Abstract: As a new post-doc of the Physics department, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself scientifically. I will discuss my work on "applied dynamics", in which I use the AMUSE framework to model dense stellar systems.
Abstract: At the end of the 19th century the existence os a planet beyond Neptune was in debate. In 1930, Pluto was discovered, but too far from the prediction. In 1992 we found out that Pluto is actually a member of a huge belt of icy bodies orbiting beyond Neptune.
Gr@v member António P. Morais gave a talk at Escola Secundária José Régio in Vila do Conde with title "Do Infinitamente Grande ao Infinitamente Pequeno - uma jornada pelas interações fundamentais na natureza". António was an invited speaker to participate in a sequence of seminars entitled "A Biblioteca convida...", and presented to 11th and 12th grade Science and Technology students the four fundamental interactions in nature and how have they shaped our Universe.
Abstract: In this talk, we will discuss a simplified method to formulate the problem of a self-gravitating viscoelastic body: the Pseudo-rigid body method. We will see comparisons of this approach with others commonly presented in some papers and what is the qualitative and quantitative information that this model can provide. We will also remark that there is no need to restrict the problem to the planar case and how it can be easily generalized to the two-body problem.
Abstract: In this talk I will present equations for the motion of linear viscoelastic bodies interacting under gravity. The equations are fully three dimensional and allow for the integration of the spin, the orbit, and the deformation of each body.
The XXVI National Meeting of Astronomy and Astrophysics will take place at the University of Aveiro, on the 8th and 9th September 2016. This meeting is organized by the Department of Physics of the University of Aveiro and the Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA), in partnership with the Portuguese Astronomy Society (SPA).
Gr@v researchers have found that there are only two equilibrium possibilities for the spin of black hole binaries, and that they are similar to the equilibria observed for the spin of the Moon, which was identified by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1693. The results were published this week in MNRAS Letters.
Abstract: The study of configurations where the orbital motions are in synchrony (resonances) is important to understand the formation and evolution of the solar-system and other planetary systems. In particular, dissipative forces acting on small bodies (e.g. gas drag in early stages of the planetary system) cause slow orbital decay until capture in a resonance with a planet occurs. Previous studies of capture in resonance have been restricted to coplanar or nearly coplanar configurations. However, small bodies can have orbits which are significantly inclined with respect to the planet's orbital plane. I will present results of simulations of resonance capture in a three-dimensional model which includes prograde and retrograde orbits (respectively, inclined by less or more than 90 degrees with respect to the planet's orbit). I will show that the probability of capture in resonance has a strong dependence on inclination. In particular, retrograde orbits are more likely to be captured in resonance than prograde orbits. This study has been published in Namouni & Morais, MNRAS, 446, 1998–2009, 2015.
Our group coordinated the "Numerical Relativity and High Energy Physics" IRSES network (2012-2015). Here is a list of the global network meetings organized:
