Modulation of galactic cosmic ray anisotropy in heliomagnetosphere: Influence of cosmic ray scattering on sidereal daily variation

In previous papers, the present authors have shown that the galactic anisotropy is modulated due to cosmic ray orbital deflection in the heliomagnetosphere, and that the sidereal time daily variations of galactic origin can be expressed using the basic vectors, which have been obtained by calculating trajectories of cosmic rays in a model magnetosphere having Parker's Archimedian spiral structure with a flat or a wavy neutral sheet. In the present paper, the magnetic irregularities superposed on the Parker's spiral field have been taken into account, which cause the scattering of cosmic rays and disturb their orbits. We examined the fluctuations of asymptotic directions calculating their orbits by the Monte-Carlo simulation, based on the theory of the multiple scattering process. It is shown that the dispersion of the projected deviation angle is determined mainly by the scattering mean free path and by the structure of the order magnetic field, e.g. the polarity state of the heliomagnetosphere and the extent of the neutral sheet. We investigated also the influence of the fluctuations of asymptotic directions on the sidereal daily variation. It is found that, under some conditions, the scattering causes only the attenuation of the amplitude of the basic vector, and does not change its phase. The attenuation is negligibly small at high rigidities larger than ~ 1000 GV, but becomes more serious with decreasing rigidity. The rigidity dependence curve of the attenuation rate was calculated for various cases. A simple and approximate method is also presented for the derivation of those curves for any value of the magnitude of the mean free path and for various model magnetospheres. It is noted, however, that the lower limiting rigidity below which the present method is not applicable is relatively high in the Positive polarity state.     

Oxygen isotopic compositions of Allende Type C CAIs: Evidence for isotopic exchange during nebular melting and asteroidal metamorphism

In situ oxygen isotopic measurements of primary and secondary minerals in Type C CAIs from the Allende CV3 chondrite reveal that the pattern of relative enrichments and depletions of ¹⁶O in the primary minerals within each individual CAI are similar to the patterns observed in Types A and B CAIs from the same meteorite. Spinel is consistently the most ¹⁶O-rich (Δ¹⁷O = −25‰ to −15‰), followed by Al,Ti-dioside (Δ¹⁷O = −20‰ to −5‰) and anorthite (Δ¹⁷O = −15‰ to 0‰). Melilite is the most ¹⁶O-depleted primary mineral (Δ¹⁷O = −5‰ to −3‰). We conclude that the original melting event that formed Type C CAIs occurred in a ¹⁶O-rich (Δ¹⁷O  −20‰) nebular gas and they subsequently experienced oxygen isotopic exchange in a ¹⁶O-poor reservoir. At least three of these (ABC, TS26F1 and 93) experienced remelting at the time and place where chondrules were forming, trapping and partially assimilating ¹⁶O-poor chondrule fragments. The observation that the pyroxene is ¹⁶O-rich relative to the feldspar, even though the feldspar preceded it in the igneous crystallization sequence, disproves the class of CAI isotopic exchange models in which partial melting of a ¹⁶O-rich solid in a ¹⁶O-poor gas is followed by slow crystallization in that gas. For the typical (not associated with chondrule materials) Type C CAIs as well for as the Types A and B CAIs, the exchange that produced internal isotopic heterogeneity within each CAI must have occurred largely in the solid state. The secondary phases grossular, monticellite and forsterite commonly have similar oxygen isotopic compositions to the melilite and anorthite they replace, but in one case (CAI 160) grossular is ¹⁶O-enriched (Δ¹⁷O = −10‰ to −6‰) relative to melilite (Δ¹⁷O = −5‰ to −3‰), meaning that the melilite and anorthite must have exchanged its oxygen subsequent to secondary alteration. This isotopic exchange in melilite and anorthite likely occurred on the CV parent asteroid, possibly during fluid-assisted thermal metamorphism.     

