Dust ring formation due to ice sublimation of radially drifting dust particles under the Poynting-Robertson effect in debris disks

In a disk with a low optical depth, dust particles drift radially inward by the Poynting-Robertson (P-R) drag rather than are blown out by stellar radiation pressure following destructive collisions. We investigate the radial distribution of icy dust composed of pure ice and refractory materials in dust-debris disks taking into account the P-R drag and ice sublimation. We find that icy dust particles form a dust ring by their pile-ups at the edge of their sublimation zone, where they sublime substantially at the temperature 100-110 K. The distance of the dust ring is 20-35 AU from the central star with its luminosity L_??30L_⊙ and 65(L_?/100L_⊙)^1/2 AU for L_??30L_⊙, where L_⊙ is the solar luminosity. The effective optical depth is enhanced by a factor of 2 for L_??100L_⊙ and more than 10 for L_??100L_⊙. The optical depth of the outer icy dust disk exceeds that of the inner disk filled with refractory particles, namely, the residue of ice sublimation, which are further subjected to the P-R effect. As a result, an inner hole is formed inside the sublimation zone together with a dust ring along the outer edge of the hole.     

Dust Grains in the Comae and Tails of Sungrazing Comets: Modeling of Their Mineralogical and Morphological Properties

Observations of sungrazing comets, all of which belong to the Kreutz family, provide the opportunity of studying the properties of dust in the comae and tails of the comets. On the basis of available information on cometary and interplanetary dust as well as observations of dust in the tails of sungrazers, we model dust in sungrazing comets as fluffy silicate aggregates of submicrometer sizes. To better interpret observational data, we numerically calculate the solar radiation pressure, the equilibrium temperature, and the sublimation and crystallization rates of silicate grains near the Sun. Our results show that the dust tails contain aggregates of submicrometer crystal grains, but not amorphous grains, since amorphous silicates mostly crystallize after release from the comets. The peak in the lightcurves of the dust comae observed either at 11.2 or 12.3 solar radii (R_⊙) seems to result from sublimation of fluffy aggregates consisting of crystalline or amorphous olivines, respectively. We attribute an additional enhancement in the lightcurves inside 7 R_⊙ to increasing out-flow of crystalline and amorphous pyroxenes composed fluffy aggregates. According to our model, the observed lightcurves indicate a high abundance of olivine and a low abundance of pyroxene in the comets, which may bear implications about the dynamical and thermal history of the sungrazers and their progenitor.     

Effect of Stellar Wind and Poynting–Robertson Drag on Photogravitational Elliptic Restricted Three Body Problem

The existence and linear stability of the planar equilibrium points for photogravitational elliptical restricted three body problem is investigated in this paper. Assuming that the primaries, one of which is radiating are rotating in an elliptical orbit around their common center of mass. The effect of the radiation pressure, forces due to stellar wind and Poynting–Robertson drag on the dust particles are considered. The location of the five equilibrium points are found using analytical methods. It is observed that the collinear equilibrium points L₁, L₂ and L₃ do not lie on the line joining the primaries but are shifted along the y-coordinate. The instability of the libration points due to the presence of the drag forces is demonstrated by Lyapunov’s first method of stability.     

Orbital Evolution of Dust Particles in the Sublimation Zone near the Sun

We have performed the calculations of the orbital evolution of dust particles from volcanic glass (p-obsidian), basalt, astrosilicate, olivine, and pyroxene in the sublimation zone near the Sun. The sublimation (evaporation) rate is determined by the temperature of dust particles depending on their radius, material, and distance to the Sun. All practically important parameters that characterize the interaction of spherical dust particles with the radiation are calculated using the Mie theory. The influence of radiation and solar wind pressure, as well as the Poynting–Robertson drag force effects on the dust dynamics, are also taken into account. According to the observations (Shestakova and Demchenko, 2016), the boundary of the dust-free zone is 7.0–7.6 solar radii for standard particles of the zodiacal cloud and 9.1–9.2 solar radii for cometary particles. The closest agreement is obtained for basalt particles and certain kinds of olivine, pyroxene, and volcanic glass.     

