Precession of the super-massive black hole in NGC 1275 (3C 84)?

The X-ray holes at the centre of the Perseus cluster of galaxies are not all at the same position angle with respect to the centre of the cluster. This configuration would result if the jet inflating the bubbles is precessing, or moving around, and the bubbles detach at different times. The orientations which best fit the observed travel directions are an inclination of the precession axis to the line of sight of 120° and an opening angle of 50°. From the time-scales for the bubbles seen in the cluster, the precession time-scale, τ_prec, is around  3.3 × 10⁷ yr  . The bubbles rising up through different parts of the cluster may have interacted with the central cool gas, forming the whorl of cool gas observed in the temperature structure of the cluster. The dynamics of bubbles rising in fluids is discussed. The conditions present in the cluster are such that oscillatory motion, observed for bubbles rising in fluids on Earth, should take place. However, the time-scale for this motion is longer than that taken for the bubbles to evolve into spherical-cap bubbles, which do not undergo a path instability, so such motion is not expected to occur.     

Tektite research 1936–1990*

Abstract— Fifty-odd years of tektite research are reviewed, proceeding from the discovery of the first North American tektites in 1936. This included the early recognition that tektites were terrestrial objects rather than meteorites and that the glassy particles in tektites were fused quartz (lechatelierite). Later, during National Science Foundation-supported research, it was found that some tektites appeared to have formed as puddles of melt, that the content and character of bubbles in lechatelierite can be used as a relative temperature scale, that rayed bubbles in tektites formed from hydrous minerals, that bubbles in tektites formed chiefly from water which was absorbed into the walls of the bubbles leaving vacuums, and that “fingers” in the surficial part of some tektites may have formed by differential volatilization. Some unpublished observations and adventures are briefly reported.     

Simulation of radio plasma in clusters of galaxies

We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of buoyant gas in a typical cluster environment. In these simulations, hot matter was injected continuously into a small region offset from the cluster centre. In agreement with previous analytic estimates, we found that the bubbles evolve very differently depending on the rate of energy injection. Using tracer particles we computed the efficiency of the bubbles to stir the intracluster medium (ICM) and find that recurrent low-power sources are more effective in mixing the inner cluster region than rarer large outbursts. Moreover, we computed radio maps of the bubbles based on different assumptions about the magnetic field. In the radio band the bubbles closely resemble FR I sources. For the bubbles to be detectable for long enough to account for FR I sources, we found that reacceleration has to take place. The bubbles are generally difficult to detect, both in the radio and in the X-ray band. Thus it is possible to hide a significant amount of energy in the form of bubbles in clusters.     

Plasma bubbles near the dawn terminator in the topside ionosphere

The physical properties of plasma bubbles in the topside ionosphere near the dawn terminator are investigated. It is assumed that the bubbles result from either a Rayleigh-Taylor or an $\text{E}\text{×}\text{B}$ instability on the bottom side of the F-layer. While the E-region is in darkness, the top and bottomsides of the ionosphere are electrically decoupled and the motion of bubbles can be described by non-linear, two-dimensional theory. After sunrise, electric fields within the bubbles discharge through the conducting lower ionosphere. The upward drift of the bubbles is effectively halted. To achieve a dayside state of diffusive equilibrium the bubbles slowly begin to collapse from the bottom.     

Buoyant radio plasma in clusters of galaxies

Radio galaxies are known to inflate lobes of hot relativistic plasmas into the intergalactic medium. Here we present hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical simulations of these hot plasma bubbles in FR II objects. We focus on the later stages of their evolution after the jet has died down and after the bow shock that surrounded the lobes at earlier stages has vanished. We investigate the evolution of the plasma bubbles as they become subject to Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities. From our simulations we calculate the radio and X-ray emissivities of the bubbles and discuss their appearance in observations. Finally, we investigate the influence of large-scale magnetic fields on the evolution of the bubbles. The issues of re-acceleration and diffusion of relativistic particles are briefly discussed.     

A review of volatile compounds in tektites,and carbon content and isotopic composition of moldavite glass

Abstract– Tektites, natural silica‐rich glasses produced during impact events, commonly contain bubbles. The paper reviews published data on pressure and composition of a gas phase contained in the tektite bubbles and data on other volatile compounds which can be released from tektites by either high‐temperature melting or by crushing or milling under vacuum. Gas extraction from tektites using high‐temperature melting generally produced higher gas yield and different gas composition than the low‐temperature extraction using crushing or milling under vacuum. The high‐temperature extraction obviously releases volatiles not only from the bubbles, but also volatile compounds contained directly in the glass. Moreover, the gas composition can be modified by reactions between the released gases and the glass melt. Published data indicate that besides CO₂ and/or CO in the bubbles, another carbon reservoir is present directly in the tektite glass. To clarify the problem of carbon content and carbon isotopic composition of the tektite glass, three samples from the Central European tektite strewn field—moldavites—were analyzed. The samples contained only 35–41 ppm C with δ¹³C values in the range from ?28.5 to ?29.9‰ VPDB. This indicates that terrestrial organic matter was a dominant carbon source during moldavite formation.     

Les bulles chromospheriques

The purpose of this work is to study some characteristics of roundish features which are observed on Hα filtergrams, above the solar chromosphere, at the limb. The ‘Bulles’ - chromospheric bubbles - so called for their apparent shape, move upwards into the low corona and fade out when their material is completely ionised (Figures 1 to 3). The physical data for nine observed bubbles listed in Table I are: lifetime (2), average height (3), ascending velocity (4), lateral velocity (5), angle of the movement with the normal to the solar limb (6), intensity in Hα (7) and diameters (8). The time variations of some of these properties are pictured in Figure 4. It is noted that all measured velocities are super-sonic. We discuss the relation between the ascending velocity and the maximum height reached by the bubbles (Figure 5) and compare it with the one obtained by Rush and Roberts for spicules. The study of their diameters shows that the vertical diameter is generally greater than the horizontal one. Their ratio is a function of speed and becomes equal to unity when the bubble velocity reaches 70 km s^?1 (Figure 6). The bubbles seem to diffuse in the corona as spicules do. We also compare the properties of bubbles with some already known chromospheric features (Table II) and there seems to be a link between bubbles and Becker's grains. Finally, we, however, propose two hypothesis regarding the origin of bubbles: (i) they are related to spicules, or (ii) they are accelerated in the low chromosphere by the divergence of the magnetic field.     

The Global Structure of the Colliding Bubble Braneworld Universe

The one-brane Randall-Sundrum model offers an example of a model with an `infinite' extra dimension in which ordinary gravity is recovered at large distances and the usual (3+1)-dimensional cosmology at late cosmic times. This is possible because the `bulk' has the geometry of anti de Sitter space, the curvature length ℓ of which delineates the (3+1)-dimensional behavior at large distances from the (4+1)-dimensional behavior at short distances. This spacetime, however, possesses a past Cauchy horizon on which initial data must be specified in a natural and convincing way. A more complete story is required that singles out some set of initial conditions to resolve the `bulk' smoothness and horizon problems. One such complete story is offered by the colliding bubble braneworld universe, where bubbles filled with AdS ⁵ nucleate from dS ⁵ or M ⁵ through quantum tunnelling. A pair of such colliding bubbles forms a Randall-Sundrum-like universe in the future of the collision. Because of the symmetry of bubbles produced through quantum tunnelling, the resulting universe is spatially homogeneous and isotropic at leading order, and the perturbations at the next order are completely well defined and calculable. In this contribution we discuss the possible global structure of such a spacetime. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sound waves excitation by jet-inflated bubbles in clusters of galaxies

We show that repeated sound waves in the intracluster medium (ICM) can be excited by a single inflation episode of an opposite bubble pair. To reproduce this behaviour in numerical simulations, the bubbles should be inflated by jets, rather than being injected artificially as already full-blown bubbles. The multiple sound waves are excited by the motion of the bubble–ICM boundary that is caused by vortices inside the inflated bubbles and the backflow ('cocoon') of the ICM around the bubble. These sound waves form a structure that can account for the ripples observed in the Perseus cooling flow cluster. We inflate the bubbles using slow massive jets either with a very wide opening angle or that are narrow and precessing. The wide jets (or collimated fast winds) are slow in the sense that they are highly subrelativistic,   v _j∼ 0.01 c – 0.1 c   , and they are massive in the sense that the pair of bubbles carries back to the ICM a large fraction of the cooling mass, i.e.  ∼1–50 M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . We use a two-dimensional axisymmetric (referred to as 2.5D) hydrodynamical numerical code ( vh-1 ).     

Wavelet analysis of non-Gaussian anisotropies from primordial voids in simulated maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Phase transitions taking place during the inflationary epoch give rise to bubbles of true vacuum embedded in the false vacuum. These bubbles can imprint a distinctive signal on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We evaluate the feasibility of detecting these signatures with wavelets in CMB maps, such as those that will be made available by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Planck mission.     

Detection potential of the KM3NeT detector for high-energy neutrinos from the Fermi bubbles

A recent analysis of the Fermi Large Area Telescope data provided evidence for a high-intensity emission of high-energy gamma rays with a E⁻² spectrum from two large areas, spanning 50° above and below the Galactic centre (the “Fermi bubbles”). A hadronic mechanism was proposed for this gamma-ray emission making the Fermi bubbles promising source candidates of high-energy neutrino emission. In this work Monte Carlo simulations regarding the detectability of high-energy neutrinos from the Fermi bubbles with the future multi-km³ neutrino telescope KM3NeT in the Mediterranean Sea are presented. Under the hypothesis that the gamma-ray emission is completely due to hadronic processes, the results indicate that neutrinos from the bubbles could be discovered in about one year of operation, for a neutrino spectrum with a cutoff at 100 TeV and a detector with about 6 km³ of instrumented volume. The effect of a possible lower cutoff is also considered.     

On the theory of magnetar QPOs

We examine the effect of inhomogeneous re-ionization on the galaxy power spectrum and the consequences for probing dark energy. To model feedback during re-ionization, we apply an ansatz setting the galaxy overdensity proportional to the underlying ionization field. Thus, inhomogeneous re-ionization may leave an imprint in the galaxy power spectrum. We evolve this imprint to low redshift and use the Fisher-matrix formalism to assess the effect on parameter estimation. We show that a combination of low-redshift  ( z = 0.3)  and high-redshift  ( z = 3)  galaxy surveys can constrain the size of cosmological H  ii regions during re-ionization. This imprint can also cause confusion when using baryon oscillations or other features of the galaxy power spectrum to probe the dark energy. We show that when bubbles are large, and hence detectable, our ability to constrain w can be degraded by up to 50 per cent. When bubbles are small, the imprint has little or no effect on measuring dark energy parameters.     

Fast galactic dynamos and interstellar magnetic bubbles

Large ( > 100 pc) interstellar magnetic bubbles are necessary in the cosmic-ray-driven fast galactic dynamo, as pioneered by Parker in 1992. In a first part, a look is made at the available data on nearby (< 1000 pc) large interstellar magnetic bubbles. Here the magnetic field strengthB in a large shell of densityn around an OB association is found to be a few times greater than that outside in the general interstellar medium, varying typically likeB ~n, as expected for a shocked medium. In a second part, some tests are made of the predictions about interstellar magnetic bubbles made by the theory of a cosmic-ray driven fast galactic dynamo. The bubble tests generally support the idea of a cosmic-ray-driven fast galactic dynamo for the Milky Way.     

Lower midlatitude ionospheric disturbances and the perkins instability

This paper presents a preliminary study of ionospheric disturbances at dip latitudes less than 40° as seen by the ion drift meter and the retarding potential analyzer on board Atmosphere Explorer E during a period of low solar activity. The altitude of observation was relatively low, mostly below 300 km. The emphasis is on the midlatitude region, where some features resemble equatorial bubbles; no clear demarcation in latitude could be recognized between the bubbles and other midlatitude disturbances. Excellent evidence was found that the Perkins instability is responsible for very structured disturbances which were frequently observed. In most cases where regions of inward and outward E × B drift were encountered, diffusive motion up or down the field line partially cancelled the vertical component of the cross-field drift. In some cases cancellation was almost perfect, but in others it appeared not to occur at all (probably cases involving rapid changes). Within the larger structures caused by the Perkins instability there were places where the secondary gradient drift instability was also active.     

Catalogue of unambiguous (Faraday-thin,one-component,spectrum-selected) rotation measures for galaxies and quasars

This all-sky catalogue of unambiguous rotation measure (from a Faraday-thin, one-component, spectrum selection) for 674 galaxies or quasars has been compiled, ordered, and edited from the available literature. All the known applications of the RM distribution toward foreground objects in the Galaxy (i.e., magnetic field in 4 nearby spiral arms and in 4 nearby interstellar magnetic bubbles) have also been catalogued.     

The Value of Ωo in a Colliding Bubble Universe

We present a calculation of the probability distribution of the invariant separation between the nucleation centers of colliding bubbles resulting from the decay of a false de Sitter space vacuum. We also discuss the probability of a collision with a `third' bubble. This study is motivated by the proposed `colliding bubble braneworld' scenario in which the value of Ω₀ today is a function of this invariant. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The injection of energy into the interstellar medium by stars (invited review)

Stars inject energy into the interstellar medium (ISM) by radiation, stellar winds, and supernova explosions. This energy injection causes the ISM to be inhomogeneous, which in turn alters the manner in which the energy is transferred through the ISM. A significant fraction of the energy is injected by massive stars, which formHii regions in the ISM. The structure and evolution ofHii regions in a cloudy medium deffers significantly from that in a homogeneous one. The strong stellar winds produced by massive stars form bubbles in the ISM, and the structure of these bubbles is often dominated by the structure of theHii region in which they are embedded. Finally, when the star explodes as a supernova, the evolution and appearance of the resulting remnant is determined by the structure of the bubble andHii region formed by the star during its lifetime.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Morphology of flows and buoyant bubbles in the Virgo cluster

There is growing evidence that the active galactic nuclei (AGN) associated with the central elliptical galaxy in clusters of galaxies are playing an important role in the evolution of the intracluster medium (ICM) and clusters themselves. We use high-resolution three-dimensional simulations to study the interaction of the cavities created by AGN outflows (bubbles) with the ambient ICM. The gravitational potential of the cluster is modelled using the observed temperature and density profiles of the Virgo cluster. We demonstrate the importance of the hydrodynamical Kutta–Zhukovsky forces associated with the vortex ring structure of the bubbles, and discuss possible effects of diffusive processes on their evolution.     

Simulations of mixed-morphology supernova remnants with anisotropic thermal conduction

We explore the role of anisotropic thermal conduction on the evolution of supernova remnants (SNRs) through interstellar media with a range of densities via numerical simulations. We find that a remnant expanding in a dense environment can produce centre-bright hard X-ray emission within 20 kyr, and centre-bright soft X-ray emission within 60 kyr of the supernova event. In a more tenuous environment, the appearance of a centre-bright structure in hard X-rays is delayed until about 60 kyr. The soft X-ray emission from such a remnant may not become centre bright during its observable lifetime. This can explain the observations that show that mixed-morphology SNRs preferentially occur close to denser, molecular environments. Remnants expanding into denser environments tend to be smaller, making it easier for thermal conduction to make large changes in the temperatures of their hot gas bubbles. We show that the lower temperatures make it very favourable to use high-stage ions as diagnostics of the hot gas bubbles in SNRs. In particular, the distribution of O  viii transitions from shell bright at early epochs to centre bright at later epochs in the evolution of an SNR expanding in a dense interstellar medium when the physics of thermal conduction is included.     

Mass pick-up in astronomical flows

Many astrophysical sources are clumpy. The flows in the diffuse media in these sources are affected by the mass picked up through the ablation of the embedded clumps. The diffuse media-clump interfaces can be observable sources themselves. Flows in clumpy stellar wind blown bubbles, supernova remnants, quasar winds, cooling gas accreting on to galaxies, and in pre-galactic bubbles blown by energy input from young galaxies, are discussed. Pick-up has important chemical as well as dynamical effects in star forming regions. The natures of the interfaces are considered.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 80th birthday, 30 May 1988.