Upper cutoff of high energy solar protons

By studying the data from the worldwide neutron monitor network the spectra of most of the solar proton events in cycles 19–20 have been determined. These spectra are best represented by a power law with an upper cutoff R _m . This holds over a wide range in energy or rigidity. For the events examined R _m had values between 3 GV and 20 GV. It is shown that there is no correlation between R _m and the amplitude of the events.The equation describing continuous particle acceleration in a confining medium is solved in the non-stationary case. This solution shows the existence of a cutoff in the spectrum, and is compared with the experimental results in connection with the problem of particle acceleration time.Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.     

A note on the algorithm of symplectic integrators

For a Hamiltonian that can be separated into N+1(N\geq 2) integrable parts, four algorithms can be built for a symplectic integrator. This research compares these algorithms for the first and second order integrators. We found that they have similar local truncation errors represented by error Hamiltonian but rather different numerical stability. When the computation of the main part of the Hamiltonian, H ₀, is not expensive, we recommend to use S ^* type algorithm, which cuts the calculation of the H ₀ system into several small time steps as Malhotra(1991) did. As to the order of the N+1 parts in one step calculation, we found that from the large to small would get a slower error accumulation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quadrupolar gravitational radiation as a test-bed for f(R)-gravity

The debate concerning the viability of f(R)-gravity as a natural extension of General Relativity could be realistically addressed by using results coming from binary pulsars like PSR 1913 + 16. To this end, we develop a quadrupolar approach to the gravitational radiation for a class of analytic f(R)-models. We show that experimental results are compatible with a consistent range of f(R)-models. This means that f(R)-gravity is not ruled out by the observations and gravitational radiation (in strong field regime) could be a test-bed for such theories.     

The SFR and IMF of the galactic disk

There is a long term dynamical heating of stellar populations with age observed in the age – velocity dispersion – relation (AVR). This effect allows a determination of the star formation history SFR(t) from local kinematical data of main sequence stars. Using a self-consistent disk model for the vertical structure of the disk, we find from the kinematics of the stars in the solar neighbourhood that the SFR shows a moderate star burst about 10 Gyr ago followed by a continuous decline to the present day value consistent with the observed number of OB stars. The gravitational potential of the gas component and of the Dark Matter Halo is included and the effect of chemical enrichment, finite lifetime of the stars and mass loss of the stellar component are taken into account. The scale heights for main sequence stars together with the SFR is then used to determine constistently the IMF from the observed local luminosity function. The main new result is that the power law break in the present day mass function (PDMF) around 1 M _⊙ is entirely due to evolutionary effects of the disk and does not appear in the IMF. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Short-term variations of some UV-ceti type flare stars

Sinusoidal variations in bothV - andB-bands were detected in some flare stars of the UV Ceti type outside of flares. This detection has confirmed the light variation detection in Johnson'sV -band in EV Lac at quiet-state luminosity by Pettersen (1980) with a cyclic period equals about 4 _. ^d 378 and an amplitude of about 0 _. ^m 07. An interpretation of these short cyclic periods is that they are due to intensity modulations from a photospheric spot group as a result of stellar equatorial rotations. A short period of 14 days with an amplitude of 0 _. ^m 099 was detected inB-band in AD Leo. For the two flare stars, BD+55° 1823 and DO Cep in bothV- andB-bands, cyclic periods of more than 3 days and less than 17 days with amplitudes more than 0 _. ^m 090 and less than 0 _. ^m 250 have been registered. A significant contribution has been found in the flare star EV Lac in bothV- andB-bands at its quiescent-state luminosity where the detected cyclic periods are agreed with that which was detected by Pettersen (1980) in the same flare star in Johnson'sV-band, about 4 days. Furthermore, we found the same cyclic period in the colour index,B - V (about 4 days) which strengthens starspot phenomenon. This colour index period could not be detected by Pettersen (1980).     