Difference in the prevailing periods of internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays: Numerical experiments

Current measurements in the surface layer in Sagami and Suruga Bays showed existence of significant tidal currents which are considered to be mainly due to internal tides (Inaba, 1982; Ohwaki,ea al., 1991). In addition, the prevailing period of the tidal currents is semidiurnal in Sagami Bay, but diurnal in Suruga Bay. To explain this difference in the prevailing, periods, numerical experiments were carried out using a two layer model. The internal tides are generated on the Izu Ridge outside the two bays. The semidiurnal internal tide propagates into Sagami Bay having characteristics of an internal inertia-gravity wave, while it propagates into Suruga Bay having characteristics of either an internal inertia-gravity wave or an internal Kelvin wave. The diurnal internal tide behaves only as an internal Kelvin wave, because the diurnal period is longer than the inertia period. Thus, the diurnal internal tide generated on the Izu Ridge can be propagated into Suruga Bay, while it cannot propagate into the inner region of Sagami Bay, though it is trapped around Oshima Island, which is located at the mouth of Sagami Bay. The difference in the propagation characteristics between the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides can give a mechanism to explain the difference in the prevailing periods of the internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays.     

Numerical experiments on double-diffusive intrusions in the ocean and their relation to laboratory experiments

Numerical experiments on double-diffusive intrusions are reviewed briefly. Though the number of studies is very limited at present, they have undoubtedly an advantage that a heat–salt system can be studied without undesired heat loss from the boundaries.Several possibilities for future numerical experiments are summarized.     

Long term modulation of cosmic rays and inferable electromagnetic state in solar modulating region

It is demonstrated that the long term variation in cosmic ray intensity I(t) can be described by an integral equation,

$\text{I(t)=I}{}_{\mathrm{\infty }}\text{?}\text{∫}\text{0}\text{∞}\text{f(τ)S(t?τ)}\text{d}\text{τ}$

, which is derived from a generalization of Simpson's coasting solar wind model. A source function S(t?τ) is given by some appropriate solar activity index at a time t?τ(τ ? 0) and the characteristic functionf(τ)(?0 forτ ? 0) expresses the time dependence of the efficiency of the intensity depression due to solar disturbances represented by S(t ?τ) when the disturbances generated at the solar surface propagate through the modulating region with the solar wind. It is demonstrated further that the equation can be derived from the general diffusion-convection theory on some assumptions, and as a result, the source and characteristic functions can be related to diffusion coefficient and its transition in space. Assuming the sunspot number R (or two activity indices including R) as the source function, the characteristic function f(τ) [or f(τ)'s] is obtained with data of the cosmic ray intensity extended over several decades. Based on the theory, one can obtain from f(τ) the following physical quantities in space, such as the transition and life time of solar disturbances, the boundary of the modulating region, and the radial and time dependences of the diffusion coefficient, radial density gradient and modulated intensity of cosmic rays. Results deduced from the present analysis are consistent with those obtained directly or indirectly by space observations.     

Origin of low-Ca pyroxene in amoeboid olivine aggregates: Evidence from oxygen isotopic compositions

Amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs) in primitive carbonaceous chondrites consist of forsterite (Fa_<2), Fe,Ni-metal, spinel, Al-diopside, anorthite, and rare gehlenitic melilite (Åk_<15). ∼10% of AOAs contain low-Ca pyroxene (Fs_1-3Wo_1-5) that is in corrosion relationship with forsterite and is found in three major textural occurrences: (i) thin (<15 μm) discontinuous layers around forsterite grains or along forsterite grain boundaries in AOA peripheries; (ii) 5-10-μm-thick haloes and subhedral grains around Fe,Ni-metal nodules in AOA peripheries, and (iii) shells of variable thickness (up to 70 μm), commonly with abundant tiny (3-5 μm) inclusions of Fe,Ni-metal grains, around AOAs. AOAs with the low-Ca pyroxene shells are compact and contain euhedral grains of Al-diopside surrounded by anorthite, suggesting small (10%-20%) degree of melting. AOAs with other textural occurrences of low-Ca pyroxene are rather porous. Forsterite grains in AOAs with low-Ca pyroxene have generally ¹⁶O-rich isotopic compositions (Δ¹⁷O < −20‰). Low-Ca pyroxenes of the textural occurrences (i) and (ii) are ¹⁶O-enriched (Δ¹⁷O < −20‰), whereas those of (iii) are ¹⁶O-depleted (Δ¹⁷O = −6‰ to −4‰). One of the extensively melted (>50%) objects is texturally and mineralogically intermediate between AOAs and Al-rich chondrules. It consists of euhedral forsterite grains, pigeonite, augite, anorthitic mesostasis, abundant anhedral spinel grains, and minor Fe,Ni-metal; it is surrounded by a coarse-grained igneous rim largely composed of low-Ca pyroxene with abundant Fe,Ni-metal-sulfide nodules. The mineralogical observations suggest that only spinel grains in this igneous object were not melted. The spinel is ¹⁶O-rich (Δ¹⁷O ∼ −22‰), whereas the neighboring plagioclase mesostasis is ¹⁶O-depleted (Δ¹⁷O ∼ −11‰).We conclude that AOAs are aggregates of solar nebular condensates (forsterite, Fe,Ni-metal, and CAIs composed of Al-diopside, anorthite, spinel, and ±melilite) formed in an ¹⁶O-rich gaseous reservoir, probably CAI-forming region(s). Solid or incipiently melted forsterite in some AOAs reacted with gaseous SiO in the same nebular region to form low-Ca pyroxene. Some other AOAs appear to have accreted ¹⁶O-poor pyroxene-normative dust and experienced varying degrees of melting, most likely in chondrule-forming region(s). The most extensively melted AOAs experienced oxygen isotope exchange with ¹⁶O-poor nebular gas and may have been transformed into chondrules. The original ¹⁶O-rich signature of the precursor materials of such chondrules is preserved only in incompletely melted grains.     

A refractory inclusion with solar oxygen isotopes and the rarity of such objects in the meteorite record

NASA's Genesis mission revealed that the Sun is enriched in ¹⁶O compared to the Earth and Mars (the Sun's Δ¹⁷O, defined as δ¹⁷O–0.52×δ¹⁸O, is –28.4 ± 3.6‰; McKeegan et al. 2011). Materials as ¹⁶O‐rich as the Sun are extremely rare in the meteorite record. Here, we describe a Ca‐Al‐rich inclusion (CAI) from a CM chondrite that is as ¹⁶O‐enriched as the Sun (Δ¹⁷O = –29.1 ± 0.7‰). This CAI also has large nucleosynthetic anomalies in ⁴⁸Ca and ⁵⁰Ti (δ‐values are –8.1 ± 3.3 and –11.7 ± 2.4‰, respectively) and shows no clear evidence for incorporation of live ²⁶Al; (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ = (0.03 ± 0.11) × 10^–5. Due to their anomalous isotopic characteristics, the rare CAIs consistent with the Genesis value could be among the first materials that formed in the solar system. In contrast to the CAI studied here, the majority of CAIs formed in or interacted with a reservoir characterized by a Δ¹⁷O value near –23.5‰. Combined with ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg systematics, the oxygen isotopic compositions of FUN (fractionation and unidentified nuclear effects), UN, and normal CAIs suggest that nebular conditions were favorable for solids to inherit this value for an extended period of time. Many later‐formed materials, such as chondrules, planetesimals, and terrestrial planets, formed in reservoirs with Δ¹⁷O near 0‰. The distribution could be easier to explain if the common CAI value of –23.5‰, which is consistent with the Genesis value within 3σ, represented the average composition of the protoplanetary disk.     

