An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

A soft, usually white fibrous substance like fine wool surrounding the seeds of various tropical and subtropical plants of the mallow family. It is extensively used in making threads, yarns, and fabrics.

M.E. coton, from O.Fr. coton, from O.It. cotone, from Ar. qutn (قطن), perhaps of Egyptian origin.

Panbé "cotton" (dialectal Lori pamma, Kurd. pemû, maybe Tajik, Afqân pakta, pakhta, bakhta, bakta), from Mid.Pers. pambag "cotton," pambagin "made of cotton," perhaps loaned in Gk. bombux "silk, any silk-like fine fiber;" L. bombyx "silk, cotton," L.L. bombax "cotton," hence O.Fr. bombace "cotton, cotton wadding," E. bombast "cotton wool; inflated language."

A hypothetical → scalar field that is used to explain the → primordial curvature perturbation in the Universe. It is generally supposed that the primordial perturbation originates during → inflation, from the → quantum fluctuation of the inflation field. The curvaton model is an attempt to account for the primordial perturbation by a completely different origin, namely the quantum fluctuation during inflation of a light scalar field which is not the assumed slowly-rolling inflation. In this model, the curvaton field is an energetically sub-dominant component during inflation. As the energy density of the Universe drops after inflation, the fraction of this component becomes significant. At this time the curvaton perturbation is converted into an adiabatic curvature perturbation of the Universe. The amplitude of the final perturbation, which should match observations, depends on both how long the curvaton oscillates before it decays, and on the shape of the potential. The first curvaton model was proposed by D. H. Lyth & D.Wands and in 2002 (Physics Letters B524).

From curvat-, from → curvature, + → -on. Although not related, the term curvaton exists in Fr. meaning "small curve" with variants curvatone, courbaton, and corbatone (A. Jal, 1848, Glossaire nautique).

A 40-year period of unusually low → solar activity, from about 1790 to 1830. See also the → Maunder minimum.

Named after John Dalton (1766-1844), British meteorologist; → minimum.

1) To set off a → detonation. 2) To explode or cause to explode.

From L. detonatus, p.p. of detonare "to thunder down, roar out," from → de- + tonare "to thunder," cf. Pers. tondar "thunder," Skt. stanáyati "thunders," tanyatá- "thundering," Gk. stonos "groan," stenein "to groan," Thôrr "the Old Norse god of thunder," P.Gmc. *thunraz (Du. donder, Ger. Donner "thunder," E. thunder, Fr. tonnerre), PIE base *(s)tene- "to resound, thunder."

Tarâkidan "to split, cleave; to make a noise in splitting," variants tarakidan, taraqidan, taraqqé "firecracker," from tarâk/tarak "split, cleft, crack; the noise of anything when splitting or cleaving," maybe related to Pers. dar-, daridan "to tear, cut," Av. dar- "to tear," dərəta- "cut," auua.dərənant- "shattering," Skt. dar- "to crack, split, break, burst," darati "he splits," cf. Gk. derma "skin," E. tear, Ger. zerren "to pull, to tear," zehren "to undermine, to wear out," PIE base *der- " to split, peel, flay."

Instantaneous combustion or conversion of a solid, liquid, or gas into larger quantities of expanding gases accompanied by heat, shock, and a noise. → deflagration; → explosion.

Verbal noun of → detonate.

An → isotope of → helium that consists of two → protons, without any → neutrons. It is extremely → unstable.

→ di-; → proton.

An electron-photon interaction that can be thought of as a → Compton scattering event associated with the production or destruction of an extra photon.

→ double; → Compton; → scattering.

Same as → Eddington parameter.

→ Eddington limit; → factor.

The theoretical upper limit of → luminosity at which the → radiation pressure of a light-emitting body would exceed the body's → gravitational attraction. A star emitting radiation at greater than the Eddington limit would break up. The Eddington luminosity for a non-rotating star is expressed as: L_Edd = 4πGMm_pcσ_T^-1, where G is the → gravitational constant, M the star mass, m_p the → proton mass, c the → speed of light, and σ_T the → Thomson cross section. It can also be written as L_Edd = 4πGMcκ^-1, where κ is the → opacity. In terms of solar mass, the Eddington limit can be expressed by: L_Edd = 1.26 × 10³⁸ (M/Msun) erg s^-1. See also → rotational Eddington limit.