Cosmic vibration of the sun and quasar 3C 273

The hypothesis that some extragalactic objects pulsate with a period of P ₀ = 9600.606(12) s, which was first discovered in the Sun, is tested with data on quasar 3C 273. Observations of its rapid photometric variability were made by different observers in 1968–2005 within several spectral bands. At the 4σ confidence level, these data show that there is a period of 9600.624(18) s, which is consistent, within the error limits, with P ₀ (mean harmonic amplitude 0.006 B magnitude). Its independence from the redshift z is a sign of a cosmological origin of the P ₀ pulsation, which is sometimes understood as the “rhythm” of cosmos’ absolute time. This phenomenon is also shown to be deeply connected—via the Sanchez formula—to the fundamental constants of physics and cosmology. This refutes the standard Big Bang hypothesis and confirms the Steady State, c-free model of the Universe (c is the speed of light).     

On the relation between the peak frequency and the corresponding rise time of solar microwave impulsive bursts and the height dependence of magnetic fields

In the present paper we report the results of a correlation analysis for 57 microwave impulsive bursts observed at six frequencies in which we have obtained a regression line between the peak frequency and the corresponding rise time of microwave impulsive bursts: {ie361-01} (with a correlation coefficient of - 0.43). This can be explained in the frame of a thermal model. The magnetic field decrease with height has to be much slower than in a dipole field in order to explain the weak dependence of f _p on t _r . This decrease of magnetic field with height in burst sources is based on the relationship between f _p and t _r found by assuming a thermal flare model with a collisionless conduction front.On leave from Beijing Observatory, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China.     

Periodicities in the occurrence rate of solar proton events

Power spectral analyses of the time series of solar proton events during the past three solar cycles reveal a periodicity around 154 days. This feature is prominent in all of the cycles combined, cycles 19 and 21 individually but is only weak in cycle 20. These results are consistent with the presence of similar periodicities between 152 and 155 days in the occurrence rate of major solar flares, the sunspot blocking function (P _s ), the 10.7 cm radio flux (F _10.7) and the sunspot number (R _z ). This suggests that the circa 154-days periodicity may be a fundamental characteristic of the Sun. Periods around 50–52 days are also found in the combined data set and in the three individual cycles in general agreement with the detection of this periodicity in major flares in cycle 19 and inP _s ,F _10.7, andR _z in cycle 21. The cause of the 155 day period remains unknown. The spectra contain lines (or show power at frequencies) consistent with a model in which the periodicity is caused by differential rotation of active zones and a model in which it is related to beat frequencies between solar oscillations, as proposed by Wolff.     

Photometric Properties of Clusters of Galaxies

We present CCD photometry of 16 Abell clusters and one cluster candidate found in POSS-II field 861. The images were taken at the 0.9 m Telescope at Cerro Tololo, in the g, r and i filters of the Gunn–Thuan system. We tested the idea proposed by Garilli et al. (1996) that there is a population of unusually red galaxies which could be associated with either the field or clusters. Garilli et al. (1996) suggest that these galaxies have anomalously red colours, but we find that these objects are all near the limiting magnitude of the images (20^m<r<22^m) and have colours that are consistent with those expected for stars or field galaxies at z∼0.7. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The “Meteorite meter”: A handheld instrument for the combined measurement of magnetic susceptibility and electrical conductivity,with application to meteorite identification and classification

We developed a simple, handheld, and user-friendly magnetic susceptibility meter specialized for the identification of meteorites. The measurement is based on an LC resonance circuit. When provided with a rough estimate of the sample mass, the instrument displays directly the mass-normalized magnetic susceptibility expressed in logχ_m (with χ_m in 10⁻⁹ m³ kg⁻¹), a parameter that is widely used in the classification of meteorites. Moreover, the measurement of the impedance of the LC resonator provides a proxy of the electrical conductivity (C-index) that can be helpful to distinguish metal-bearing samples from magnetite-bearing samples. This C-index offers an additional diagnostic for the identification of meteorites. Our tests demonstrate that the precision and the accuracy of this instrument called “Meteorite meter” (MetMet) are sufficient to allow distinguishing most meteorites from most terrestrial rocks, for a minimum recommended sample mass of 5 g. The distinction of some meteorite groups is also possible, in particular the separation of the three ordinary chondrite groups. Meteorite hunters, collectors, and curators and non-specialists, including children, can use this instrument as a guidance in the identification and classification of meteorites. This kind of instrument has an immense advantage over the widely used testing of meteorites with magnets, as it does not affect the paleomagnetic records of meteorites that are highly valuable for scientists.     

