Five WC9 stars discovered in the AAO/UKST Hα survey

We report the discovery of five massive Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars resulting from a programme of follow-up spectroscopy of candidate emission-line stars in the Anglo-Australian Observatory United Kingdom Schmidt Telescope (AAO/UKST) Southern Galactic Plane Hα survey. The 6195–6775 Å spectra of the stars are presented and discussed. A WC9 class is assigned to all five stars through comparison of their spectra with those of known late-type WC stars, bringing the known total number of Galactic WC9 stars to 44. Whilst three of the five WC9 stars exhibit near-infrared (NIR) excesses characteristic of hot dust emission (as seen in the great majority of known WC9 stars), we find that two of the stars show no discernible evidence of such excesses. This increases the number of known WC9 stars without NIR excesses to seven. Reddenings and distances for all five stars are estimated.     

Finite-element analysis of time-dependent large-deformation problems

An updated Lagrangian finite-element formulation has been developed for time-dependent problems of soil consolidation involving finite deformations. Large plastic strains as well as rotations occur in such problems and nominal stress measures are introduced in the formulation to redefine stresses. This leads to corrective terms for equilibrium and yield violations in addition to geometric stiffening terms in the governing integral equations. The soil is considered to be either a linear elastic or an elastoplastic, critical-state material. Some simple numerical examples are studied to validate the formulation, followed by a detailed analysis of the problem of penetration of a pile into soil. The results of this problem are viewed with emphasis on the physical interpretation and practical significance.     

Line-of-sight magnetic flux imbalances caused by electric currents

Several physical and observational effects may contribute to the significant imbalances of magnetic flux that are often observed in active regions. We consider an effect not previously treated: the influence of electric currents in the photosphere. Electric currents can cause a line-of-sight flux imbalance because of the directionality of the magnetic field they produce. Currents associated with magnetic flux tubes produce larger imbalances than do smoothly-varying distributions of flux and current. We estimate the magnitude of this effect for current densities, total currents, and magnetic geometry consistent with observations. The expected imbalances lie approximately in the range 0–15%, depending on the character of the current-carrying fields and the angle from which they are viewed. Observationally, current-induced flux imbalances could be indicated by a statistical dependence of the imbalance on angular distance from disk center. A general study of magnetic flux balance in active regions is needed to determine the relative importance of other - probably larger -effects such as dilute flux (too weak to measure or rendered invisible by radiative transfer effects), merging with weak background fields, and long-range connections between active regions.Operated for the National Science Foundation by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.     

Richtmyer-Meshkov Experiments on the Omega Laser

Observations of the interstellar medium reveal a dynamic realm permeated by shocks. These shocks are generated on a large range of scales by galactic rotation, supernovae, stellar winds, and other processes. Whenever a shock encounters a density interface, Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities may develop. Perturbations along the interface grow, leading to structure formation and material mixing. An understanding of the evolution of Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities is essential for understanding galactic structure, molecular cloud morphology, and the early stages of star formation. An ongoing experimental campaign studies Richtmyer-Meshkov mixing in a convergent, compressible, miscible plasma at the Omega laser facility. Cylindrical targets, consisting of a low density foam core and an aluminum shell covered by an epoxy ablator, are directly driven by fifty laser beams. The aluminum shell is machined to produce different perturbation spectra. Surface types include unperturbed (smooth), single-mode sinusoids, multi-mode (rough), and multi-mode with particular modes accentuated (specified-rough). Experimental results are compared to theory and numerical simulations.     

The nature of Europa's dark non-ice surface material: Spatially-resolved high spectral resolution spectroscopy from the Keck telescope

We present new 1.45-1.75 μm spectra of Europa's dark non-ice material with a spectral resolution (λ/δλ) of 1200, obtained by using adaptive optics on the Keck telescope to spatially separate the spectrum of the non-ice material from that of the surrounding ice-rich regions. Despite the great increase in spectral resolution over the previous best spectra of the non-ice material, taken with Galileo's near-infrared mapping spectrometer (NIMS) with λ/δλ=66, no new fine-scale spectral structure is revealed. The smoothness of the spectra is inconsistent with available laboratory spectra of crystalline hydrated salts at Europa temperatures, but is more consistent with various combinations of non-crystalline hydrated salts and/or hydrated sulfuric acid, as have been matched to the lower-resolution NIMS spectra.     

Gravitational and magnetic fields of some simple solids of revolution

Summary. Exact spherical harmonic expansions are given for calculating the gravitational and magnetic fields associated with certain uniform solids of revolution. The figures are those made by rotating a conic section about one of its principal axes. The coefficients in the expansions can be computed accurately and efficiently and this approach leads to a very satisfactory method for calculating the fields of geological bodies with approximate circular symmetry about a vertical axis. A complete theory of convergence is given for the expansions. Somewhat unexpectedly, the sphere of convergence is determined by the location of a number of equivalent point or line sources that lie within the body or on its edges.     

The extent of temporal smearing in surface-temperature histories derived from borehole temperature measurements

The ability of borehole temperature data to resolve past climatic events is investigated using Backus-Gilbert inversion methods. Two experimental approaches are considered: (1) the data consist of a single borehole temperature profile, and (2) the data consist of climatically-induced temperature transients measured within a borehole during a monitoring experiment. The sensitivity of the data's resolving power to the vertical distribution of the measurements, temperature measurement errors, the inclusion of a local meteorological record, and the duration of a monitoring experiment, are investigated. The results can be used to help interpret existing surface temperature histories derived from borehole temperature data and to optimize future experiments for the detection of climatic signals.     

A unique Galactic planetary nebula with a [WN] central star

We report the discovery of the first probable Galactic [WN] central star of a planetary nebula (CSPN). The planetary nebula candidate was found during our systematic scans of the AAO/UKST Hα Survey of the Milky Way. Subsequent confirmatory spectroscopy of the nebula and central star reveals the remarkable nature of this object. The nebular spectrum shows emission lines with large expansion velocities exceeding 150 km s⁻¹, suggesting that perhaps the object is not a conventional planetary nebula. The central star itself is very red and is identified as being of the [WN] class, which makes it unique in the Galaxy. A large body of supplementary observational data supports the hypothesis that this object is indeed a planetary nebula and not a Population I Wolf–Rayet star with a ring nebula.