Relativistic Rotating Elastic Strings
Presenting author: Leonel Queimada
We obtain the equation of motion for relativistic strings, that is, one-dimensional elastic bodies whose internal energy depends only on its stretching. We use this equation to study rotating strings in Minkowski's spacetime, and find that (i) if the string's speed of sound does not exceed the speed of light then its radius when rotating is always larger than its radius when at rest, and (ii) the string is stable when rotating below a characteristic rotation speed and unstable when rotating above this speed. Finally, we analyze the stability of a circular string placed around a Schwarzschild black hole, either at rest or rotating with orbital speed.