On Three-Dimensional Magnetic Skeleton Elements Due to Discrete Flux Sources

The magnetic field in the solar corona plays an important role in coronal heating, flaring activity and many other phenomena studied on the Sun. Magnetic topology is frequently used to understand complicated coronal magnetic fields. By calculating the skeleton of a field, it is possible to build up a sophisticated representation of the key elements of a field’s configuration. This paper determines a simple relation between the numbers of separators (X), coronal null points (N_c), flux domains (D) and flux sources (S) in such a configuration: D=X+S−N_c−1. This equation is used to explain the behaviour of some of the bifurcations found in Magnetic Charge Topology, and to show that a one-to-one relationship exists between the number of circuits in the domain graph and the augmented null graph. Finally, it is shown that in quiet-Sun regions, the number of separators is approximately proportional to the number of flux sources.     

Evolution of the Oort cloud angular momentum: Numerical simulation

This paper considers the evolution of a flat svarm of cometary bodies (under the effect of the passage of stars), initially moving in one direction along the circular orbits with radii 1.4×10⁴<r<2×10⁴ AU and along elliptic orbits with semi-major axes 5×10³<a<1×10⁴ AU and with perihelia within 50<q<100 AU. Numerical simulation shows that the original flat belt of comets is thermalizing. Its root-mean-squarez-coordinate grows withr. A cometary cloud forms with a dense flattened inner core and a rarefied halo (the Oort cloud proper). The value =N _core/N _halo varies within a wide range (up to the order of magnitude) depending on the model used (N _core andN _halo are the numbers of comets in the core and the halo, respectively).The hypothesis of a massive Oort cloud (Marochniket al., 1988) implies that the Oort cloud should have a large angular momentum. This paper employs numerical simulation to calculate Oort cloud models to which the initially flat located at the periphery of the solar nebula rotating cometary swarms is evolving in time. The loss of the initial angular momentum over the time of the Oort cloud evolution is not large.     

A Counterexample to a Generalized Saari's Conjecture with a Continuum of Central Configurations

In this paper we show that in the n-body problem with harmonic potential one can find a continuum of central configurations for n= 3. Moreover we show a counterexample to an interpretation of Jerry Marsden Generalized Saari's conjecture. This will help to refine our understanding and formulation of the Generalized Saari's conjecture, and in turn it might provide insight in how to solve the classical Saari's conjecture for n≥ 4. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigation on spectral character of ELF electromagnetic radiations during Leonid 2009 meteor shower

The problem of solitary electron acoustic (EA) wave propagation in a plasma with nonthermal hot electrons featuring the Tsallis distribution is addressed. A physically meaningful nonextensive nonthermal velocity distribution is outlined. It is shown that the effect of the nonthermal electron nonextensivity on EA waves can be quite important. Interestingly, we found that the phase speed of the linear EA mode increases as the entropic index q decreases. This enhancement is weak for q>1, and significant for q<1. For a given nonthermal state, the minimum value of the allowable Mach numbers is lowered as the nonextensive nature of the electrons becomes important. This critical limit is shifted towards higher values as the nonthermal character of the plasma is increased. Moreover, our plasma model supports rarefactive EA solitary waves the main quantities of which depend sensitively on q. This dependency (for q>1) becomes less noticeable as the nonthermal parameter decreases. Nevertheless, decreasing α yields for q<0 a different result, a trend which may be attributed to the functional form of the nonthermal nonextensive distribution. Our study (which is not aimed at putting the ad hoc Cairns distribution onto a more rigorous foundation) suggests that a background electron nonextensivity may influence the EA solitons.     

