The Maunder Minimum and the Sun as the Possible Source of Particles Creating Increased Abundance of the <Superscript>14</Superscript>C Carbon Isotope

The Maunder Minimum was the time during the second part of the 17th century, nominally from 1645 to 1717 AD, when unusually low numbers of sunspots were observed. On the basis of numerous recorded observations of auroras in the early 18th century, the end of the Minimum could be regarded as around 1700, but details of sunspot observations by Jan Heweliusz (Heweliusz, Machina Coelestis, 1679), John Flamsteed and Philippe de La Hire in 1684 allow us to interpret the Maunder Minimum as the period without a significant cessation of activity. This Minimum was also recognized in ¹⁴C data from trees which grew during the second part of 17th century. The variation in the production rate of radioactive carbon isotope ¹⁴C is due to modulation of the cosmic ray flux producing it by the changing level of solar activity and solar magnetic flux. Stronger magnetic fields in the solar wind make it more difficult for cosmic rays to reach the Earth, causing a drop in the production rate of ¹⁴C. However, more detailed analyses of ¹⁴C data indicate that the highest isotope abundances do not occur at the time of sunspot minima, as would be expected on the basis of modulation of the cosmic ray flux by the solar magnetic field, but two years after the sunspot number maximum. This time difference (or phase delay) can be accounted for if in fact there are both solar and non-solar cosmic ray contributions. Solar flares could also contribute high-energy particles and produce ¹⁴C and are generally not most frequent at the time of the highest sunspot numbers in the cycle.     

Erratum to: The Maunder Minimum and the Sun as the Possible Source of Particles Creating Increased Abundance of the <Superscript>14</Superscript>C Carbon Isotope

Solar flares take place in regions of strong magnetic fields and are generally accepted to be the result of a resistive instability leading to magnetic reconnection. When new flux emerges into a pre-existing active region it can act as a flare and coronal mass ejection trigger. In this study we observed active region 10955 after the emergence of small-scale additional flux at the magnetic inversion line. We found that flaring began when additional positive flux levels exceeded 1.38×10²⁰ Mx (maxwell), approximately 7 h after the initial flux emergence. We focussed on the pre-flare activity of one B-class flare that occurred on the following day. The earliest indication of activity was a rise in the non-thermal velocity one hour before the flare. 40 min before flaring began, brightenings and pre-flare flows were observed along two loop systems in the corona, involving the new flux and the pre-existing active region loops. We discuss the possibility that reconnection between the new flux and pre-existing loops before the flare drives the flows by either generating slow mode magnetoacoustic waves or a pressure gradient between the newly reconnected loops. The subsequent B-class flare originated from fast reconnection of the same loop systems as the pre-flare flows.     

Applications of laser-created dense e<Superscript>+</Superscript>e<Superscript>−</Superscript> pairs

We review the recent developments of laser pair creation in the laboratory and their potential applications to astrophysics and other frontiers. Many astrophysical phenomena involving e⁺e⁻ plasmas may be systematically investigated in the laboratory setting. We also discuss potential applications of dense positronium gas.     

Composition of Cosmic Rays with <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis><Superscript>0</Superscript> ⩾ 10<Superscript>17</Superscript> eV Based on Data from the Ground Scintillation Detectors of the Yakutsk EAS Array

The lateral distribution of cascade particles in extensive air showers from cosmic rays with energy E⁰ ? 10¹⁷ eV has been studied at the Yakutsk array by the ground scintillation detectors over the period of continuous observations 1977–2017. The experimental data are compared with those computed with various models for the development of extensive air showers from the CORSIKA software package. The best agreement between the theory and experiment is observed for the QGSjet-01-d model. In the energy range (1?20)× 10¹⁷ eV there is a change in the cosmic-raymass composition from 〈lnA〉 ≈ 2.5 to the proton one.     

A runaway binary star escaping from the Θ<Superscript>1</Superscript> ori system

A runaway binary star escaping in runaway from the multiple system Θ¹ Ori C is studied. The radial velocities of both components are measured and radial velocity curves are constructed and solved for them. The physical parameters and chemical compositions of the stars are determined.     

