Neutrino Event Rates from Gamma-Ray Bursts

We recalculate the diffuse flux of high-energy neutrinos produced by gamma-ray bursts in the relativistic fireball model. Although we confirm that the average single burst produces only approximately 10-2 high-energy neutrino events in a detector with a 1 km2 effective area, i.e., about 10 events yr-1, we show that the observed rate is dominated by burst-to-burst fluctuations that are very large. We find event rates that are expected to be larger by 1 order of magnitude, likely more, which are dominated by a few very bright bursts. This greatly simplifies their detection.     

直接解释地表地质构造的重力异常剖面的近似方法

前言关于求解引起重力异常的地质体形状的问题,在一般情况下还没有直接的解法.对这种问题.为了求得严格的解必须求助于尝试法(迭代法).对于二度地质体,博特(1960)、福尔尼埃和克鲁皮卡(1973)等人曾较详细地讨论过这一问题.对某些理想化的物体,斯基尔斯(1963)还提出了估计最大深度的方法.对于异常地质体的一般形状和密度差作     

Fast transport simulation with an adaptive grid refinement

One of the main difficulties in transport modeling and calibration is the extraordinarily long computing times necessary for simulation runs. Improved execution time is a prerequisite for calibration in transport modeling. In this paper we investigate the problem of code acceleration using an adaptive grid refinement, neglecting subdomains, and devising a method by which the Courant condition can be ignored while maintaining accurate solutions. Grid refinement is based on dividing selected cells into regular subcells and including the balance equations of subcells in the equation system. The connection of coarse and refined cells satisfies the mass balance with an interpolation scheme that is implicitly included in the equation system. The refined subdomain can move with the average transport velocity of the subdomain. Very small time steps are required on a fine or a refined grid, because of the combined effect of the Courant and Peclet conditions. Therefore, we have developed a special upwind technique in small grid cells with high velocities (velocity suppression). We have neglected grid subdomains with very small concentration gradients (zero suppression). The resulting software, MODCALIF, is a three-dimensional, modularly constructed FORTRAN code. For convenience, the package names used by the well-known MODFLOW and MT3D computer programs are adopted, and the same input file structure and format is used, but the program presented here is separate and independent. Also, MODCALIF includes algorithms for variable density modeling and model calibration. The method is tested by comparison with an analytical solution, and illustrated by means of a two-dimensional theoretical example and three-dimensional simulations of the variable-density Cape Cod and SALTPOOL experiments. Crossing from fine to coarse grid produces numerical dispersion when the whole subdomain of interest is refined; however, we show that accurate solutions can be obtained using a fraction of the execution time required by uniformly fine-grid solutions.     

A review of mortality maps included in the annual reports on vital statistics for Ireland, 1864-1998

Since 1864, some 135 reports have been produced examining marriages, birth and deaths for Ireland. The reports produced during the period prior to World War I are notable for the maps and charts that are included and the level of detail provided. Recent reports have failed to include mortality maps, while those produced since 1950 generally show a declining level of detail.     

Assessment of potential transport of pollutants into the Barents Sea via sea ice--an observational approach

The present estimates of ice drift in the Arctic include utilization of satellite imagery data (special sensor microwave/imager) and a reconstruction of air pressure for the period 1899-1998. A significant part of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has its origin in the Kara Sea and melts in the Greenland and the Barents Sea (BS). Consequently there may be a particular risk of pollutants in the Kara Sea entering the food webs of the Greenland and BS. The ice export from the Kara Sea between 1988 and 1994 was about 208,000 km2 (154 km3) per year. The import of ice into the BS was during the same period 161,000 km2 (183 km3) per year while the ice drift through the Fram Strait into the Greenland Sea was 583,000 km2 (1859 km3) per year. Ice which formed adjacent to the Ob and Yenisey rivers in early January, drifted into the BS within two years (with a probability of about 50%.     