Dust in the disk winds from young stars as a source of the circumstellar extinction

We consider the problem of dust grain survival in the disk winds from T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars. For our analysis, we have chosen a disk wind model in which the gas component of the wind is heated through ambipolar diffusion to a temperature of ～10⁴ K. We show that the heating of dust grains through their collisions with gas atoms is inefficient compared to their heating by stellar radiation and, hence, the grains survive even in the hot wind component. As a result, the disk wind can be opaque to the ultraviolet and optical stellar radiation and is capable of absorbing an appreciable fraction of it. Calculations show that the fraction of the wind-absorbed radiation for T Tauri stars can be from 20 to 40% of the total stellar luminosity at an accretion rate ? _a = 10^?8-10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. This means that the disk winds from T Tauri stars can play the same role as the puffed-up inner rim in current accretion disk models. In Herbig Ae stars, the inner layers of the disk wind (r ≤ 0.5 AU) are dust-free, since the dust in this region sublimates under the effect of stellar radiation. Therefore, the fraction of the radiation absorbed by the disk wind in this case is considerably smaller and can be comparable to the effect from the puffed-up inner rim only at an accretion rate of the order of or higher than 10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. Since the disk wind is structurally inhomogeneous, its optical depth toward the observer can be variable, which should be reflected in the photometric activity of young stars. For the same reason, moving shadows from gas and dust streams with a spiral-like shape can be observed in high-angular-resolution circumstellar disk images.     

Radiation forces on small particles in the solar system

We present a new and more accurate expression for the radiation pressure and Poynting-Robertson drag forces; it is more complete than previous ones, which considered only perfectly absorbing particles or artificial scattering laws. Using a simple heuristic derivation, the equation of motion for a particle of mass m and geometrical cross section A, moving with velocity v through a radiation field of energy flux density S, is found to be (to terms of order $\text{v}\text{c}$)

$\text{m}\text{v}\text{?}\text{= (}\text{SA}\text{c}\text{)Q}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>pr</mtext>}}\text{[(1 ?}\text{r}\text{?}\text{c}\text{)}\text{S}\text{?}\text{?}\text{v}\text{c}\text{]}$

, where ? is a unit vector in the direction of the incident radiation, $\text{r}\text{?}$ is the particle's radial velocity, and c is the speed of light; the radiation pressure efficiency factor Q_pr ≡ Q_abs + Q_sca(1 ? 〈cos α〉), where Q_abs and Q_sca are the efficiency factors for absorption and scattering, and 〈cos α〉 accounts for the asymmetry of the scattered radiation. This result is confirmed by a new formal derivation applying special relativistic transformations for the incoming and outgoing energy and momentum as seen in the particle and solar frames of reference. Q_pr is evaluated from Mie theory for small spherical particles with measured optical properties, irradiated by the actual solar spectrum. Of the eight materials studied, only for iron, magnetite , and graphite grains does the radiation pressure force exceed gravity and then just for sizes around 0.1 μm; very small particles are not easily blown out of the solar system nor are they rapidly dragged into the Sun by the Poynting-Robertson effect. The solar wind counterpart of the Poynting-Robertson drag may be effective, however, for these particles. The orbital consequences of these radiation forces-including ejection from the solar system by relatively small radiation pressures-and of the Poynting-Robertson drag are considered both for heliocentric and planetocentric orbiting particles. We discuss the coupling between the dynamics of particles and their sizes (which diminish due to sputtering and sublimation). A qualitative derivation is given for the differential Doppler effect, which occurs because the light received by an orbiting particle is slightly red-shifted by the solar rotation velocity when coming from the eastern hemisphere of the Sun but blue-shifted when from the western hemisphere; the ratio of this force to the Poynting-Robertson force is $\text{(}\text{R}{}_{\mathrm{\odot }}\text{r}\text{)}{}^2\text{[(}\text{w}{}_{\mathrm{\odot }}\text{n}\text{) ? 1]}$, where R_⊙ and w_⊙ are the solar radius and spin rate, and n is the particle's mean motion. The Yarkovsky effect, caused by the asymmetry in the reradiated thermal emission of a rotating body, is also developed relying on new physical arguments. Throughout the paper, representative calculations use the physical and orbital properties of interplanetary dust, as known from various recent measurements.     

Trapping and dynamical evolution of interplanetary dust particles in Earth’s quasi-satellite resonance

We used numerical simulations to model the orbital evolution of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) evolving inward past Earth’s orbit under the influence of radiation pressure, Poynting–Robertson light drag (PR drag), solar wind drag, and gravitational perturbations from the planets. A series of β values (where β is the ratio of the force from radiation pressure to that of central gravity) were used ranging from 0.0025 up to 0.02. Assuming a composition consistent with astronomical silicate and a particle density of 2.5 g cm⁻³ these β values correspond to dust particle diameters ranging from 200 μm down to 25 μm. As the dust particle orbits decay past 1 AU between 4% (for β = 0.02, or 25 μm) and 40% (for β = 0.0025, or 200 μm) of the population became trapped in 1:1 co-orbital resonance with Earth. In addition to traditional horseshoe type co-orbitals, we found about a quarter of the co-orbital IDPs became trapped as so-called quasi-satellites. Quasi-satellite IDPs always remain relatively near to Earth (within 0.1–0.3 AU, or 10–30 Hill radii, R_H) and undergo two close-encounters with Earth each year. While resonant perturbations from Earth halt the decay in semi-major axis of quasi-satellite IDPs their orbital eccentricities continue to decrease under the influence of PR drag and solar wind drag, forcing the IDPs onto more Earth-like orbits. This has dramatic consequences for the relative velocity and distance of closest approach between Earth and the quasi-satellite IDPs. After 10⁴–10⁵ years in the quasi-satellite resonance dust particles are typically less than 10R_H from Earth and consistently coming within about 3R_H. In the late stages of evolution, as the dust particles are escaping the 1:1 resonance, quasi-satellite IDPs can have deep close-encounters with Earth significantly below R_H. Removing the effects of Earth’s gravitational acceleration reveals that encounter velocities (i.e., velocities “at infinity”) between quasi-satellite IDPs and Earth during these close-encounters are just a few hundred meters per second or slower, well below the average values of 2–4 km s⁻¹ for non-resonant Earth-crossing IDPs with similar initial orbits. These low encounter velocities lead to a factor of 10–100 increase in Earth’s gravitationally enhanced impact cross-section (σ_grav) for quasi-satellite IDPs compared to similar non-resonant IDPs. The enhancement in σ_grav between quasi-satellite IDPs and cometary Earth-crossing IDPs is even more pronounced, favoring accretion of quasi-satellite dust particles by a factor of 100–3000 over the cometary IDPs. This suggests that quasi-satellite dust particles may dominate the flux of large (25–200 μm) IDPs entering Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, because quasi-satellite trapping is known to be directly correlated with the host planet’s orbital eccentricity the accretion of quasi-satellite dust likely ebbs and flows on 10⁵ year time scales synchronized with Earth’s orbital evolution.     

Radial pulsations of helium stars with masses from 1 to 10 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>⊙</Subscript>

We present the results of our hydrodynamic calculations of radial pulsations in helium stars with masses 1 M_⊙ ≤ M ≤ 10 M_⊙, luminosity-to-mass ratios 1 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ ≤ L/M ≤ 2 × 10⁴L_⊙/M_⊙, and effective temperatures 2 × 10⁴ K ≤ T_eff ≤ 10⁵ K for mass fractions of helium Y=0.98 and heavy elements Z=0.02. We show that the lower boundary of the pulsation-instability region corresponds to L/M ～ 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ and that the instability region for L/M ? 5 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ is bounded by effective temperatures T_eff ? 3 × 10⁴ K. As the luminosity rises, the instability boundary moves into the left part of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and radial pulsations can arise in stars with effective temperatures T_eff ? 10⁵ K at L/M ? 7 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙. The velocity amplitude for the outer boundary of the hydrodynamic model increases with L/M and lies within the range 200 ? ΔU ? 700 km s^?1 for the models under consideration. The periodic shock waves that accompany radial pulsations cause a significant change of the gas-density distribution in the stellar atmosphere, which is described by a dynamic scale height comparable to the stellar radius. The dynamic instability boundary that corresponds to the separation of the outer stellar atmospheric layers at a superparabolic velocity is roughly determined by a luminosity-to-mass ratio L/M ～ 3 × 10⁴L_⊙/M_⊙.     

The effect of radiation pressure on the equilibrium points in the generalized photogravitational restricted three body problem

The existence of equilibrium points and the effect of radiation pressure have been discussed numerically. The problem is generalized by considering bigger primary as a source of radiation and small primary as an oblate spheroid. We have also discussed the Poynting-Robertson (P-R) effect which is caused due to radiation pressure. It is found that the collinear points L ₁,L ₂,L ₃ deviate from the axis joining the two primaries, while the triangular points L ₄,L ₅ are not symmetrical due to radiation pressure. We have seen that L ₁,L ₂,L ₃ are linearly unstable while L ₄,L ₅ are conditionally stable in the sense of Lyapunov when P-R effect is not considered. We have found that the effect of radiation pressure reduces the linear stability zones while P-R effect induces an instability in the sense of Lyapunov.     

Infrared photometry of the symbiotic novae V1016 Cyg and HM Sge in 1978–1999

The photometric JHKLM observations of the symbiotic novae V1016 Cyg and HM Sge in 1978–1999 are presented. Parameters of the cool stars themselves and the dust envelopes are estimated. The periods of 470±5 days (for V1016 Cyg) and 535±5 days (for HM Sge) are reliably determined from the entire set of our photometric J data for V1016 Cyg and HM Sge. In addition, monotonic light and color variations are observed on a time scale of several thousand days, with the increase in infrared brightness occurring with the simultaneous decrease in infrared color indices; i.e., the dust envelopes in which both components of the systems were embedded before the outburst of their hot sources in 1964 and 1975, respectively, had continued to disperse until late 1999. The amplitudes of these variations for HM Sge are almost twice those for V1016 Cyg. For HM Sge, the dust envelope reached a maximum density near JD 2447500 and then began to disperse. In the case of V1016 Cyg, a maximum density of the dust envelope was probably reached near JD 2444800, and its dispersal has been continuing for about 20 years. Thus, in both symbiotic novae, their dust envelopes reached a maximum density approximately eight years after the outburst of the hot component and then began to disperse. An analysis of the color-magnitude (J–K, J) diagram reveals that grains in the dust envelopes of V1016 Cyg and HM Sge are similar in their optical properties to impure silicates. The observed [J–K, K–L] color variations for the symbiotic novae under study can be explained in terms of the simple model we chose by variations in the Mira's photospheric temperature from 2400 to 3000 K and in the dust-envelope optical depth from 1 to 3 at a wavelength of 1.25 µm for a constant grain temperature. The observed J–K and K–L color indices for both symbiotic novae, while decreasing, tend to the values typical of Miras. The dust envelopes of both symbiotic novae are optically thick. The dust envelope around HM Sge is, on the average, twice as dense as that around V1016 Cyg; the Mira in V1016 Cyg is slightly cooler (~2800–2900 K) than that in HM Sge (~2600–2700 K). The dust-envelope density decreases as the Mira's temperature increases. The absolute bolometric magnitudes are $ - 5\mathop .\limits^m 1 \pm 0\mathop .\limits^m 15$ for V 1016 Cyg and $5\mathop .\limits^m 27 \pm 0\mathop .\limits^m 17$ for HM Sge. Their distances are 2.8±0.6 and 1.8±0.4 kpc, respectively; the luminosities and radii of their cool components (Miras) are 8.6×10³ L _⊙, 1×10⁴ L _⊙, 500R _⊙, and 540R _⊙. The radii of their dust envelopes are 1400R _⊙ and 1500R _⊙; the masses are (3?3.3) × 10^?5M_⊙ and (4?8) × 10^?5M_⊙ The dust envelope of V1016 Cyg disperses slower than that of HM Sge by almost a factor of 25.     

Infrared spectra of quasars and related objects

An attempt is made to explain the infrared radiation observed for several quasars and Seyfert galaxies as thermal radiation of a dust envelope surrounding the cores of these objects. Two kinds of dust particles (graphite and silica) are taken into consideration. It is shown that the observed spectral behaviour and the luminosity in the infrared can be introduced as thermal radiation of silica grains. In the case of 3C 273 one finds that the radius of the dust envelope is about 50 pc and the total mass of dust is about 600M _⊙.     

Physical processes in Jupiter's ring: Clues to its origin by Jove!

