On the Unruh effect in de Sitter space

We give an interpretation of the temperature in de Sitter universe in terms of a dynamical Unruh effect associated with the Hubble sphere. As with the quantum noise perceived by a uniformly accelerated observer in static space-times, observers endowed with a proper motion can in principle detect the effect. In particular, we study a "Kodama observer" as a two-field Unruh detector for which we show the effect is approximately thermal. We also estimate the back-reaction of the emitted radiation and find trajectories associated with the Kodama vector fields are stable.Comment: 8 pages; corrected typos; sections structure revise

Hamilton-Jacobi Method and Gravitation

Studying the behaviour of a quantum field in a classical, curved, spacetime is an extraordinary task which nobody is able to take on at present time. Independently by the fact that such problem is not likely to be solved soon, still we possess the instruments to perform exact predictions in special, highly symmetric, conditions. Aim of the present contribution is to show how it is possible to extract quantitative information about a variety of physical phenomena in very general situations by virtue of the so-called Hamilton-Jacobi method. In particular, we shall prove the agreement of such semi-classical method with exact results of quantum field theoretic calculations.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of "Cosmology, the Quantum Vacuum, and Zeta Functions": A workshop with a celebration of Emilio Elizalde's Sixtieth birthday, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, 8-10 Mar 201

On tunneling across horizons

The tunneling method for stationary black holes in the Hamilton-Jacobi variant is reconsidered in the light of various critiques that have been moved against. It is shown that once the tunneling trajectories have been correctly identified the method isfree from internal inconsistencies, it is manifestly covariant, it allows for the extension to spinning particles and it can even be used without solving the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. These conclusions borrow support on a simple analytic continuation of the classical action of a pointlike particle, made possible by the unique assumption that it should be analytic in complexified Schwarzschild or Kerr-Newman spacetimes. A more general version of the Parikh-Wilczek method will also be proposed along these lines.Comment: Latex Document, 5 pages, 2 figures, title changed, abstract changed, added references, results unchange

On the alumina dust production in the winds of O-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch stars

The O-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars experience strong mass loss with efficient dust condensation and they are major sources of dust in the interstellar medium. Alumina dust (Al$_2$O$_3$) is an important dust component in O-rich circumstellar shells and it is expected to be fairly abundant in the winds of the more massive and O-rich AGB stars. By coupling AGB stellar nucleosynthesis and dust formation, we present a self-consistent exploration on the Al$_2$O$_3$ production in the winds of AGB stars with progenitor masses between $\sim$3 and 7 M$_{\odot}$ and metallicities in the range 0.0003 $\le$ Z $\le$ 0.018. We find that Al$_2$O$_3$ particles form at radial distances from the centre between $\sim2$ and 4 R$_*$ (depending on metallicity), which is in agreement with recent interferometric observations of Galactic O-rich AGB stars. The mass of Al$_2$O$_3$ dust is found to scale almost linearly with metallicity, with solar metallicity AGBs producing the highest amount (about 10$^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$) of alumina dust. The Al$_2$O$_3$ grain size decreases with decreasing metallicity (and initial stellar mass) and the maximum size of the Al$_2$O$_3$ grains is $\sim$0.075 $\mu m$ for the solar metallicity models. Interestingly, the strong depletion of gaseous Al observed in the low-metallicity HBB AGB star HV 2576 seems to be consistent with the formation of Al$_2$O$_3$ dust as predicted by our models. We suggest that the content of Al may be used as a mass (and evolutionary stage) indicator in AGB stars experiencing HBB.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

On the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation

In the context of the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation we prove the universality of the reduced canonical momentum for the system of a massive shell self gravitating in a spherical gravitational field within the Painlev\'e family of gauges. We show that one can construct modes which are regular on the horizon both by considering as hamiltonian the exterior boundary term and by using as hamiltonian the interior boundary term. The late time expansion is given in both approaches and their time Fourier expansion computed to reproduce the self reaction correction to the Hawking spectrum.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, Corrected typo

Dissecting the Spitzer color-magnitude diagrams of extreme LMC AGB stars

We trace the full evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars ($1 M_{\odot} \leq M \leq 8M_{\odot}$) during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase in the {\it Spitzer} two-color and color-magnitude diagrams. We follow the formation and growth of dust particles in the circumstellar envelope with an isotropically expanding wind, in which gas molecules impinge upon pre--existing seed nuclei, favour their growth. These models are the first able to identify the main regions in the {\it Spitzer} data occupied by AGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The main diagonal sequence traced by LMC extreme stars in the [3.6]-[4.5] vs. [5.8]-[8.0] and [3.6]-[8.0] vs. [8.0] planes are nicely fit by carbon stars models; it results to be an evolutionary sequence with the reddest objects being at the final stages of their AGB evolution. The most extreme stars, with [3.6]-[4.5] $>$ 1.5 and [3.6]-[8.0] $>$ 3, are 2.5-3 $M_{\odot}$ stars surrounded by solid carbon grains. In higher mass ($>3 M_{\odot}$) models dust formation is driven by the extent of Hot Bottom Burning (HBB) - most of the dust formed is in the form of silicates and the maximum obscuration phase by dust particles occurs when the HBB experienced is strongest, before the mass of the envelope is considerably reduced.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

AGB stars in the SMC: evolution and dust properties based on Spitzer observations

We study the population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by means of full evolutionary models of stars of mass 1Msun < M < 8Msun, evolved through the thermally pulsing phase. The models also account for dust production in the circumstellar envelope. We compare Spitzer infrared colours with results from theoretical modelling. We show that ~75% of the AGB population of the SMC is composed by scarcely obscured objects, mainly stars of mass M < 2.5Msun at various metallicity, formed between 700 Myr and 5 Gyr ago; ~ 70% of these sources are oxygen--rich stars, while ~ 30% are C-stars. The sample of the most obscured AGB stars, accounting for ~ 25% of the total sample, is composed almost entirely by carbon stars. The distribution in the colour-colour ([3.6]-[4.5], [5.8]-[8.0]) and colour-magnitude ([3.6]-[8.0], [8.0]) diagrams of these C-rich objects, with a large infrared emission, traces an obscuration sequence, according to the amount of carbonaceous dust in their surroundings. The overall population of C-rich AGB stars descends from 1.5-2Msun stars of metallicity Z=0.004, formed between 700 Myr and 2 Gyr ago, and from lower metallicity objects, of mass below 1.5Msun, 2-5 Gyr old. We also identify obscured oxygen-rich stars (M ~ 4-6Msun) experiencing hot bottom burning. The differences between the AGB populations of the SMC and LMC are also commented.Comment: 18, pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA