Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M. Eng.(Structural Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Static, spherically-symmetric particle-like solutions to the coupled Einstein-Dirac and Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell equations have been studied by Finster, Smoller and Yau (FSY). In their work, FSY left the fermion mass as a parameter set to ±1. This thesis generalises these equations to include the Higgs field, letting the fermion mass become a function through coupling, μ. We discuss the dynamics associated with the Higgs field and find that there exist qualitatively similar solutions to those found by FSY, with well behaved, non-divergent metric components and electrostatic potential, close to the origin, going over to the point-particle solutions for large r; the Schwarzschild or Reissner-Nordström metric, and the Coulomb potential. We then go on to discuss an alternative gravity theory, conformal gravity, (CG), and look for solutions of the CG equations of motion coupled to the Dirac, Higgs and Maxwell equations. We obtain asymptotically nonvanishing, yet fully normalisable Dirac spinor components, resembling those of FSY, and, in the case where charge is included, non-divergent electrostatic potential close to the origin, matching onto the Coulomb potential for large r.

O Gráben de Barra de São João, situado na região de águas rasas da Bacia de Campos, é parte integrante do Sistema de Riftes do Cenozóico, localizado na região sudeste do Brasil. Este sistema foi formado em um evento que resultou na reativação das principais zonas de cisalhamento do Pré-Cambriano do sudeste do Brasil no Paleoceno. Neste trabalho proponho um novo arcabouço estrutural para o Gráben de Barra de São João baseado na interpretação de dados gravimétricos. Dados magnéticos aéreos, dados gravimétricos, uma linha sísmica 2D e um perfil de densidades de um poço foram utilizados como vínculos na interpretação. Para a estimativa do topo do embasamento foi necessário separar o efeito das fontes profundas no dado gravimétrico (anomalia residual). Com isso, foi realizada uma modelagem 2D direta baseada na interpretação sísmica para estimar as densidades das entidades geológicas da área em questão. Após esta modelagem, foi realizada uma inversão estrutural 3D do dado gravimétrico residual a fim de recuperar a profundidade do topo do embasamento. Este fluxograma de interpretação permitiu a identificação de um complexo arcabouço estrutural com três sistemas de falhas bem definido: Falhas normais de orientação NE-SW, e um sistema de falhas transcorrentes NW-SE e E-W. Estas orientações dividem o gráben em diversos altos e baixos internos. O dado magnético aéreo corrobora esta interpretação. A existência de rochas ultra-densas e fortemente magnéticas no embasamento foram interpretadas como um ofiolito que foi provavelmente intrudido (por obducção) na época do fechamento de um oceano no Proterozóico. / Barra de São João Graben, shallow water Campos Basin, is part of the Tertiary rift system that runs parallel to the Brazilian continental margin. This system was formed in an event that caused the reactivation of the main Precambrian shear zones of southeastern Brazil in the Paleocene. I propose a new the structural framework of Barra São João Graben based on gravity data interpretation. Magnetic data an available 2D seismic line and a density well-log of a nearby well were used as constraints to our interpretation. To estimate the top of the basement structure we separated the gravity effects of deep-sources from the shallow basement (residual anomaly). Then, we performed a 2D modeling exercise, where we keptfixed the basement topography and the density of the sediments, to estimate the density of the basement rocks. Next, we inverted the residual anomaly to recover the depth to the top of the basement. This interpretation strategy allowed the identification of a complex structural framework with three main fault systems: NE-SW normal faults system, and a NW-SE and E-W transfer fault systems. These trends divide the graben into several internal highs and lows. The magnetic anomalies corroborate our interpretation. The existence of ultra-dense and strongly magnetized elongated bodies in the basementwere interpreted as ophiolite bodies that probably intruded by the time of the shutdown of the Proterozoic ocean.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1998-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:07:03Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 azeredo_ad_me_ift.pdf: 389884 bytes, checksum: 93b71d332a5a01bd111ea739addce9d2 (MD5) / Calcula-se a seção de choque para o espalhamento de fótons pelo campo gravitacional do Sol, tratado como campo externo, no contexto da teoria de gravitação R + R2. Encontra-se um valor para o ângulo de deflexão de um fóton que passa nas vizinhanças da superfície do Sol que é exatamente o mesmo que aquele fornecido pela relatividade geral. Discute-se o porquê da coincidência desses resultados. / The cross-section for the scattering of a photon by the Sun's gravitational field, treated as an external field, is computed in the framework of R+R2 gravity. It is found a value for the deflection angle of a photon passing near to the Sun which is exactly the same as that given by general relativity. An explanation for this strange coincidence is provided.

O Gráben de Barra de São João, situado na região de águas rasas da Bacia de Campos, é parte integrante do Sistema de Riftes do Cenozóico, localizado na região sudeste do Brasil. Este sistema foi formado em um evento que resultou na reativação das principais zonas de cisalhamento do Pré-Cambriano do sudeste do Brasil no Paleoceno. Neste trabalho proponho um novo arcabouço estrutural para o Gráben de Barra de São João baseado na interpretação de dados gravimétricos. Dados magnéticos aéreos, dados gravimétricos, uma linha sísmica 2D e um perfil de densidades de um poço foram utilizados como vínculos na interpretação. Para a estimativa do topo do embasamento foi necessário separar o efeito das fontes profundas no dado gravimétrico (anomalia residual). Com isso, foi realizada uma modelagem 2D direta baseada na interpretação sísmica para estimar as densidades das entidades geológicas da área em questão. Após esta modelagem, foi realizada uma inversão estrutural 3D do dado gravimétrico residual a fim de recuperar a profundidade do topo do embasamento. Este fluxograma de interpretação permitiu a identificação de um complexo arcabouço estrutural com três sistemas de falhas bem definido: Falhas normais de orientação NE-SW, e um sistema de falhas transcorrentes NW-SE e E-W. Estas orientações dividem o gráben em diversos altos e baixos internos. O dado magnético aéreo corrobora esta interpretação. A existência de rochas ultra-densas e fortemente magnéticas no embasamento foram interpretadas como um ofiolito que foi provavelmente intrudido (por obducção) na época do fechamento de um oceano no Proterozóico. / Barra de São João Graben, shallow water Campos Basin, is part of the Tertiary rift system that runs parallel to the Brazilian continental margin. This system was formed in an event that caused the reactivation of the main Precambrian shear zones of southeastern Brazil in the Paleocene. I propose a new the structural framework of Barra São João Graben based on gravity data interpretation. Magnetic data an available 2D seismic line and a density well-log of a nearby well were used as constraints to our interpretation. To estimate the top of the basement structure we separated the gravity effects of deep-sources from the shallow basement (residual anomaly). Then, we performed a 2D modeling exercise, where we keptfixed the basement topography and the density of the sediments, to estimate the density of the basement rocks. Next, we inverted the residual anomaly to recover the depth to the top of the basement. This interpretation strategy allowed the identification of a complex structural framework with three main fault systems: NE-SW normal faults system, and a NW-SE and E-W transfer fault systems. These trends divide the graben into several internal highs and lows. The magnetic anomalies corroborate our interpretation. The existence of ultra-dense and strongly magnetized elongated bodies in the basementwere interpreted as ophiolite bodies that probably intruded by the time of the shutdown of the Proterozoic ocean.

Abstract This study presents the characteristics of small-scale gravity waves in the mesosphere region as derived from the imaging riometer data at high altitude (~90 km) over SANAE (72˚S, 3˚W). Wavelet analysis and FFT (Fast Fourier transform) have been applied to extract short period gravity wave parameters for the year 2000. The horizontal wavelength, phase speed and observed period of gravity waves are typically 10-100 km, 5-60 m.s-1 and 3-60 minutes, respectively. The horizontal propagation direction is north-eastward throughout the year. This could probably be due to selective filtering by the zonal wind. Zonal and meridional winds in the region of the MLT (mesosphere and lower thermosphere) have been measured using HF radars at high latitudes in the southern hemisphere. Data from January 2000 to December 2003 have been used with the aim of investigating the characteristics of planetary wave activity at ~90 km. For SANAE and Halley stations, 2-, 5-, 10-, 16- and 20-day planetary waves are dominant in summer and winter. The results show the seasonal variations of the mean winds, which are caused by the internal variability of the quasi stationary planetary waves. Planetary wave coupling processes between UKMO assimilated and mesospheric data have also been investigated. The cross wavelet results show a strong coupling during winter months. The results suggest that planetary waves are generated at lower atmospheric heights and propagate upwards into mesospheric heights. However, not all observed disturbances in mesospheric heights can be explained by the propagation of planetary waves from lower atmospheric heights.

When recent observational data and the GR+FRW+CDM model are combined we obtain the result that the Universe is accelerating, where the acceleration is due to some not-yet-understood "dark sector". There has been a considerable number of theoretical models constructed in an attempt to provide a description of the dark sector: dark energy and modified gravity theories. The proliferation of modified gravity and dark energy models has brought to light the need to construct a "generic" way to parameterize perturbations in the dark sector. In this thesis we discuss our new way of approaching this problem. We write down an effective action for linearized perturbations to the gravitational field equations for a given field content and use it to compute generalized gravitational field equations for linearized perturbations. Our approach is inspired by that taken in particle physics, where the most general modifications to the standard model are written down for a given field content that is compatible with some assumed symmetry (which we take to be isotropy of the background spatial sections). After applying the formalism we obtain equations of state for dark sector perturbations, where the number of free parameters for wide classes of theories are identified.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第23453号 / 理博第4747号 / 新制||理||1680(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 向山 信治, 准教授 De Felice Antonio , 教授 萩野 浩一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM