A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects

Details A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects

1996-08-26

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9608168v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Total 15 pages: 10 text plus 2 figures and 3 tables

Scientific paper

The Universe that we know is populated by structures made up of aggregated matter that organizes into a variety of objects; these range from stars to larger objects, such as galaxies or star clusters, composed by stars, gas and dust in gravitational interaction. We show that observations support the existence of a composite (two--exponent) power law relating mass and size for these objects. We briefly discuss these power laws and, in view of the similarity in the values of the exponents, ponder the analogy with power laws in other fields of science such as the Gutenberg--Richter law for earthquakes and the Hutchinson--MacArthur or Damuth laws of ecology. We argue for a potential connection with avalanches, complex systems and punctuated equilibrium, and show that this interpretation of large scale--structure as a self--organized critical system leads to two $predictions$: (a) the large scale structures are fractally distributed and, (b), the fractal dimension is $1.65 \pm 0.25$. Both are borne out by observations.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Two--Exponent Mass-Size Power Law for Celestial Objects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-361485