Search for the radial magnetic-field gradient in the CP star <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript> CVn

The possibility of investigating the vertical structure of the magnetic field in chemically peculiar main-sequence stars is discussed. The nonuniform distribution of chemical elements over the surface complicates the problem substantially. The most efficient measurements are shown to be those of the longitudinal field components based on spectral lines with wavelengths longer and shorter than 3646 Å (shortward and longward of the Balmer jump), which form at different optical depths in the atmosphere. Various methodological problems are addressed that must be overcome in order to accomplish the task. The brightest magnetic star α ² CVn is observed with the echelle spectrometer equipped with an Uppsala CCD chip. New observations corroborate our previous result: the longitudinal component of the magnetic field B _e of the α ² CVn star increases with depth by about 30% over the atmosphere thickness scale.     

Deep 7.6 cm RATAN-600 sky surveys at the declination of SS 433 during the 1980–1999 period. Catalog of radio sources in the right-ascension interval 2<Superscript>h</Superscript> ≤ RA &lt; 7<Superscript>h</Superscript>

We present a catalog of radio sources extending the RCR (RATAN Cold Refined) catalog to the right-ascension interval 2^h ≤ RA < 7^h. The list of objects was obtained in the process of a reprocessing of the observations of the “Cold” experiment conducted in 1980–1981 on RATAN-600 radio telescope at the declination of SS433, and the reduction of the 1987–1999 surveys of the same experiment.We report the right ascensions and integrated flux densities for 237 sources found at 7.6 cm (3.94 GHz) and their spectral exponents at 3.94 and 0.5 GHz. Twenty-nine sources of the list, which are mostly weaker than 30 mJy at 3.94 GHz, have available data only at two frequencies—1.4 and 3.94 Hz.We approximated the spectra of the sources using all catalogs available in the CATS and VizieR databases that meet the survey strip, and, in some cases, using the flux densities estimates from VLSSr,GLEAM, TGSS, and GB6 survey maps.We constructed the histograms of the spectral indices of the sources and verified the reliability of the identifications of sources found in the scans by comparing the coordinates and integrated flux densities with the corresponding parameters listed in the NVSS catalog. In the right ascension interval considered we found no objects at the 10–15 mJy level lacking in decimeter-wave catalogs.     

A preliminary radial-velocity curve for the star <Emphasis Type="Italic">θ</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript> Ori D

We measured the radial velocity of the star θ¹ Ori D from IUE spectra and used published observations. Based on these data, we determined the period of its radial-velocity variations, P=20.2675±0.0010 days, constructed the phase radial-velocity curve, and solved it by least squares. The spectroscopic orbital elements were found to be the following: the epoch of periastron passage E_p=JD 2430826.6±0.1, the system's center-of-mass velocity /Gg=32.4±1.0 km s^?1, K=14.3±1.5 km s^?1, Ω=3.3±0.1 rad, e=0.68±0.09, a₁ sin i = 3 × 10¹⁰ km, and f₁ = 0.0025M_⊙. Twice the period, P=40.528±0.002 days, is also consistent with the observations.     

Determination of the combination of cosmological parameters Ω<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis></Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis></Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">σ</Emphasis><Subscript>8</Subscript>

We have obtained new constraints on the cosmological parameters Ω _m and σ ₈ from the peculiar velocities of flat edge-on spiral galaxies from the RFGC catalog. Based on these results presented graphically, we have found the quantitative condition (Ω _m /0.3)^0.37 σ ₈ = 0.92 ± 0.05. The estimates of Ω _m and σ ₈, along with their combinations Ω _m ^α σ ₈ for various α, are compared with the estimates by other authors.     

Study of the anisotropy of cosmic rays with <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript>≥5×10<Superscript>16</Superscript> eV using Yakutsk EAS array data

We present the results of a harmonic analysis of and search for clusters in the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies E₀≥5×10¹⁶ eV and zenith angles ?≤53° detected at the Yakutsk extensive air shower (EAS) array from 1974 to 2002. We show that the phase of the first harmonic periodically varies greatly and takes on nonrandom values at a confidence level ≥4σ. These phases point to the Supergalactic plane (the Local supercluster of galaxies).     

