Ellipticals with Disky and Boxy Isophotes in High Density Environments

We use semi-analytical modelling of galaxy formation to predict the mix of elliptical galaxies with boxy and disky isophotes, assuming they originated from major mergers of different mass ratios. Numerical simulations of merging spiral galaxies indicate equal mass mergers leading to boxy and merger with a mass ratio of 3:1 to disky ellipticals. Assigning isophotal shapes to elliptical galaxies in our model we find bright disky ellipticals being as frequent or more frequent as bright boxy ellipticals, in contrast to observations which indicate that most of the bright ellipticals should be boxy. The precursors of bright ellipticals in our model are mainly also ellipticals which merge with each other later. Assuming that the merger of two ellipticals results in boxy ellipticals increases the fraction of bright boxy ellipticals. By defining a disky as a bulge dominated galaxy with an additional disk mass of more than20% the total baryonic mass, increases the fraction of low mass disky ellipticals and reproduces the observed trend of a steep increase in the fraction of low mass disky ellipticals. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Tunguska 1908 explosion''s region as an international park of studies of the Ecological Consequences of Collisions of the Earth with the Solar System Small Bodies

The Tunguska 1908 explosion's region as an international park of studies of the Ecological Consequences of Collisions of the Earth with the Solar System Small Bodies     

本星系群旋涡星系盘的化学演化及恒星形成历史的研究

银河系、M31和M33是本星系群仅有的3个旋涡星系.M31和银河系有类似的质量、光度和形态,而M33的重子物质质量仅约为银河系的1/10.从理论上对它们进行细致的比较研究,非常有利于进一步理解旋涡星系以及本星系群的形成和演化过程.本文以银河系化学演化模型为参照,通过建立非瞬时循环假设下的唯象内落模型,详细研究了这3个旋涡星系的恒星形成和化学演化历史.首先,我们把在银河系研究中十分成功的化学演化模型框架应用于M31盘的化学演化研究中,     

Influence of Collisions with Hydrogen on Titanium Abundance Determinations in Cool Stars

Astronomy Letters - The possibility of solving the problem of a discrepancy in the non-LTE abundances from Ti I and Ti II lines in metal-poor stars is investigated by applying accurate data to take...     

Flux Rope Formation Due to Shearing and Zipper Reconnection

Zipper reconnection has been proposed as a mechanism for creating most of the twist in the flux tubes that are present prior to eruptive flares and coronal mass ejections. We have conducted a first numerical experiment on this new regime of reconnection, where two initially untwisted parallel flux tubes are sheared and reconnected to form a large flux rope. We describe the properties of this experiment, including the linkage of magnetic flux between concentrated flux sources at the base of the simulation, the twist of the newly formed flux rope, and the conversion of mutual magnetic helicity in the sheared pre-reconnection state into the self-helicity of the newly formed flux rope.     

Space Flows and Disturbances Due to Bodies in Motion Through the Magnetoplasma

In this paper a method is concerned which makes it possible to describe numerically and analytically the most famous structures in the non-equilibrium ionosphere, such as stratified and yacht sail like structures, flute jets, wakes and clouds. These problems are of practical interest in space sciences, astrophysics and in turbulence theory, and also of fundamental interest since they enable one to concentrate on the effects of the ambient electric and magnetic fields. Disturbances of charged particle flows due to the ambient flow interactions with bodies are simulated with taking into account the ambient magnetic field effect. The effects of interactions between solid surfaces and the flows was simulated by making use of an original image method. The flow disturbances were described by the Boltzmann equation. In the case of the ambient homogeneous magnetic field the Boltzmann equation is solved analytically. The case of diffuse reflection of particles by surface is considered in detail. The disturbances of charged particle concentration are calculated in 3D space. The contours of constant particle concentration obtained from numerical simulations illustrate the dynamics of developing stratifications and flute structures in charged particle jets and feffect. The wakes under the ambient magnetic field effect. The basic goal of this paper is to present the method and to demonstate its possibility for simulations of turbulence, plasma jets, wakes and clouds inthe ionosphere and Space when effects of electric and magnetic fields are taken into account. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

有星风或膨胀气壳的双星系统光谱测定

ζAur双星系统是一类特殊双星系统 ,由一颗晚型红巨星和一颗早型热星组成。红巨星有强大的星风物质损失 ,并在双星系统外部形成一向外膨胀的气壳 ;热星在星风气壳内作轨道运动。由于热星的紫外辐射可以激发星风物质而发光 ,星风物质的向外运动和双星的轨道运动使得ζAur型双星系统的光谱产生特殊周期性变化的PCyg谱线。近十多年来发展起来的、利用运动大气理论计算ζAur型双星系统的PCyg谱线形成 ,以确定这类双星系统中红巨星的星风物质损失率的方法是目前测定物质损失率方法中较为精确的方法。     

Energy Change in a Hard Binary Due to Distant Encounters

An approximate analytical technique for computing the change in the binding energy of a binary due to an incoming third star moving in a distant parabolic orbit is presented. This is an example of a tidal encounter since we assume that the distance of the third star always considerably exceeds the size of the binary. The perturbation is also adiabatic, varying on a time scale much exceeding the binary period, and the change has an exponential form. Different cases arise depending on the choice of the masses and the angle of inclination of the plane in which the star moves. Some numerical experiments are performed as a means of checking the analytical theory.     

