Spherical Oscillatory alpha2 Dynamo Induced by Magnetic Coupling between a Fluid Shell and an Inner Electrically Conducting Core: Relevance to the Solar Dynamo

A two-layer spherical alpha2 dynamo model consisting of an inner electrically conducting core (magnetic diffusivity lambdai and radius ri) with alpha=0 surrounded by an electrically conducting spherical shell (magnetic diffusivity lambdao and radius ro) with a constant alpha is shown to exhibit oscillatory behavior for values of beta=lambdai&solm0;lambdao and ri&solm0;ro relevant to the solar dynamo. Time-dependent dynamo solutions require ri&solm0;ro>/=0.55 and beta相似文献   

Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers as Central Engines of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Hydrodynamic simulations of the merger of stellar mass black hole-neutron star binaries are compared with mergers of binary neutron stars. The simulations are Newtonian but take into account the emission and back-reaction of gravitational waves. The use of a physical nuclear equation of state allows us to include the effects of neutrino emission. For low neutron star-to-black hole mass ratios, the neutron star transfers mass to the black hole during a few cycles of orbital decay and subsequent widening before finally being disrupted, whereas for ratios near unity the neutron star is destroyed during its first approach. A gas mass between approximately 0.3 and approximately 0.7 M middle dot in circle is left in an accretion torus around the black hole and radiates neutrinos at a luminosity of several times 1053 ergs s-1 during an estimated accretion timescale of about 0.1 s. The emitted neutrinos and antineutrinos annihilate into e+/- pairs with efficiencies of 1%-3% and rates of up to approximately 2x1052 ergs s-1, thus depositing an energy Enunu&d1; less, similar1051 ergs above the poles of the black hole in a region that contains less than 10-5 M middle dot in circle of baryonic matter. This could allow for relativistic expansion with Lorentz factors around 100 and is sufficient to explain apparent burst luminosities Lgamma approximately Enunu&d1;&solm0;&parl0;fOmegatgamma&parr0; up to several times 1053 ergs s-1 for burst durations tgamma approximately 0.1-1 s, if the gamma emission is collimated in two moderately focused jets in a fraction fOmega=2deltaOmega&solm0;&parl0;4pi&parr0; approximately 1&solm0;100-(1/10) of the sky.     

Large Proper-Motion Infrared

When some magnetic field lines connect a Kerr black hole with a disk rotating around it, energy and angular momentum are transferred between them. If the black hole rotates faster than the disk, ca&solm0;GMH>0.36 for a thin Keplerian disk, then energy and angular momentum are extracted from the black hole and transferred to the disk (MH is the mass and aMH is the angular momentum of the black hole). This way, the energy originating in the black hole may be radiated away by the disk. The total amount of energy that can be extracted from the black hole spun down from ca&solm0;GMH=0.998 to ca&solm0;GMH=0.36 by a thin Keplerian disk is approximately 0.15MHc2. This is larger than approximately 0.09MHc2, which can be extracted by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism.     

New Evidence for the Complex Structure of the Red Giant Branch in omega Centauri

We report on the complex structure of the red giant branch (RGB) of omega Centauri, based on a new wide-field and wide-color baseline B and I photometry. Our color-magnitude diagram (CMD) shows the presence of multiple populations along this branch; in particular, we discovered an anomalous branch (RGB-a), which appears to be well separated from the bulk of the RGB stars. On the basis of our CMD and from the previous literature, we conclude that (1) these stars, clearly identified as a separate population in our CMD, represent the extreme metal-rich extension (&sqbl0;Ca&solm0;H&sqbr0;>-0.3) of the stellar content of omega Cen and show anomalous abundances of s-process elements (as Ba and Zr) as well; (2) they are physical members of the omega Cen system; (3) they comprise approximately 5% of the stars of the whole system; and (4) this component and the metal intermediate one (-0.4>&sqbl0;Ca&solm0;H&sqbr0;>-1) have been found to share the same spatial distribution, both of them differing significantly from the most metal-poor one (&sqbl0;Ca&solm0;H&sqbr0;<-1). This last piece evidence supports the hypothesis that metal-rich components could belong to an independent (proto?) stellar system captured in the past by omega Cen.     

Formation of the Galactic Stellar Halo: Origin of the Metallicity-Eccentricity Relation

Motivated by the recently improved knowledge on the kinematic and chemical properties of the Galactic metal-poor stars, we present the numerical simulation for the formation of the Galactic stellar halo to interpret the observational results. As a model for the Galaxy contraction, we adopt the currently standard theory of galaxy formation based on the hierarchical assembly of the cold dark matter fluctuations. We find, for the simulated stars with &sqbl0;Fe&solm0;H&sqbr0;相似文献   

A Theoretical Light-Curve Model for the 1999 Outburst of U Scorpii

We report the detection of the Pb i lambda4057.8 line in the very metal-poor (&sqbl0;Fe&solm0;H&sqbr0;=-2.7), carbon-rich star, LP 625-44. We determine the abundance of Pb (&sqbl0;Pb&solm0;Fe&sqbr0;=2.65) and 15 other neutron-capture elements. The abundance pattern between Ba and Pb agrees well with a scaled solar system s-process component, while the lighter elements (Sr-Zr) are less abundant than Ba. The enhancement of s-process elements is interpreted as a result of mass transfer in a binary system from a previous asymptotic giant branch (AGB) companion, an interpretation strongly supported by radial velocity variations of this system. The detection of Pb makes it possible, for the first time, to compare model predictions of s-process nucleosynthesis in AGB stars with observations of elements between Sr and Pb. The Pb abundance is significantly lower than the prediction of recent models (e.g., Gallino et al.), which succeeded in explaining the metallicity dependence of the abundance ratios of light s-elements (Sr-Zr) to heavy ones (Ba-Dy) found in previously observed s-process-enhanced stars. This suggests that one should either (1) reconsider the underlying assumptions concerning the (13)C-rich s-processing site ((13)C pocket) in the present models or (2) investigate alternative sites of s-process nucleosynthesis in very metal-poor AGB stars.     

Equilibrium Chemistry in a Brown Dwarf's Atmosphere: Cesium in Gliese 229B

We investigate the effect of hydrostatic scale heights lambda(T) in coronal loops on the determination of the vertical temperature structure T&parl0;h&parr0; of the solar corona. Every method that determines an average temperature at a particular line of sight from optically thin emission (e.g., in EUV or soft X-ray wavelengths) of a mutlitemperature plasma is subject to the emission measure-weighted contributions dEM&parl0;T&parr0;&solm0;dT from different temperatures. Because most of the coronal structures (along open or closed field lines) are close to hydrostatic equilibrium, the hydrostatic temperature scale height introduces a height-dependent weighting function that causes a systematic bias in the determination of the temperature structure T&parl0;h&parr0; as function of altitude h. The net effect is that the averaged temperature seems to increase with altitude, dT&parl0;h&parr0;&solm0;dh>0, even if every coronal loop (of a multitemperature ensemble) is isothermal in itself. We simulate this effect with differential emission measure distributions observed by SERTS for an instrument with a broadband temperature filter such as Yohkoh/Soft X-Ray Telescope and find that the apparent temperature increase due to hydrostatic weighting is of order DeltaT approximately T0h&solm0;r middle dot in circle. We suggest that this effect largely explains the systematic temperature increase in the upper corona reported in recent studies (e.g., by Sturrock et al., Wheatland et al., or Priest et al.), rather than being an intrinsic signature of a coronal heating mechanism.     

A First Comparison of the Surface Brightness Fluctuation Survey Distances with the Galaxy Density Field: Implications for H0 and Omega

We compare the peculiar velocities measured in the surface brightness fluctuation survey of galaxy distances with the predictions from the density fields of the IRAS 1.2 Jy flux-limited redshift survey and the optical redshift survey (ORS) to derive simultaneous constraints on the Hubble constant H0 and the density parameter beta=Omega0.6&solm0;b, where b is the linear bias. We find that betaI=0.42+0.10-0.06 and betaO=0.26+/-0.08 for the IRAS and ORS comparisons, respectively, and that H0=74+/-4 km s-1 Mpc (with an additional 9% uncertainty due to the Cepheids themselves). The match between predicted and observed peculiar velocities is good for these values of H0 and beta, and although there is covariance between the two parameters, our results clearly point toward low-density cosmologies. Thus, the unresolved discrepancy between the "velocity-velocity" and "density-density" measurements of beta continues.     

Deeply Penetrating Banded Zonal Flows in the Solar Convection Zone

We discuss the spectrum arising from synchrotron emission by fast cooling (FC) electrons, when fresh electrons are continually accelerated by a strong blast wave, into a power-law distribution of energies. The FC spectrum has so far been described by four power-law segments divided by three break frequencies nusa相似文献   

Cooling Flow Star Formation and the Apparent Stellar Ages of Elliptical Galaxies

Simple theoretical arguments indicate that cooled interstellar gas in bright elliptical galaxies forms into a young stellar population having a bottom-heavy but optically luminous initial mass function extending to approximately 2 M middle dot in circle. When the colors and spectral features of this young population are combined with those of the underlying old stellar population, the apparent ages are significantly reduced, similar to the relatively young apparent ages observed in many elliptical galaxies. Galactic mergers are not required to resupply young stars. The sensitivity of continuous star formation to LB and LX&solm0;LB is likely to account for the observed spread in apparent ages among elliptical galaxies. Local star formation is accompanied by enhanced stellar Hbeta equivalent widths, stronger optical emission lines, more thermal X-ray emission, and lower apparent temperatures in the hot gas. The young stars should cause M&solm0;L to vary with galactic radius, perturbing the fundamental plane of the old stars alone.     

Modeling the X-Ray Timing Properties of Cygnus X-1 Caused by Waves Propagating in a Transition Disk

We found a subsystem of globular clusters in M31 that appears to have a formation history separate from the rest. The member clusters of this subsystem, identified from their distinct distribution in the metallicity-distance diagram, (1) have a common medium metallicity range of -0.9<&sqbl0;Fe&solm0;H&sqbr0;<-0.4, (2) have a line-of-sight velocity distribution with no significant projected rotational motion, and (3) are populated outside the inner subsystem of globular clusters of similar metallicity that shows a significant net rotational motion as a whole. We suggest that this subsystem of globular clusters was formed during a merging event of a dwarf galaxy that took place well after the initial collapse event when most of the globular clusters in M31 were formed.     

Intervening O vi Quasar Absorption Systems at Low Redshift: A Significant Baryon Reservoir

Far-UV echelle spectroscopy of the radio-quiet QSO H1821+643 (zem=0.297), obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) at approximately 7 km s-1 resolution, reveals four definite O vi absorption-line systems and one probable O vi absorber at 0.15相似文献   

The Absolute Abundance of Iron in the Solar Corona

We present a measurement of the abundance of Fe relative to H in the solar corona using a technique that differs from previous spectroscopic and solar wind measurements. Our method combines EUV line data from the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory with thermal bremsstrahlung radio data from the VLA. The coronal Fe abundance is derived by equating the thermal bremsstrahlung radio emission calculated from the EUV Fe line data to that observed with the VLA, treating the Fe/H abundance as the sole unknown. We apply this technique to a compact cool active region and find Fe&solm0;H=1.56x10-4, or about 4 times its value in the solar photosphere. Uncertainties in the CDS radiometric calibration, the VLA intensity measurements, the atomic parameters, and the assumptions made in the spectral analysis yield net uncertainties of approximately 20%. This result implies that low first ionization potential elements such as Fe are enhanced in the solar corona relative to photospheric values.     

Scaling Law for the Heating of Solar Coronal Loops

We report preliminary results from a series of numerical simulations of the reduced magnetohydrodynamic equations used to describe the dynamics of magnetic loops in active regions of the solar corona. A stationary velocity field is applied at the photospheric boundaries to imitate the driving action of granule motions. A turbulent stationary regime is reached, characterized by a broadband power spectrum Ek approximately k-3&solm0;2 and heating rate levels compatible with the energy requirements of active region loops. A dimensional analysis of the equations indicates that their solutions are determined by two dimensionless parameters: the Reynolds number and the ratio between the Alfvén time and the photospheric turnover time. From a series of simulations for different values of this ratio, we determine how the heating rate scales with the physical parameters of the problem, which might be useful for an observational test of this model.     

Asteroseismology and Oblique Pulsator Model of beta Cephei

The evolution of halos consisting of weakly self-interacting dark matter particles is investigated using a new numerical Monte Carlo N-body method. The halos initially contain kinematically cold, dense r-1 power-law cores. For interaction cross sections sigma*=sigmawsi&solm0;mp>/=10-100 cm2 g-1, weak self-interaction leads to the formation of isothermal, constant-density cores within a Hubble time as a result of heat transfer into the cold inner regions. This core structure is in good agreement with the observations of dark matter rotation curves in dwarf galaxies. The isothermal core radii and core densities are a function of the halo scale radii and scale masses which depend on the cosmological model. Adopting the currently popular LambdaCDM model, the predicted core radii and core densities are in good agreement with the observations. For large interaction cross sections, massive dark halos with scale radii rs>/=1.4x104 cm2 g-1 (sigma*)-1 kpc could experience core collapse during their lifetime, leading to cores with singular isothermal density profiles.     

New Non-Gaussian Feature in COBE-DMR 4 Year Maps

Recent determinations of the abundance of the light-element Li in very metal-poor stars show that its intrinsic dispersion is essentially zero and that the random error in the estimated mean Li abundance is negligible. However, a decreasing trend in the Li abundance toward lower metallicity indicates that the primordial abundance of Li can be inferred only after allowing for nucleosynthesis processes that must have been in operation in the early history of the Galaxy. We show that the observed Li versus Fe trend provides a strong discriminant between alternative models for Galactic chemical evolution of the light elements at early epochs. We critically assess current systematic uncertainties and determine the primordial Li abundance within new, much tighter limits: &parl0;Li&solm0;H&parr0;p=1.23+0.68-0.32x10-10. We show that the Li constraint on OmegaB is now limited as much by uncertainties in the nuclear cross sections used in big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations as by the observed abundance itself. A clearer understanding of systematics allows us to sharpen the comparison with 4He and deuterium and the resulting test of BBN.     

Mass spectrometric study of three-body ion-molecule clustering reactions of CpHq+ ions with N2 or CH4 in N2-CH4 mixtures

Thermochemical data for several ion-molecule clustering of hydrocarbon ions with N2 or CH4 were obtained from clustering equilibria studies in gas mixtures irradiated by alpha-particles. High-pressure mass spectrometry was used to determine the enthalpy and entropy changes of clustering (delta H0 and delta S0, respectively) for the reactions X+(N2)n-1 + 2N2 <==> X(+)(N2)n + N2 with X = CH5, n = 1-2; X = C2H5, n = 1-4; and X = C3H7, n = 1. For X = CH5, the values (delta H0; delta S0) are found to be (-6.8 kcal mol-1; -19.7 cal mol-1 K-1) for n = 1, and (-5.3 kcal mol-1; -15.9 cal mol-1 K-1) for n = 2. For X = C2H5, (delta H0; delta S0) = (-6.9 kcal mol-1; -18.2 cal mol-1 K-1), for n = 1, and (-4.6 kcal mol-1; -20.8 cal mol-1 K-1) for n = 2. From the equilibrium measurements at 129 K, estimates of the thermochemical values could be obtained for n = 3-4. The results obtained for the free energy, delta G0, were -1.4 kcal mol-1 for n = 3, and -1.1 kcal mol-1 for n = 4. For X = C3H7 we found delta G0 = -0.7 kcal mol-1 at 213 K. The association reactions X+ + 2CH4 <==> X+(CH4) + CH4 with X = CH5, C2H5, C2H7, and C3H7 were also studied, resulting in free energy values at 206 K of -3.1, -1.9, -0.5 and -1.3 kcal mol-1, respectively. The results for CH5, C2H5 and C3H7 are compared with previously reported measurements.     