Occultations of stars brighter than 15<Superscript>m</Superscript> by the largest trans-Neptunian objects in 2004–2014

We computed the occultations of stars brighter than 15^m by the largest trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) for the next ten years. In our search, we used the following catalogs: Hipparcos; Tycho2 with the coordinates of 2838666 stars taken from UCAC2 (Herald 2003); and UCAC2 (Zacharias et al. 2003) with 16356096 stars between \(12\mathop .\limits^m 00\) and \(14\mathop .\limits^m 99\) north of ?45° declination. We predicted the occultations of stars by the seventeen largest numbered TNOs, the recently discovered 2004 DW, and four known binary Kuiper Belt objects. We selected 64 events at solar elongations of no less than 30°, including the extremely rare occultation of a \(6\mathop .\limits^m 5\) star by the double asteroid (66652) 1999 RZ₂₅₃ on October 4, 2007. Observations of these events by all available means are extremely important, since they can provide unique information about the sizes of TNOs and improve our knowledge of their orbits dramatically.     

Clustering of galaxies on scales of ≤10<Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis><Superscript>−1</Superscript> based on the coma,bridge, and A1367 clusters

A correlation analysis is made of the spatial distribution of galaxies in the Coma, Bridge, and A1367 clusters, which form the Coma supercluster. The scale of the clustering of galaxies and the variation in their density distribution with the main parameters of the galaxies– luminosity, morphological type, and observed H I deficiency in the 21 cm line– are evaluated. The mass-to-luminosity ratios are computed for the spiral galaxies in the Coma, Bridge, and A1367 clusters. It is suggested that a larger fraction of hypothetical dark matter may be concentrated in the spiral galaxies which predominantly populate the subclusters previously identified by us within these clusters than in the spiral galaxies observed in the peripheral regions of the clusters.     

2005 Photometric observations and multiple frequencies of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">δ</Emphasis> Scuti variable V350 Peg

We present the V light curves of δ Scuti type variable V350 Peg, obtained between August and October 2005 at the Ankara University Observatory (AUG) and the TüBíTAK National Observatory (TUG). By application of multiple-frequency analyses using Period04 to 7878 photometric V measurements (which are consist of our 747 V data and 7131 V data obtained at Monegrillo Observatory) of V350 Peg, a five-frequency solution was found to be fitted well to the data. In accordance with the computed Q values for V350 Peg, it was found that this star has probably radial mode with l=0 and g-mode oscillations.     

Families <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis> of periodic solutions of the restricted problem for μ = 5 × 10<Superscript>−5</Superscript>

We consider the circular planar restricted three-body problem with the mass parameter μ = 5 × 10^?5. Two families of periodic solutions are calculated: family c, starting from the collinear fixed point L ₁, and the initial part of familyi, which begins by direct circular orbits of an infinitely small radius around the body of bigger mass. The calculated families are very close to the generating ones, which we described earlier. In particular, the existence of the predicted zigzag structure of characteristics of family iis verified. New properties of the planar and vertical traces are discovered.     

Trajectories of <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Subscript>4</Subscript> and Lyapunov Characteristic Exponents in the Generalized Photogravitational Chermnykh-Like problem

This paper describes design of the trajectory and analysis of the stability of collinear point L ₂ in the Sun-Earth system. The modified restricted three body problem with additional gravitational potential from the belt is used as the model for the Sun-Earth system. The effect of radiation pressure of the Sun and oblate shape of the Earth are considered. The point L ₂ is asymptotically stable up to a specific value of time t correspond to each set of values of parameters and initial conditions. The results obtained from this study would be applicable to locate a satellite, a telescope or a space station around the point L ₂.     

Radial Evolution of Well-Observed Slow CMEs in the Distance Range 2 – 30 <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis><Subscript>⊙</Subscript>

We performed a detailed analysis of 27 slow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) whose heights were measured in at least 30 coronagraphic images and were characterized by a high quality index (≥4). Our primary aim was to study the radial evolution of these CMEs and their properties in the range 2 – 30 solar radii. The instantaneous speeds of CMEs were calculated by using successive height – time data pairs. The obtained speed – distance profiles [v(R)] are fitted by a power law v = a(R−b) ^c . The power-law indices are found to be in the ranges a=30 – 386, b=1.95 – 3.92, and c=0.03 – 0.79. The power-law exponent c is found to be larger for slower and narrower CMEs. With the exception of two events that had approximately constant velocity, all events were accelerating. The majority of accelerating events shows a v(R) profile very similar to the solar-wind profile deduced by Sheeley et al. (Astrophys. J. 484, 472, 1997). This indicates that the dynamics of most slow CMEs are dominated by the solar wind drag.     

Investigation of the lines H<Subscript>α</Subscript> and H<Subscript>β</Subscript> in the spectrum of the star HD 206267

The results of investigations of the H_α and H_β lines in the spectrum of the star HD 206267 are presented. Observations were carried out in 2011–2014 at the Cassegrain focus of the 2-m telescope of the Tusi Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan using an echelle spectrometer. The following features have been revealed for the first time: the moving discrete absorption components in the core of the H_α line from the red side to the violet, the stable emission in the violet wing of the H_α line, the antiphase variation of the radial velocities and equivalent widths of the H_α line, and the independence of the changes of the equivalent widths of the H_β line from the phase of the orbital period. No spectral features according to which this star could be considered as a source of X-ray radiation have been found.     

The effects of spatially distributed ionisation sources on the temperature structure of H <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> regions

Spatially resolved studies of star-forming regions show that the assumption of spherical geometry is not realistic in most cases, with a major complication posed by the gas being ionised by multiple non-centrally located stars or star clusters. Geometrical effects including the spatial configuration of ionising sources affect the temperature and ionisation structure of these regions. We try to isolate the effects of multiple non-centrally located stars, via the construction of 3D photoionisation models using the 3D Monte Carlo photoionisation code mocassin with very simple gas density distributions, but various spatial configurations for the ionisation sources.Emission-line spectra from H?ii regions are often used to study the metallicity of star-forming regions, as well as for providing a constraint on temperatures and luminosities of the ionising sources. Empirical metallicity diagnostics must often be calibrated with the aid of photoionisation models. However, most studies so far have been carried out by assuming spherical or plane-parallel geometries, with major limitations on the allowed gas and dust density distributions and with the spatial distribution of multiple, non-centrally located ionising sources not being accounted for. We compare integrated emission-line spectra from our models and quantify any systematic errors caused by the simplifying assumption of a single, central location for all ionising sources. We find that the dependence of the metallicity indicators on the ionisation parameter causes a clear bias, due to the fact that models with a fully distributed configuration of stars always display lower ionisation parameters than their fully concentrated counterparts. The errors found imply that the geometrical distribution of ionisation sources may partly account for the large scatter in metallicities derived using model-calibrated empirical methods.     

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) estimations from the site of the Eastern Anatolia Observatory<Superscript>∗</Superscript> (DAG), a new astronomical observatory in Turkey

We present preliminary statistics on the precipitable water vapor (PWV) content over the Karakaya Hills in Erzurum city, where the largest optical and near-infrared astronomical telescope in Turkey will be operated. Since the observatory will observe in the near-infrared (NIR), it is intended to perform PWV measurements of the atmosphere above the site by using signal delays in Global Positioning System (GPS) communication. The analysis of the GPS data recorded on the summit for almost one year shows that the atmosphere over the site of the observatory, which has an altitude of 3170 m, has favorable conditions for NIR observations. From GPS measurements, we report that the site had an average PWV of 3.2 mm and a median PWV of 2.7 mm between October 6, 2016, and June 15, 2017. We also present the time dependency of the PWV content and the correlations between the amount of PWV and the other meteorological records gathered from radiosonde flights and ground-based measurements.     

Smooth models of overshooting at the base of the solar convective zone

A set of smoothed temperature gradient profiles around overshooting layers at the solar convective zone bottom is considered. In classical local theories of convection the one point defined according to the Schwarzschild criterion is enough to describe a convective boundary. To get a sophisticated picture of the overshooting we use four points to compute the transition overshooting functions. Analyzing the transition gradient profiles we found that the overshooting convective flux may be either positive or negative. A negative overshooting flux appears in nonlocal convective theories and causes a steep temperature gradient profile. But we propose an evenly smoothed gradient which corresponds to a convective flux positive everywhere. To outline the effect of the temperature gradient on the solar oscillations the squared Brunt–Väisälä frequency N ² is calculated. In local convective theories the N ² profile shows the discontinuity of the first derivative at the convective boundary, while all smoothed profiles eliminate the break.