The use of transplanted cultured tropical oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) to monitor Cd levels in North Queensland coastal waters (Australia)

Bivalves are commonly used to detect metal pollution in the marine environment. Commercially cultured Milky oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) were transplanted in various sites along the North Queensland coast and analyzed for two metals of potentially anthropogenic origin (Cd, Zn). To provide additional information, naturally occurring Black Lip oysters (Saccostrea echinata) were also collected at the transplantation sites. The study demonstrated that the oysters species transplanted are good bioindicators of these metal concentrations in tropical waters, sensitive to variations in the environment at concentrations which are much smaller than pollution signals commonly reported for temperate waters. Three transplant experiments were carried out from May 1999 to February 2000. Milky oysters transplanted to offshore areas (Orpheus Is., Kelso Reef) accumulated Cd in the soft parts whereas oysters sampled from cages placed in Ross Creek and the Herbert River estuaries showed a decrease in Cd concentration, which resulted from an increase in dry weight. Dry weight appeared to be an important covariant affecting Cd concentration in the oysters whereas it does not unambiguously affect Zn concentrations. For the duration of the experiments, oysters sampled from the Magnetic Is. reference site showed effectively constant Cd concentrations and total Cd contents which indicates that any seasonal cycle affecting metal concentration is weak. It was found that Cd accumulation in oysters increased as ambient dissolved Cd concentration decreased, from which it was concluded that for these oysters, the predominant source of Cd was from the particulate phase rather than the dissolved phase.     

Toxic contaminants and their biological effects in coastal waters of Xiamen,China. II. Biomarkers and embryo malformation rates as indicators of pollution stress in fish

Baseline information is presented on embryo malformation rate and biomarkers in fish as indicators of sub-lethal stress caused by pollution in coastal waters of Xiamen, PR China. Fish and eggs were sampled from several areas in Xiamen coastal waters (Xiamen Harbour, Maluan and Tongan Bays and East Channel), where varying levels of pollutant input have been documented. Comparative sampling was done at a "cleaner" reference site at Dongshan Island. Embryonic malformation rates, which indicate general water quality, varied with location and species of fish, and exceeded background levels for unpolluted waters (assumed approximately 5%) by up to eightfold at some sites. Generally, sites around Xiamen Harbour show signs of poor water quality having highest mean levels of embryo deformity (20-30%) and these decreased towards open waters (Tongan Bay, Eastern Channel) where abnormalities approached background levels. An indication that toxic contaminants may be having a localised effect in the region, particularly in the harbour was reinforced by the biomarker assays. However, activities of the biomarkers ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase in fish livers indicate no clear pattern, and there is no evidence that fish from the four sampling areas have been more or less exposed to PAHs and other compounds that induce these biomarkers. Antioxidant biomarkers (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and reduced glutathione) suggest that exposure to xenobiotics appears to be lowest in Dongshan and Maluan and highest in the harbour and Tongan. Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in fish muscle indicated possible effects by organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in Xiamen waters and these effects may be greatest in the area of the harbour.     

The Properties of Supernova 1997cy Associated with GRB 970514

The extraordinary SN 1997cy associated with GRB 970514 has been observed photometrically and spectroscopically for nearly 2 yr. At the time of discovery, SN 1997cy was the brightest supernova (SN) ever observed (MV相似文献   

TRACE-derived Temperature and Emission Measure Profiles along Long-lived Coronal Loops: The Role of Filamentation

Near-infrared spectroscopic observations of a sample of very cool, low-mass objects are presented with higher spectral resolution than in any previous studies. Six of the objects are L dwarfs, ranging in spectral class from L2 to L8/9, and the seventh is a methane or T dwarf. These new observations were obtained during commissioning of the near-infrared spectrometer (NIRSPEC), the first high-resolution near-infrared cryogenic spectrograph for the Keck II 10 m telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Spectra with a resolving power of R approximately 2500 from 1.135 to 1.360 μm (approximately J band) are presented for each source. At this resolution, a rich spectral structure is revealed, much of which is due to blending of unresolved molecular transitions. Strong lines due to neutral potassium (K i) and bands due to iron hydride (FeH) and steam (H2O) change significantly throughout the L sequence. Iron hydride disappears between L5 and L8, the steam bands deepen, and the K i lines gradually become weaker but wider because of pressure broadening. An unidentified feature occurs at 1.22 μm that has a temperature dependence like FeH but has no counterpart in the available FeH opacity data. Because these objects are 3-6 mag brighter in the near-infrared compared with the I band, spectral classification is efficient. One of the objects studied (2MASSW J1523+3014) is the coolest L dwarf discovered so far by the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), but its spectrum is still significantly different from the methane-dominated objects such as Gl 229B or SDSS 1624+0029.