Energy Change of Particles or Photons at Crossing Gravity Fields of Galaxy Clusters or Single Stars: The Concept of Gravitons

We investigate the gravitational action of cosmic mass associations, like stars or stellar clusters, on moving massive objects. Hereby the relativistic effect of propagating field quanta communicating the position of gravity sources by means of so-called gravitons is taken into account. In case of moving objects this causes an aberration of the recognized actual location of the cosmic mass sources with respect to their positions in the cosmic rest frame. The astonishing effect of that position retardation is that a moving objekt, even if it moves right through the center of a centrally symmetric cluster mass association, experiences a net gravitational braking and energy loss. Applying this view to the problem of a planetary object orbiting around a central mass like the sun, then it turns out that the orbiting planet permanently reduces its orbital angular momentum, since permanently experiencing a gravitational force component antiparallel to its orbital motion. From that an orbital decay time can be derived which for a terrestrial planet would imply the spiralling-in period of only a few 103 years. Compared to the age of the planet earth of about 4. 5 Billion years this represents a big problem of understanding. In this article we cannot offer a rational solution of this problem and thus we simply end with the recommendation to perhaps reinvestigate the theoretical concept of gravitons thought to be the quantum messengers of gravitational fields.

Rahner’s “Liturgy of the World” as Hermeneutics of Another World That Is Possible

This article explores Karl Rahner’s conception of the “Liturgy of the World” in light of the theme for the 2019 Annual Convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America, “Another World is Possible: Violence, Resistance and Transformation.” Employing Rahner’s hermeneutics of worship, violence can be conceived as a denial of this cosmic liturgy, transformation as conversion to it, and resistance as the stance opposing the denial. Resistance entails solidarity with all humanity in liturgical participation and in action for social justice. Metz’s political-theological critique of Rahner, with assistance from Bruce Morrill’s analysis of Metz’s work for liturgical theology, and Rahner’s reference to Teilhard’s “Cosmic Mass,” taken today in light of contemporary cosmology with assistance from Roger Haight’s non-dualistic approach to models of God, are among the implications to be considered for engaging Rahner’s vision in ongoing efforts at liturgical renewal.

The build-up of mass in UV-selected sub-L* Galaxies at z~2

Broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting is used to study a deep sample of UV-selected sub-L* galaxies at z~2. They are found to be less dusty than L* galaxies, and to contribute more mass to the cosmic mass budget at this epoch than is inferred from shallower high-z surveys. Additionally, SFRs are found to be proportional to stellar masses over three orders of magnitude in mass; this phenomenon can be explained by assuming that new stars form out of gas that co-accretes along with dark matter onto the galaxies' dark matter halos, a scenario that naturally leads to SFRs that gradually increase with time.