镜面材料

结合实际加工过的镜面,回顾了用于反射镜面材料的发展历程、性质和加工方法,叙述了材料的现状及存在的问题,为今后的发展指出了方向.最后对常用的反射镜面材料性能进行归纳,对被广泛看好的新材料一碳化硅的应用及加工做了简要叙述.     

追逐类星体(27) 黑洞——类星体的发电机(5)

黑洞也可以蒸发天文学的发展遵循着一条规律:观测、理论、再观测、再理论……这大概也是任何一门自然科学的发展规律,只不过天文学表现得更为突出,而在漫长的发展过程中,观测又始终是天文科学的真谛。因此,天文学又被称为是一门观测的科学。黑洞的观测证据越来越丰富,黑洞对宇宙的威胁也越来越严重。理论天文学家必须出来释疑,让黑洞不仅能吃进去,还要吐出来。吐出来的困难在于黑洞的引力太强,在黑洞的视     

为什么恒星有不同的颜色?

问天狼星是白色的,心宿二是红色的老人星是黄色的……为什么恒星有不同的颜色?答夜空中闪烁的星光,有的像心宿二—样呈现出红色,有的像老人星一样泛着黄色的光芒,还有的像天狼星一样发出白色的光……其实,恒星的颜色主要跟恒星表面温度密切相关。这种颜色与温度间的关系不单存在于遥远的太空中,在我们日常生活中也随处可见。     

二阶后牛顿光线轨迹方程

根据DSX体系的后牛顿近似理论,直接由Lagrange方程导出了轴对称稳态时空中光子的二阶后牛顿轨迹方程,并求得在赤道平面内传播的光线偏转角.在可测量精度范围内,得到的结论与Schwarzschild和Kerr度规下的情况相吻合.     

超轻量镜面系统的研制

空间望远镜的研制一直要求系统的轻量化,美国宇航局(NASA)最近研制的韦伯太空望远镜,其主镜系统面密度相对于哈勃空间望远镜已大幅减轻.在韦伯望远镜主镜系统的研制过程中,NASA开展了一系列关于超轻量镜面系统的验证计划,多家机构拿出多个方案参与竞标.本文选取几个比较典型的方案,介绍这些镜面系统的设计思想、结构、材料、加工以及相关测试结果,期望能对国内相关方面的工作提供参考.     

用CHAMP加速仪数据校验太阳活动峰年的大气模型精度

介绍CHAMP星载加速仪数据的处理方法.通过对实测数据的分析证实仪器的x轴存在故障.为了研究太阳活动峰年大气模型的精度,处理了2001至2002年的加速仪数据,利用切向非引力加速度反算大气密度.然后从统计的角度分析DTM94和MSIS90大气模型的误差,得到一些定量的结论,太阳活动峰年DTM94的误差为30%-35%,MSIS90的误差为25%-30%,MSIS90比DTM94误差小,模型间最大差异约10%.     

月球的起源

月亮是夜空中最为明显的天体,自人类文明之初,它就在世界各地的文化中占据着特殊的地位。大多数古代文明都相信,月亮是由神放置在天空中的。随着现代天文学的发展,人们以更现实的方式考察月球的起源。今天最广为接受的理论认为,地球在年轻时曾与一颗火星大小的天体相撞,而月球正晕场大冲撞溅出的碎片凝聚形成的。     

引力透镜——再领科学潮

先来思考一个问题：光总是沿着直线传播的,对吗7……现在,让我们跟随天才的阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的脚步,来想想这个问题!根据爱因斯坦著名的广义相对论,从遥远的光源发出的光线,会在途经的大质量天体附近“弯折”。对我们生活中常见的那些大小和质量的物体来说,这种效应小得难以想象,但是在宇宙的尺度上,光的这种性质就成为我们研究遥远天体时有用工具。     

“卧室满天星”制作揭秘

来参观过 starry 和 yvonne 的天文小屋的朋友,对我们卧室的满天星效果赞不绝口。开关一开,就看到完全根据《全天星图2000》临摹的夏夜星空,满天繁星一闪一闪的,还可以变化颜色。躺在床上数星星,不可不谓一种浪漫、惬意的享受啊。天文同好们应该都有自己家里看到星空的想法吧?最开始我是买了 HOMESTAR PRO,平心而论,这种家庭天象仪的效果已经很     

诗意的月球（七）——月亮与海潮

潮汐是大海特有的一种现象,久存海边的人会发现：海水每天都有规律地上升和下降,仿佛人的呼吸一般（如上图所示）。海水这种奇特的运动,经常成为诗人歌咏的对象,有时特殊的地理环境会造成壮观的大潮（如钱塘江大潮）,成为特别的景观,也留下许多诗词佳作。     