New agegraphic dark energy in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>) gravity

In this paper, we study a cosmological application of the new agegraphic dark energy density in the f(R) gravity framework. We employ the new agegraphic model of dark energy to obtain the equation of state for the new agegraphic energy density in a spatially flat universe. Our calculations show, taking n<0, that it is possible to have w _Λ crossing −1. This implies that one can generate a phantom-like equation of state from a new agegraphic dark energy model in a flat universe in the modified gravity cosmology framework. Also, we develop a reconstruction scheme for the modified gravity with f(R) action.     

An attempt to interpret the temperature profile of the KTB pilot drillhole (Germany) by paleoclimatic considerations

The temperature profile of the KTB pilot drillhole, T(z)_KTB-PH,is distinctly nonlinear: a temperature deficit ΔT (relative to a linear temperature-depth profile) is especially pronounced in the depth range 500–3500 m. The depth dependence of the deficit, Δ(z) is compared to be anticipated effect of surface paleoclimatic variations, ΔT_pc(z), at the drillsite on the temperature profile. The latter can be calculated from available paleo-climatic models. If ΔT_pc(z) is added to T(z)_KTB-PH, a nearly linear temperature-depth curve results with an average geothermal gradient of 27.9°C/km. This, together with an average vertical thermal conductivity of 3.0 W/mK, estimated from KTB drillcore data, implies a heat flow density at the KTB site of 84 mW/m². This modelled value is in good agreement with heat flow determinations in the adjacent Eger graben structure (Western Bohemian massif).     

Non-Integrability of the Generalized Two Fixed Centres Problem

We consider two fixed centres attracting a third body. Each centre is the source of a force field with potential V=−ar ⁻²ⁿ , where n is a real number. We prove that this generalization of the classical two fixed centres problem is non-integrable except when n= 0, 1/2, −1 and −2. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Variation of stellar coronal activity with age

We investigate the variation in coronal activity of late-type stars with age. We determine the age of the star from the colour-colour diagram (U-B vsB-V). We show that the ratio of X-ray luminosity (L _x) to bolometric luminosity (L _bol) is well correlated with age over several orders of magnitude variations. We find thatL _x/L _bol) decreases with age with a power of –1.55. This is consistant with the expected results from the studies of the variation of the corona with chromosphere and the dependence of chromosophere on age.     

The Sun's Distance from the Galactic Plane

Use is made of 93,106 parallaxes from the Hipparcos catalog, with a mixture of spectrum-luminosity classes, to derive the position of the Galactic plane. The reduction technique, mixed total least squares-least squares, takes into account the errors in the parallaxes, and the condition that the direction cosines of the Galactic pole have unit Euclidean norm is rigorously enforced. To obtain an acceptable solution it is necessary to eliminate the stars of classes O and B that belong to the Gould belt. The Sun is found to lie 34.56±0.56 pc above the plane. The coordinates of the Galactic pole, l _g , b _g, are found to be: l _g =0.°004±0.°039; b _g =89.°427±0.°035.This agrees well with what radio observations find and demonstrates that the IAU's recommendation in 1960 to use only radio observations to determine the Galactic pole, although correct at the time because of the paucity of optical observations, can no longer be justified given the plethora of observations contained in the Hipparcos catalog and an adequate reduction technique, unavailable in 1960. The reduction technique is also demonstrably superior to others because it involves fewer assumptions and calculates smaller mean errors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Photometric Inference of the Corotation Radii of Ten Barred Galaxies

We have used photometric images of ten barred galaxies in the B and I bands to infer the geometrical and dynamical parameters of their bars: Their length, (R _bar), their strengths, (S _b), and their corotation radii, (R _CR).These parameters have been obtained studying azimuthal profiles from the B and I band images of the galaxies. We find that R _CR is in all cases slightly larger than R _bar, with mean values close to 1.2 R _bar. We have also found a dependence of the ratio R _CR/R _bar on S _bar. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.