The particles making up the Jovian ring may be debris which has been excavated by micrometeoroids from the surfaces of many unseen (R ? 1 km) parent bodies (or “mooms” as we will occasionally call them) residing in the ring. A distribution of particle sizes exists: large objects are sources for the small visible ring particles and also account for the absorption of charged particles noted by Pioneer; the small grains are generated by micrometeoroid impacts, by jostling collisions among different-sized particles, and by self-fracturing due to electrostatic stresses. The latter are most effective in removing surface asperities to thereby produce smooth and crudely equidimensional grains. The presence of intermediate-sized (radius of several to several hundred microns) objects is also expected; these particles will have a total area comparable to the area of the visible ring particles. The nominal size (?2 μm) of the visible particles derived from their forward-scattering characteristics is caused, at least in part, by a selection effect but may also reflect a fundamental grain size or the preferential generation of certain sizes along with the destruction of others. The tiny ring particles have short lifetimes (?10²?10³ years) limited by erosion due to sputtering and meteoroid impacts. Plasma drag significantly modifies orbits in ～10² years but Poynting-Robertson drag is not effective (T_PR ～ 10⁵ years) in removing debris. The ring width is influenced by the distribution of source satellites, by the initial ejection velocity off them, by electromagnetic scattering, and by solar radiation forces. In the absence of electromagnetic forces, debris will reimpact a mother satellite or collide with another particle in about 10 years. A relative drift between different-sized particles, caused by a lessened effective gravity due to the Lorentz force, will substantially shorten these times to less than a month. The ring thickness is determined by a balance between initial conditions (abetted perhaps by electromagnetic scattering) and collisional damping; existence of the “halo” over the diffuse disk compared to its relative absence over the bright ring indicates the presence of mooms in the bright ring but not in the faint disk. Small satellites (R ? 1 km) will not reaccumulate colliding dust grains whereas satellites having the size of J14 or J16 may be able to do so, depending upon their precise shape, size, density, and location. Visible ring structure could indicate separate source satellites. The particles in the faint inner disk are delivered from the bright ring by orbital evolution principally under plasma drag. The halo is comprised of small particles (～0.1 μm) partially drawn out of the faint disk by interactions with the tilted Jovian magnetic field.     

A Model of the Mira–Type Star T UMi

Stellar evolution calculations were carried out from the main sequence to the final stage of the asymptotic giant branch for stars with initial masses 1 M_⊙ ≤ M_ZAMS ≤ 2 M_⊙ and metallicity Z = 0.01. Selected models of evolutionary sequences were used as initial conditions for solution of the equations of radiation hydrodynamics and time–dependent convection describing radial stellar pulsations. The study was aimed to construct the hydrodynamic models of Mira–type stars that show the secular decrease in the pulsation period Π commenced in 1970th at Π = 315 day. We show that such a condition for the period change is satisfied with evolutionary sequences 1 M_⊙ ≤ M_ZAMS ≤ 1.2 M_⊙ and the best agreement with observations is obtained for M_ZAMS = 1.2 M_⊙. The pulsation period reduction is due to both the stellar radius decrease during the thermal pulse of the helium burning shell and mode switch from the fundamental mode to the first overtone. Theoretical estimates of the fundament parameters of the star at the onset of pulsation period reduction are as follows: the mass is M = 0.93 M_⊙, the luminosity is L = 4080 L_⊙, and the radius is R = 220 R_⊙. The mode switch occurs 35 years after the onset of period reduction.     

Infrared photometry of Nova Delphini 2013 (=V339 Del) in the first sixty days after its outburst

The results of JHKLM photometry for Nova Delphini 2013 obtained in the first sixty days after its outburst are analyzed. Analysis of the energy distribution in a wide spectral range (0.36–5 µm) has shown that the source mimics the emission of normal supergiants of spectral types B5 and A0 for two dates near its optical brightness maximum, August 15.94 UT and August 16.86 UT, respectively. The distance to the nova has been estimated to be D ≈ 3 kpc. For these dates, the following parameters have been estimated: the source’s bolometric fluxes ～9 × 10^?7 and ～7.2 × 10^?7 erg s^?1 cm^?2, luminosities L ≈ 2.5 × 10⁵ L _⊙ and ≈2 × 10⁵ L _⊙, and radii R ≈ 6.3 × 10¹² and ≈1.2 × 10¹³ cm. The nova’s expansion velocity near its optical brightness maximum was ～700 km s^?1. An infrared (IR) excess associated with the formation of a dust shell is shown to have appeared in the energy distribution one month after the optical brightness maximum. The parameters of the dust component have been estimated for two dates of observations, JD2456557.28 (September 21, 2013) and JD2456577.18 (October 11, 2013). For these dates, the dust shell parameters have been estimated: the color temperatures ≈1500 and ≈1200 K, radii ≈6.5 × 10¹³ and 1.7 × 10¹⁴ cm, luminosities ～4 × 10³ L _⊙ and ～1.1 × 10⁴ L _⊙, and the dust mass ～1.6 × 10²⁴ and ～10²⁵ g. The total mass of the material ejected in twenty days (gas + dust) could reach ～1.1 × 10^?6 M _⊙. The rate of dust supply to the nova shell was ～8 × 10^?8 M _⊙ yr^?1. The expansion velocity of the dust shell was about 600 km s^?1.     