天文学研究发展趋势分析--恒星与恒星系统

对在1981-2000年世界上所发表的和中国学者所发表的有关恒星与恒星系统的论文作统计发现：此期间世界上这一领域的发展较平稳，而我国的发展快速．这反映了改革开放后，我国基础学科研究大有进展．从各分支所占的比重和发展来看，我国在恒星与恒星系统的研究与世界同期有几乎相同的分布，因此总体上我国在这一领域的发展基本正常．当然有些分支发展较快，如有关超新星及其遗迹、星际介质和恒星形成区、化学丰度的研究等，这和一些较强的研究团组形成有关；在双星研究方面，我国则与世界发展一致，双星研究始终是恒星研究领域的重点；而在世界范围内较突出的关于银河系的研究，在我国却相对较弱．恒星和恒星系统这一研究领域20年的论文数统计显示，我国学者所发表的论文只占世界总论文数的1．3％，虽然在最后5年有大幅上升，但也只占2．0％，这与我国IAU会员数所占比例相比是偏少的．就世界整体而言，恒星领域的研究进展与整个天文学领域相比是较慢的，显然这与一批能做深空探测和高能波段观测的设备投入有关．因此，除了对恒星及恒星系统领域作统计分析外，对整个天文学领域各大分支作分析可能对制定今后我国天文学发展计划更有利。     

Unusual stripes in emission and absorption in solar radio bursts: Ropes of fibers in the meter wave band

Based on data from the spectrographs of IZMIRAN and Tremsdorf station (Astronomical Institute, Potsdam), we analyze the ropes of narrow-band fibers in the spectra of solar radio bursts in the meter wave band by invoking events of satellite data (SOHO/LASCO, EIT, MDI) for the analysis. We consider in detail basic properties of the ropes in four events in comparison with previously known data. The fibers in ropes are more commonly observed with an overlap in time and frequency, but occasionally (more often at the end of the ropes) they can follow with a separation in time. The fiber duration and recurrence period seldom remain stable and, in general, increase from 0.3–0.5 s at the beginning to several seconds at the end of the rope. The relative values of the instantaneous and total fiber frequency bandwidths change only slightly in different events; δ f / f ≈ 0.003–0.005 and Δf / f ≈ 0.02–0.03. Most of the ropes exhibit a low-frequency absorption. The fibers in ropes are similar to ordinary intermediate drift bursts (fiber bursts), but they drift in a narrow frequency band and have a more frequent recurrence in some events. The ropes of fibers are usually observed in the time interval when the shock front catches up with the leading edge of a coronal mass ejection. Under the condition of a unified approach to interpreting the ropes of fibers in all events, their basic properties can be explained in terms of the model of fiber bursts. The connection of fibers with the developed zebra pattern is shown within the framework of a unified approach to the formation theory of stripes in emission and absorption in the model on whistlers.     

Determining the rotation law of the solar convection zone

The condition of minimum total dissipation is used to derive stationary rotation and azimuthal magnetic field distributions in the bulk of the solar convection zone with an upper boundary at which the relative radius is r/R=0.95. General equilibrium con figurations with symmetric and antisymmetric (about the equator) angular-velocity and field components are determined. The calculated rotation law matches the observed one in general parameters, but the decrease in angular velocity at high latitudes in theory is larger than that in observations. Besides, there are additional sharp variations in the rotation and field distributions in the theoretical curves near the generation zone of solar torsional waves. The possible cause of the latter discrepancy is discussed. The change in equilibrium distributions due to the presence of an inverse molecular-weight gradient at the base of the convection zone is also studied. This gradient is known to be produced by accelerated gravitational helium settling in the convection zone.     

Anisotropic and inhomogeneous S-type Riemann ellipsoids inside spheroidal halos. II

Classical S-type Riemann ellipsoids are generalized taking a Ferrers-type inhomogeneity in the mass distribution, a three-dimensional anisotropy in the dispersion in the velocities, and the gravitation of a spherical halo into account. A Ferrers inhomogeneity in the mass distribution does not affect the equilibrium conditions for the ellipsoids, but only changes the numerical coefficients in the equilibrium parameters. An anisotropy in the dispersion in the velocities does change the equilibrium conditions, expanding or contracting the region in which embedded ellipsoids exist. A halo extends this region in all cases. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp.359–373 (August 2006).     