Oxygen and Al‐Mg isotopic compositions of grossite‐bearing refractory inclusions from CO3 chondrites

The distribution of the short‐lived radionuclide ²⁶Al in the early solar system remains a major topic of investigation in planetary science. Thousands of analyses are now available but grossite‐bearing Ca‐, Al‐rich inclusions (CAIs) are underrepresented in the database. Recently found grossite‐bearing inclusions in CO3 chondrites provide an opportunity to address this matter. We determined the oxygen and magnesium isotopic compositions of individual phases of 10 grossite‐bearing CAIs in the Dominion Range (DOM) 08006 (CO3.0) and DOM 08004 (CO3.1) chondrites. All minerals in DOM 08006 CAIs as well as hibonite, spinel, and pyroxene in DOM 08004 are uniformly ¹⁶O‐rich (Δ¹⁷O = ?25 to ?20‰) but grossite and melilite in DOM 08004 CAIs are not; Δ¹⁷O of grossite and melilite range from ~ ?11 to ~0‰ and from ~ ?23 up to ~0‰, respectively. Even within this small suite, in the two chondrites a bimodal distribution of the inferred initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ is seen, with four having (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ ≤1.1 × 10^?5 and six having (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ ≥3.7 × 10^?5. Five of the ²⁶Al‐rich CAIs have (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ within error of 4.5 × 10^?5; these values can probably be considered indistinguishable from the “canonical” value of 5.2 × 10^?5 given the uncertainty in the relative sensitivity factor for grossite measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry. We infer that the ²⁶Al‐poor CAIs probably formed before the radionuclide was fully mixed into the solar nebula. All minerals in the DOM 08006 CAIs, as well as spinel, hibonite, and Al‐diopside in the DOM 08004 CAIs retained their initial oxygen isotopic compositions, indicating homogeneity of oxygen isotopic compositions in the nebular region where the CO grossite‐bearing CAIs originated. Oxygen isotopic heterogeneity in CAIs from DOM 08004 resulted from exchange between the initially ¹⁶O‐rich (Δ¹⁷O ~?24‰) melilite and grossite and ¹⁶O‐poor (Δ¹⁷O ~0‰) fluid during hydrothermal alteration on the CO chondrite parent body; hibonite, spinel, and Al‐diopside avoided oxygen isotopic exchange during the alteration. Grossite and melilite that underwent oxygen isotopic exchange avoided redistribution of radiogenic ²⁶Mg and preserved undisturbed internal Al‐Mg isochrons. The Δ¹⁷O of the fluid can be inferred from O‐isotopic compositions of aqueously formed fayalite and magnetite that precipitated from the fluid on the CO parent asteroid. This and previous studies suggest that O‐isotope exchange during fluid–rock interaction affected most CAIs in CO ≥3.1 chondrites.     

Ore and Skarn Mineralogy of the Yamato Mine,Yamaguchi Prefecture,Japan, with Emphasis on Silver‐, Bismuth‐, Cobalt‐, and Tin‐bearing Sulfides

Assemblages and chemical compositions of ore minerals from the Yamato mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, were investigated in detail to clarify its characteristics as a skarn deposit. Special attention was paid to silver‐, bismuth‐, cobalt‐, and tin‐bearing sulfide minerals and native gold at the mine, which are described here for the first time. Samples of arsenopyrite‐dominant massive ore, and garnet‐rich, clinopyroxene‐garnet‐rich, and wollastonite‐bearing skarn ores were collected from the mine dump. Arsenopyrite is the most abundant ore mineral (>80 vol.%) in the massive ore, in association with both As‐poor/free and As‐bearing pyrite. The major ore minerals in the skarn specimens are pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite, along with minor argentite, Ag‐Pb‐Bi sulfate, matildite, bismuthinite, native bismuth, molybdenite, scheelite, stannite, stannoidite, cassiterite, cobaltite, gersdorffite, and Co‐rich violarite. In addition, native gold is observed in the interstices of gangue minerals. Based on the mineral assemblages and textures of the specimens examined, the major ore minerals formed in the early stage of mineralization, and the Bi‐, Ag‐, Co‐, Ni‐, As‐ and Sn‐mineralization occurred in the middle stage. Native gold was deposited in the late stage. The estimated formation temperature of the middle mineralization stage was 312±5 °C, according to iron and zinc partitioning between stannite and coexisting sphalerite. The mineralogical properties and mineralization process of the Yamato mine are consistent with those of common skarn‐ and vein‐type ore deposits associated with ilmenite‐series granitoids in the San‐yo and San‐in districts.