Named after Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882-1944), prominent British astrophysicist; → limit.

Same as → Eddington limit.

→ Eddington limit; → luminosity.

A → dimensionless parameter indicating the degree to which a star is close to the → Eddington limit. It is expressed as Γ = L / L_Edd = κ L / (4πGMc), where L and M are the star luminosity and mass respectively, κ is the opacity, c the speed of light, and G the → gravitational constant. At the Eddington limit, Γ = 1, the star would become unbound. Because stellar luminosity generally scales with a high power of the stellar mass (L∝ M^3-4), → massive stars with M larger than 10 Msun generally have electron Eddington parameters of order Γ ≅ 0.1-1.

After Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882-1944), prominent British astrophysicist; → parameter.

A theoretical model in which the → cosmological constant plays a crucial role by allowing an initial phase that is identical to the Einstein static Universe. After an arbitrarily long time, the Universe begins to expand. The difficulty with this model is that the initiation of galaxy formation may actually cause a collapse rather than initiate an → expansion of the Universe.

→ Eddington limit; Lemaître in honor of Georges-Henri Lemaître (1894-1966), a Belgian Roman Catholic priest, who first proposed the Big Bang theory; → universe.

The time required for the redistribution of → angular momentum due to → meridional circulation. The Eddington-Sweet time for a uniformly → rotating star is expressed as: τ_ES = τ_KH . GM / (Ω² R³), where τ_KH is the → Kelvin-Helmholtz time scale, R, M, and L designate the radius, mass, and luminosity respectively, Ω the → angular velocity, and G the → gravitational constant. The Eddington-Sweet time scale can be approximated by τ_ES≅ τ_KH / χ, where χ is the ratio of the → centrifugal force to → gravity. For the Sun, χ ≅ 10^-5 resulting in an Eddington-Sweet time scale which is too long (10¹² years), i.e. unimportant. In contrast, for a rotating → massive star  χ is not so much less than 1. Hence the Eddington-Sweet circulation is very important in massive stars.

Named after the prominent British astrophysicist Arthur S. Eddington (1882-1944), who was the first to suggest these currents (in The Internal Constitution of the Stars, Dover Pub. Inc., New York, 1926) and P. A. Sweet who later quantified them (1950, MNRAS 110, 548); → time scale.

The effective value of the → Eddington parameter in a non-homogeneous system (porous opacity).

→ effective; → Eddington limit; → parameter.

A hypothetical elementary particle associated with the gravitational interactions. This quantum of gravitational radiation is a stable particle, which travels with the speed of light, and has zero rest mass, zero charge, and a spin of ± 2.

From gravit(y), → gravity + → -on a suffix used in the names of subatomic particles.

One of a set of equations that describe the motion of a → dynamical system in terms of the → Hamiltonian function and the → generalized coordinates. For a → holonomic system with n degrees of freedom, Hamilton's equations are expressed by: q^._i = ∂H/∂p_i and p^._i = - ∂H/∂q_i, i = 1, ..., n.

→ Hamiltonian function; → equation.

Of all the possible paths along which a → dynamical system can move from one configuration to another within a specified time interval (consistent with any constraints), the actual path followed is that which minimizes the time integral of the → Lagrangian function. Hamilton's principle is often mathematically expressed as δ∫Ldt = 0, where L is the Lagrangian function, the integral summed from t₁ to t₂, and δ denotes the virtual operator of Lagrangian dynamics and the → calculus of variations.

→ Hamiltonian function; → principle.

The study of → dynamical systems in terms of the → Hamilton's equations.

→ Hamiltonian function; → dynamics.

A reformulation of classical mechanics that predicts the same outcomes as classical mechanics. → Hamiltonian dynamics.

→ Hamiltonian; → mechanics.

A function that describes the motion of a → dynamical system in terms of the → Lagrangian function, → generalized coordinates, → generalized momenta, and time. For a → holonomic system having n degrees of freedom, the Hamiltonian function is of the form: H = Σp_iq^._i - L(q_i,q^._i,t) (summed from i = 1 to n), where L is the Lagrangian function. If L does not depend explicitly on time, the system is said to be → conservative and H is the total energy of the system. The Hamiltonian function plays a major role in the study of mechanical systems. Also called → Hamiltonian.

Introduced in 1835 by the Irish mathematician and physicist William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865); → function.