Validation of a multidecadal RCM hindcast over East Asia

The precipitation and low-level air temperature in East Asia from a regional climate model (RCM) hindcast for the 22-year period 1979–2000 is evaluated against observational data in preparation for the model use in regional climate change research. Emphasis of the evaluation is placed on the RCM capability in capturing the temporal and spatial variability of precipitation and low-level temperature, especially in conjunction with important climatological events such as, ENSO and East Asian monsoon, at three spatial scales of continental, subcontinental, and river basins.Spatial anomaly correlation time series of geopotential height and temperature show that the simulated upper-air fields remain consistent with the driving large-scale fields, NCEP Reanalysis 2 (R2), throughout the period. The simulated seasonal shifts in 850 hPa winds also agree well with R2 over eastern China and the western Pacific Ocean although the magnitudes of the shifts are overestimated, especially over the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau and in northern Manchuria. The simulated precipitation climatology agrees reasonably with that from two analysis datasets based on station- and remote-sensing data. Outstanding characteristics of precipitation including the location of the main rainband, climatological means, and the spatiotemporal variability in association with East Asian Monsoon, ENSO, and extreme events, are well represented in the hindcast. The most notable bias in the simulated precipitation is an overestimation of winter rainfall in southwestern coast of China, near the border with Vietnam. The simulation overestimates the interannual variability of seasonal precipitation especially in southern China, however, the corresponding coefficients of variation agree reasonably with observations except in very dry regions. This suggests that climate sensitivity of scaled precipitation can be useful for projecting climate change signals. The simulated low-level temperature climatology agrees reasonably with observational data as well. The most noticeable biases in the simulated low-level temperature are the warm (cold) biases in southern Siberia (northeastern China) during winter (summer) and the systematic underestimation of low-level temperature in the Tibetan Plateau for all seasons. The daily maximum temperature is underestimated for all seasons by 2−3 K with the largest biases in spring and fall except in the northwestern Mongolia region where it has been overestimated during winter. The daily minimum temperature biases ranges from 0.3 K in spring to 2 K in winter, and are much smaller than those in daily maximum temperature. The evaluation of the multidecadal hindcast shows that model errors mostly confined in the region near the lateral boundaries of the model domain with only minor biases in eastern China. This allows us to be cautiously optimistic about the RCM usefulness for studies of precipitation and low-level temperature changes in East Asia induced by increased emissions of greenhouse gases.     

LGM lake records from China and an analysis of climate dynamics using a modelling approach

Lake-geological studies in China have reported that there were much higher lake levels and much fresher water than today at the last glacial maximum (LGM) in western China. A compilation of lake data in this study showed LGM conditions much drier than today in eastern China but somewhat wetter in western China. These E–W differential patterns of climate conditions were completely different from the modern dry-wet conditions with a N–S differential distribution. In this study palaeoclimate simulations by an AGCM coupled with land surface process model were used to explore the possible mechanisms of LGM climate in China. The results confirmed that the dry conditions in eastern China resulted from less summer precipitation due to the Pacific Subtropical High occupying eastern China and the decline in the summer monsoon. The wet conditions in western China were produced by a decrease in evaporation due to a low temperature on land surface at the LGM and increase in precipitation. Two experiments of the palaeoclimate simulations with different land surface of modern and palaeo-vegetations have been designed to test the discrepancies of simulated LGM climate with in precipitation and P–E fields. The results suggested that the feedback from the Asian land surface within the climate system would amplify and modify external forcing, leading to marked climate changes in China.     

Nonlinear wave-wave interactions in astrophysical and space plasmas

We discuss nonlinear mode-mode coupling phenomena in cosmic plasmas. Four problems are considered: (1) nonlinear three-wave processes in the planetary magnetosphere involving the interaction of auroral Langmuir, Alfvén and whistler waves, (2) nonlinear three-wave processes in the solar wind involving the modulation of Langmuir and electromagnetic waves by ion-acoustic waves, (3) order and chaos in nonlinear four-wave processes in cosmic plasmas, and (4) regular and chaotic dynamics of the relativistic Langmuir turbulence and its application to pulsar and AGN emissions. The observational evidence in support of nonlinear wave-wave interactions in space and astrophysical plasmas is presented.     

Topical Issues for Particle Acceleration Mechanisms in Astrophysical Shocks

Particle acceleration at plasma shocks appears to be ubiquitous in the universe, spanning systems in the heliosphere, supernova remnants, and relativistic jets in distant active galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. This review addresses some of the key issues for shock acceleration theory that require resolution in order to propel our understanding of particle energization in astrophysical environments. These include magnetic field amplification in shock ramps, the non-linear hydrodynamic interplay between thermal ions and their extremely energetic counterparts possessing ultrarelativistic energies, and the ability to inject and accelerate electrons in both non-relativistic and relativistic shocks. Recent observational developments that impact these issues are summarized. While these topics are currently being probed by astrophysicists using numerical simulations, they are also ripe for investigation in laboratory experiments, which potentially can provide valuable insights into the physics of cosmic shocks.     

Impacts of deforestation and afforestation in the Mediterranean region as simulated by the MPI atmospheric GCM

For two reasons it is important to study the sensitivity of the global climate to changes in the vegetation cover over land. First, in the real world, changes in the vegetation cover may have regional and global implications. Second, in numerical simulations, the sensitivity of the simulated climate may depend on the specific parameterization schemes employed in the model and on the model's large-scale systematic errors. The Max-Planck-Institute's global general circulation model ECHAM4 has been used to study the sensitivity of the local and global climate during a full annual cycle to deforestation and afforestation in the Mediterranean region. The deforestation represents an extreme desertification scenario for this region. The changes in the afforestation experiment are based on the pattern of the vegetation cover 2000 years before present when the climate in the Mediterranean was more humid. The comparison of the deforestation integration to the control shows a slight cooling at the surface and reduced precipitation during the summer as a result of less evapotranspiration of plants and less evaporation from the assumption of eroded soils. There is no significant signal during the winter season due to the stronger influence of the mid-latitude baroclinic disturbances. In general, the results of the afforestation experiment are opposite to those of the deforestation case. A significant response was found in the vicinity of grid points where the land surface characteristics were modified. The response in the Sahara in the afforestation experiment is in agreement with the results from other general circulation model studies.