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In this paper, the gravitational field equations for static spherically symmetric perfect fluid models with a polytropic equation of state, $p=k\rho^{1+1/n}$, are recast into two complementary 3-dimensional {\it regular} systems of ordinary differential equations on compact state spaces. The systems are analyzed numerically and qualitatively, using the theory of dynamical systems. Certain key solutions are shown to form building blocks which, to a large extent, determine the remaining solution structure. In one formulation, there exists a monotone function that forces the general relativistic solutions towards a part of the boundary of the state space that corresponds to the low pressure limit. The solutions on this boundary describe Newtonian models and thus the relationship to the Newtonian solution space is clearly displayed. It is numerically demonstrated that general relativistic models have finite radii when the polytropic index $n$ satisfies $0\leq n \lesssim 3.339$ and infinite radii when $n\geq 5$. When $3.339\lesssim n<5$, there exists a 1-parameter set of models with finite radii and a finite number, depending on $n$, with infinite radii., Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures

In this paper Einstein's field equations, for static spherically symmetric perfect fluid models with a linear barotropic equation of state, are recast into a 3-dimensional regular system of ordinary differential equations on a compact state space. The system is analyzed qualitatively, using the theory of dynamical systems, and numerically. It is shown that certain special solutions play important roles as building blocks for the solution structure in general. In particular, these special solutions determine many of the features exhibited by solutions with a regular center and large central pressure. It is also shown that the present approach can be applied to more general classes of barotropic equations of state., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, uses ajour.cls

We consider the late time behaviour of non-tilted perfect fluid Bianchi VII_0 models when the source is a radiation fluid, thereby completing the analysis of the Bianchi VII_0 models initiated by Wainwright et al in a recent paper. The models exhibit the phenomena of asymptotic self-similarity breaking and Weyl-curvature dominance at late times. The late time dynamics of the VII_0 perfect fluid models, and in particular that of the radiation fluid, is a prime example of the complexity inherent in the field equations of general relativity., Comment: 16 pages, no figures

We show the existence of spatially homogeneous but anisotropic cosmological models whose cosmic microwave background temperature is exactly isotropic at one instant of time but whose rate of expansion is highly anisotropic. The existence of these models shows that the observation of a highly isotropic cosmic microwave background temperature cannot alone be used to infer that the universe is close to a Friedmann-Lemaitre model., Comment: 7 pages, no figures

In this letter we will show that, contrary to what is widely believed, an almost isotropic cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature does not imply that the universe is ``close to a Friedmann-Lemaitre universe''. There are two important manifestations of anisotropy in the geometry of the universe, (i) the anisotropy in the overall expansion, and (ii) the intrinsic anisotropy of the gravitational field, described by the Weyl curvature tensor, although the former usually receives more attention than the latter in the astrophysical literature. Here we consider a class of spatially homogeneous models for which the anisotropy of the CMB temperature is within the current observational limits but whose Weyl curvature is not negligible, i.e. these models are not close to isotropy even though the CMB temperature is almost isotropic., Comment: 5 pages (AASTeX, aaspp4.sty), submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters

The purpose of this paper is to further investigate the solution space of self-similar spherically symmetric perfect-fluid models and gain deeper understanding of the physical aspects of these solutions. We achieve this by combining the state space description of the homothetic approach with the use of the physically interesting quantities arising in the comoving approach. We focus on three types of models. First, we consider models that are natural inhomogeneous generalizations of the Friedmann Universe; such models are asymptotically Friedmann in their past and evolve fluctuations in the energy density at later times. Second, we consider so-called quasi-static models. This class includes models that undergo self-similar gravitational collapse and is important for studying the formation of naked singularities. If naked singularities do form, they have profound implications for the predictability of general relativity as a theory. Third, we consider a new class of asymptotically Minkowski self-similar spacetimes, emphasizing that some of them are associated with the self-similar solutions associated with the critical behaviour observed in recent gravitational collapse calculations., Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures

We consider the self-similar solutions associated with the critical behavior observed in the gravitational collapse of spherically symmetric perfect fluids with equation of state $p=\alpha\mu$. We identify for the first time the global nature of these solutions and show that it is sensitive to the value of $\alpha$. In particular, for $\alpha>0.28$, we show that the critical solution is associated with a new class of asymptotically Minkowski self-similar spacetimes. We discuss some of the implications of this for critical phenomena., Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 5 eps figures

We propose a new effective field theory for partially polarized quantum Hall states. The density and polarization for the mean field ground states are determined by couplings to two Chern-Simons gauge fields. In addition there is a $\sigma$-model field, $\mh$, which is necessary both to preserve the Chern-Simons gauge symmetry that determines the correlations in the ground state, and the global SU(2) invariance related to spin rotations. For states with non zero polarization, the low energy dynamics is that of a ferromagnet. In addition to spin waves, the spectrum contains topological solitons, or skyrmions, just as in the fully polarized case. The electric charge of the skyrmions is given by $Q_{el}=\nu P Q_{top}$, where $\nu$ is the filling fraction, $P$ the magnitude of the polarization, and $Q_{top}$ the topological charge. For the special case of full polarization, the theory involves a single scalar field and a single Chern-Simons field in addition to the $\sigma$-model field, $\mh$. We also give a heuristic derivation of the model lagrangians for both full and partial polarization, and show that in a mean field picture, the field $\mh$ is necessary in order to take into account the Berry phases originating from rotations of the electron spins., Comment: RevTex, 9 pages