and confirm the synchrotron afterglow model. Non-detection, at a 1% level, would imply that either the synchrotron emission model is incorrect, or that strong magnetic fields, after they are generated in the shock, somehow manage to stay un-dissipated at ``microscopic'', skin depth, scales. Analytic lightcurves of synchrotron emission from an ultrarelativistic self-similar blast wave are obtained for an arbitrary electron distribution function, taking into account the effects of synchrotron cooling. The peak synchrotron flux and the flux at frequencies much smaller than the peak frequency are insensitive to the details of the electron distribution function; hence their observational determination would provide strong constraints on blast wave parameters., Comment: 19 pages, submitted to ApJ

In a universe reionized in patches, the Doppler effect from Thomson scattering off free electrons generates secondary cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. For a simple model with small patches and late reionization, we analytically calculate the anisotropy power spectrum. Patchy reionization can, in principle, be the main source of anisotropies on arcminute scales. On larger angular scales, its contribution to the CMB power spectrum is a small fraction of the primary signal and is only barely detectable in the power spectrum with even an ideal, i.e. cosmic variance limited, experiment and an extreme model of reionization. Consequently patchy reionization is unlikely to affect cosmological parameter estimation from the acoustic peaks in the CMB. Its detection on small angles would help determine the ionization history of the universe, in particular the typical size of the ionized region and the duration of the reionization process., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJ

We extend and reconcile recent work on turbulence and particle heating in advection-dominated accretion flows. For approximately equipartition magnetic fields, the turbulence primarily heats the electrons. For weaker magnetic fields, the protons are primarily heated. The division between electron and proton heating occurs between $\beta \sim 5$ and $\beta \sim 100$ (where $\beta$ is the ratio of the gas to the magnetic pressure), depending on unknown details of how Alfv\'en waves are converted into whistlers on scales of the proton Larmor radius. We also discuss the possibility that magnetic reconnection could be a significant source of electron heating., Comment: 17 pages (Latex), incl. 2 Figures; submitted to Apj

We evaluate the effect of electrostatic screening by ions and electrons on low-Z thermonuclear reactions in the sun. We use a mean field formalism and calculate the electron density of the screening cloud using the appropriate density matrix equation of quantum statistical mechanics. Because of well understood physical effects that are included for the first time in our treatment, the calculated enhancement of reaction rates does not agree with the frequently used interpolation formulae. Our result does agree, within small uncertainties, with Salpeter's weak screening formula. If weak screening is used instead of the commonly employed screening prescription of Graboske et al., the predicted $^8$B neutrino flux is increased by 7% and the predicted chlorine rate is increased by 0.4 SNU., Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, submitted to ApJ. Acknowledgments, a footnote, and an explanation added. Additional information at www.sns.ias.edu/~jnb

Radiative efficiency of a slowly accreting black hole is estimated using a two-temperature model of accretion. The radiative efficiency depends on the magnetic field strength near the Schwarzschild radius. For weak magnetic fields (magnetic energy=equipartition/1000), the low efficiency 0.0001 assumed in some theoretical models might be achieved. For stronger fields, a significant fraction of viscous heat is dissipated by electrons and radiated away resulting in a larger efficiency. At equipartition magnetic fields, we estimate efficiency = of order 10%., Comment: 12 pages, Latex, Submitted to ApJ

Perturbation theory is used to calculate the frequency shift of acoustic modes of an homogeneous turbulent fluid and the frequency shifts of solar modes due to turbulent convection. For sound waves in a random flow, the fractional frequency shift is +(11/30)M^2 in the long-wavelength limit, and the shift at short wavelengths is -(2/3)M^2, where M is the average Mach number of the flow. In our model of the solar convection, the low-degree f-mode shift is positive and unobservably small, whereas the fractional frequency shift at high degrees (l\gg 500) is -M^2, where M is the Mach number of convection near the solar surface., Comment: 18 pages Latex, uses aasms4

For solar conditions, we numerically integrate the density matrix equation for a thermal electron in the field of a Be-7 ion and other plasma ions and smeared-out electrons. Our results are in agreement with previous calculations that are based on a different physical picture, a picture which postulates the existence of distinct continuum and bound state orbits for electrons. The density matrix calculation of the electron capture rate is independent of the nature of electron states in the solar plasma. To within a 1% accuracy, the effects of screening can be described at high temperatures by a Salpeter-like factor which can be derived from the density matrix equation. The total theoretical uncertainty in the electron capture rate is about 2%., Comment: LaTex, 19 pages, 2 tables, submitted to ApJ