The Composition and Evolutionary Status of Proxima Centauri
Martin Beech,
Corey McCowan,
Lowell Peltier
Issue:
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2017
Pages:
1-5
Received:
7 January 2017
Accepted:
21 January 2017
Published:
22 February 2017
Abstract: A suite of stellar evolution models has been used to estimate the mass and metallicity of Proxima Centauri (GJ 551, HIP 70890, V645 Cen). It is found that the observations are best described by an M ≈ 0.12 M⊙ star with a heavy element mass fraction in the range 0.004 < Z < 0.01 (or equivalently, a metallicity of -0.5 < [Fe/H] < -0.3). The derived metallicity of Proxima is distinctly at odds with that established for α Cen A and αCen B. It is argued that both the observational data as well as the evolutionary models for Proxima Centauri are consistent with an age of some 7 to 8 Gyr and that its (presently derived) physical characteristics are inconsistent with an in situ or coevally origin with the α Cen AB binary.
On Hybrid Wave Functions, Tidal Forces and Black Holes
Issue:
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2017
Pages:
6-9
Received:
22 January 2017
Accepted:
3 February 2017
Published:
2 March 2017
Abstract: Interesting questions that arise in connection with the physics of black holes include the existence or non-existence of mathematical singularities in the physical universe, the rate at which an incoming particle can be observed to cross a black hole’s event horizon, the quantum mechanics of small particles inside a gravitational potential well, the rate of absorption of an incoming particle into the core of a black hole, the mechanism by which very high-energy particles can be emitted from a black hole’s potential well, and the nature of the interface between quantum mechanics and general relativity. The purpose of this Note is to suggest plausible answers to some of these questions. The discussion focuses on basic physics rather than mathematics, and quantum mechanics and general relativity are regarded as equally fundamental.
Abstract: Interesting questions that arise in connection with the physics of black holes include the existence or non-existence of mathematical singularities in the physical universe, the rate at which an incoming particle can be observed to cross a black hole’s event horizon, the quantum mechanics of small particles inside a gravitational potential well, th...
Show More