Supernova Sources and the 92Nb-92Zr p-Process Chronometer

We report new Zr isotope evidence for live (92)Nb (mean life: tau&d1;92Nb=52 Myr) within the early solar system resulting in &parl0;92Nb&solm0;93Nb&parr0;initial approximately 10-3. The meteoritic minerals rutile and zircon have, respectively, very high and very low Nb/Zr ratios and are ideal for exploring the (92)Nb-(92)Zr chronometer. Rutiles exhibit high positive straightepsilon92Zr ( approximately 14-36) while a zircon has a negative straightepsilon92Zr ( approximately -4), as would be expected if (92)Nb was live in the early solar system. The meteoritic rutiles appear to be young, with apparent times of formation of approximately 80-220 Myr subsequent to the origin of the solar system. The initial (92)Nb/(92)Mo for the solar system is broadly compatible with a model of uniform production if the (92)Nb/(92)Mo production ratio for Type II supernova (SNII) sources with neutrino-driven winds is used. Data for all the now extinct p-process nuclides ((92)Nb, (97)Tc, and (146)Sm) are consistent with these isotopes being derived by uniform production from SNII sources and a free decay interval of approximately 10 Myr. Consideration of a range of models indicates that the average p-process production ratio of (92)Nb/(92)Mo needs to be at least in the range of 0.06-0.25.     

The detection of interstellar methylcyanoacetylene

A new interstellar molecule, methylcyanoacetylene (CH3C3N), has been detected in the molecular cloud TMC-1. The J = 8 --> 7, J = 7 --> 6, J = 6 --> 5, and J = 5 --> 4 transitions have been observed. For the first three of these, both the K = 0 and K = 1 components are present, while for J = 5 --> 4, only the K = 0 line has been detected. The observed frequencies were calculated by assuming a value of radial velocity VLSR = 5.8 km s-1 for TMC-1, typical of other molecules in the cloud. All observed frequencies are within 10 kHz of the calculated frequencies, which are based on the 1982 laboratory constants of Moises et al., so the identification is secure. The lines are broadened by hyperfine splitting, and the J = 5 --> 4, K = 0 transition shows incipient resolution into three hyperfine components. The rotational temperature determined for these observations is quite low, with 2.7 K < or = Trot < or = 4 K. the total column density is approximately 5 x 10(12) cm-2.     

Prompt Iron Enrichment, Two r-Process Components, and Abundances in Very Metal-Poor Stars

We compare the structure and substructure of dark matter halos in model universes dominated by collisional, strongly self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) and collisionless, weakly interacting dark matter (CDM). While SIDM virialized halos are more nearly spherical than CDM halos, they can be rotationally flattened by as much as 20% in their inner regions. Substructure halos suffer ram-pressure truncation and drag, which are more rapid and severe than their gravitational counterparts tidal stripping and dynamical friction. Lensing constraints on the size of galactic halos in clusters are a factor of 2 smaller than predicted by gravitational stripping, and the recent detection of tidal streams of stars escaping from the satellite galaxy Carina suggests that its tidal radius is close to its optical radius of a few hundred parsecs-an order of magnitude smaller than predicted by CDM models but consistent with SIDM models. The orbits of SIDM satellites suffer significant velocity bias, sigmaSIDM&solm0;sigmaCDM=0.85, and are more circular than CDM satellites, betaSIDM approximately 0.5, in agreement with the inferred orbits of the Galaxy's satellites. In the limit of a short mean free path, SIDM halos have singular isothermal density profiles; thus, in its simplest incarnation SIDM, is inconsistent with galactic rotation curves.