Hα and UV luminosities and star formation rates in a large sample of luminous compact galaxies

We present the results of a statistical study of the star formation rates (SFR) derived from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) observations in the ultraviolet continuum and in the Hα emission line for a sample of about 800 luminous compact galaxies (LCGs). Galaxies in this sample have a compact structure and include one or several regions of active star formation. Global galaxy characteristics (metallicity, luminosity, stellar mass) are intermediate between ones of the nearby blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies and Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at high redshifts z>2–3. SFRs were corrected for interstellar extinction which was derived from the optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra. We find that SFRs derived from the galaxy luminosities in the far ultraviolet (FUV) and near ultraviolet (NUV) ranges vary in a wide range from 0.18 M _⊙?yr^?1 to 113 M _⊙?yr^?1 with median values of 3.8 M _⊙?yr^?1 and 5.2 M _⊙?yr^?1, respectively. Simple regression relations are found for luminosities L(Hα) and L(UV) as functions of the mass of the young stellar population, the starburst age, and the galaxy metallicity. We consider the evolution of L(Hα), L(FUV) and L(NUV) with a starburst age and introduce new characteristics of star formation, namely the initial Hα, FUV and NUV luminosities at zero starburst age.     

A Collimated Stellar Wind Emanating from a Massive Protostar

We report multi-wavelength observations towards IRAS 16547–4247, a luminous infrared source with a bolometric luminosity of 6.2 × 10⁴ L _⊙. Dust continuum observations at 1.2-mm indicate that this object is associated with a dust cloud with a size of about 0.4 pc in diameter and a mass of about 1.3 × 10³ M _⊙. Radio continuum observations show the presence of a triple radio source consisting of a compact central object and two outer lobes, separated by about 0.3 pc, symmetrically located from the central source. Molecular hydrogen line observations show a chain of knots that trace a collimated flow extending over 1.5 pc. We suggest that IRAS 16547–4247 corresponds to a dense massive core which hosts near its central region a high-mass star in an early stage of evolution. This massive YSO is undergoing the ejection of a collimated stellar wind which drives the H₂ flow. The radio emission from the lobes arises in shocks resulting from the interaction of the collimated wind with the surrounding medium. We conclude that the thermal jets found in the formation of low-mass stars are also produced in high-mass stars.     

Ultraluminous quasars as a gravitational mesolensing effect

Two quasars SDSS J010013.02+280225.8 and J030642.51+185315.8 with redshifts z = 6.30 and z = 5.363 were recently discovered. Their apparent magnitudes in the standard cosmological model give the luminosities of L_bol ～ 4.3 × 10¹⁴L_⊙ and L_bol ～ 3.4 × 10¹⁴L_⊙. In the framework of modern concepts it is accepted that the energy release of quasars is provided by the accretion onto black holes with masses of 1.24 ± 0.19 × 10¹⁰M_⊙ and 1.07 ± 0.27 × 10¹⁰M_⊙. As within the standard cosmological model the ages of these objects are about one billion years, this creates serious difficulties for the scenario of formation of such objects. Here we interpret the ultra-high luminosities of quasars as the effect of lensing of their radiation by the foreground globular clusters or dwarf galaxies.     

Stochastic excitation of gravity modes in massive main-sequence stars

We investigate the possibility that gravity modes can be stochastically excited by turbulent convection in massive main-sequence (MS) stars. We build stellar models of MS stars with masses M=10?M _⊙,15?M _⊙, and 20?M _⊙. For each model, we then compute the power supplied to the modes by turbulent eddies in the convective core (CC) and the outer convective zones (OCZ). We found that, for asymptotic gravity modes, the major part of the driving occurs within the outer iron convective zone, while the excitation of low n order modes mainly occurs within the CC. We compute the mode lifetimes and deduce the expected mode amplitudes. We finally discuss the possibility of detecting such stochastically-excited gravity modes with the CoRoT space-based mission.     

Optical identifications of 230 HIPASS radio sources

We present the coordinates, apparent magnitudes, and morphological types for 230 galaxies presumably identified with HIPASS (HI Parkes All-Sky Survey) sources. The new optical counterparts of the HIPASS sources follow the well-known statistical relationships between the hydrogen mass, luminosity, and type of galaxies. Low-surface-brightness galaxies constitute a significant fraction among these objects. The median value of the hydrogen mass-to-luminosity ratio for them is a factor of 2 or 3 higher than that for bright HIPASS galaxies, reaching 1.7M _⊙/L _⊙. A number of our objects are located near the boundary log(M _HI/L _B ) = 0.2(M _B + 20) that defines the zone of gravitational stability of disk galaxies against large-scale star formation.