The effect of introducing a fifth large-scale space-time dimension to the equations of orbital dynamics was analysed in an earlier paper by the authors. The results showed good agreement with the observed flat rotation curves of galaxies. This analysis did not require the modification of Newtonian dynamics, but rather only their restatement in a five dimensional framework. The same analysis der...

Previously, we have shown that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) exhibit varied physiological responses when exposed to altered gravitational conditions. In the present study, we focused on elucidating whether the cell surface glycocalyx could be a potential gravity sensor. For this purpose, a roller culture apparatus was used with the intent to provide altered gravitational conditions to cu...

We study the self-similar collapse of an isothermal magnetized rotating cloud in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) regime. In the limit of small distance from the accreting protostar we find an analytic solution that corresponds to free-fall onto a central mass point. The density distribution is not spherically symmetric but depends on the mass loading of magnetic field lines, which can be ob...

Many natural phenomena such as snow avalanches, debris flows, or lahars involve gravitational transport and deposition that is largely governed by topography. This paper describes a fast and mass-conserving algorithm to parameterize mass transport and deposition (MTD) over a digital elevation model. The algorithm is an extension to existing flow-routing and terrain parameterization techniques. ...

The Earth’s mantle convects to lose heat (Holmes, 1931); doing so drives plate tectonics (Turcotte and Oxburgh, 1967). Significant gravitational energy is created by the cooling of oceanic lithosphere atop hotter, less densemantle. When slabs subduct, this gravitational energy is mostly (∼86% for whole mantle flow in a PREM-like mantle) transformed into heat by viscous dissipation. Using this p...

Recently, with the availability of various traffic datasets, human mobility has been studied in different contexts. Researchers attempt to understand the collective behaviors of human movement with respect to the spatio-temporal distribution in traffic dynamics, from which a gravitational scaling law characterizing the relation between the traffic flow, population and distance has been found. H...

It is shown that gravitational waves do not have nonphysical “ghost” states in the Relativistic Theory of Gravitation with graviton having nonzero rest mass due to the causality condition. It was shown in [1,2] that, in linearized theory of gravitation, introducing the rest mass of graviton for a field with spins 2 and 0 leads to nonphysical “ghost states” due to spin 0 when interpreting gravit...

A calculus for general relativity is developed in which the basic role of tensors is taken over by spinors. The Riemann-Christoffel tensor is written in a spinor form according to a scheme of Witten. It is shown that the curvature of empty space can be uniquely characterized by a totally symmetric four-index spinor which satisfies a first order equation formally identical with one for a zero re...

An instability is observed as a layer of dense granular material positioned above a layer of air falls in a gravitational field [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 048001 (2007)]. A characteristic pattern of fingers emerges along the interface defined by the grains, and a transient coarsening of the structure is caused by a coalescence of neighboring fingers. The coarsening is limited by the production of ne...

In this paper we investigate the gravitational effects on the deformation of a three-dimensional droplet adhering to a horizontal rough solid surface in steady shear Stokes flows. Our study considers both positive and negative Bond numbers for viscous and inviscid droplets. When the interfacial system is initially at hydrostatic equilibrium, our study shows that the Bond number affects the defo...