Flux-Rope Twist in Eruptive Flares and CMEs: Due to Zipper and Main-Phase Reconnection

The nature of three-dimensional reconnection when a twisted flux tube erupts during an eruptive flare or coronal mass ejection is considered. The reconnection has two phases: first of all, 3D “zipper reconnection” propagates along the initial coronal arcade, parallel to the polarity inversion line (PIL); then subsequent quasi-2D “main-phase reconnection” in the low corona around a flux rope during its eruption produces coronal loops and chromospheric ribbons that propagate away from the PIL in a direction normal to it. One scenario starts with a sheared arcade: the zipper reconnection creates a twisted flux rope of roughly one turn (\(2\pi \) radians of twist), and then main-phase reconnection builds up the bulk of the erupting flux rope with a relatively uniform twist of a few turns. A second scenario starts with a pre-existing flux rope under the arcade. Here the zipper phase can create a core with many turns that depend on the ratio of the magnetic fluxes in the newly formed flare ribbons and the new flux rope. Main phase reconnection then adds a layer of roughly uniform twist to the twisted central core. Both phases and scenarios are modeled in a simple way that assumes the initial magnetic flux is fragmented along the PIL. The model uses conservation of magnetic helicity and flux, together with equipartition of magnetic helicity, to deduce the twist of the erupting flux rope in terms the geometry of the initial configuration. Interplanetary observations show some flux ropes have a fairly uniform twist, which could be produced when the zipper phase and any pre-existing flux rope possess small or moderate twist (up to one or two turns). Other interplanetary flux ropes have highly twisted cores (up to five turns), which could be produced when there is a pre-existing flux rope and an active zipper phase that creates substantial extra twist.     

Moonlet Collisions and the Effects of Tidally Modified Accretion in Saturn's F Ring

We both test and offer an alternative to a meteoroid bombardment model (M. R. Showalter 1998, Science282, 1099-1102) and suggest that anomalous localized brightenings in the F ring observed by Voyager result from disruptive collisions involving poorly consolidated moonlets, or “rubble piles.” This model can also explain the transient events observed during ring plane crossing. We have developed an evolutionary model that considers both the competing effects of accretion and disruption at the location of the F ring. Our numerical model is a Markov process where probabilities of mass transfer between the states of the system form a “transition matrix.” Successive multiplications of this matrix by the state vector generate expectation values of the distribution after each time step as the system approaches quasi-equilibrium. Competing effects of accretion and disruption in the F ring are found to lead to a bimodal distribution of ring particle sizes. In fact, our simulation predicts the presence of a belt of kilometer-sized moonlets in the F ring. These moonlets may continually disrupt one another and re-accrete on short time scales. We also agree with J. N. Cuzzi and J. A. Burns (1988, Icarus74, 284-324), who suggest that the classical F ring itself may be the consequence of a relatively recent collision between two of the largest of these yet unseen objects. Cassini observations can confirm the existence of the moonlet belt by directly observing these objects or the waves they create in the rings.     

Comet Grains: Their IR Emission and Their Relation to ISm Grains

Comets and the chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP IDPs) that they shed in their comae are reservoirs of primitive solar nebula materials. The high porosity and fragility of cometary grains and CP IDPs, and anomalously high deuterium contents of highly fragile, pyroxene-rich Cluster IDPs imply these aggregate particles contain significant abundances of grains from the interstellar medium (ISM). IR spectra of comets (3–40 μm) reveal the presence of a warm (near-IR) featureless emission modeled by amorphous carbon grains. Broad andnarrow resonances near 10 and 20 microns are modeled by warm chondritic (50% Feand 50% Mg) amorphous silicates and cooler Mg-rich crystalline silicate minerals, respectively. Cometary amorphous silicates resonances are well matched by IRspectra of CP IDPs dominated by GEMS (0.1 μm silicate spherules) that are thought to be the interstellar Fe-bearing amorphous silicates produced in AGB stars. Acid-etched ultramicrotomed CP IDP samples, however, show that both the carbon phase (amorphous and aliphatic) and the Mg-rich amorphous silicate phase in GEMS are not optically absorbing. Rather, it is Fe and FeS nanoparticles embedded in the GEMS that makes the CP IDPs dark. Therefore, CP IDPs suggest significant processing has occurred in the ISM. ISM processing probably includes in He⁺ ion bombardment in supernovae shocks. Laboratory experiments show He⁺ ion bombardment amorphizes crystalline silicates, increases porosity, and reduces Fe into nanoparticles. Cometary crystalline silicate resonances are well matched by IR spectra of laboratory submicron Mg-rich olivine crystals and pyroxene crystals. Discovery of a Mg-pure olivine crystal in a Cluster IDP with isotopically anomalous oxygen indicates that a small fraction of crystalline silicates may have survived their journey from AGB stars through the ISM to the early solar nebula. The ISM does not have enough crystalline silicates (<5%), however, to account for the deduced abundance of crystalline silicates in comet dust. An insufficient source of ISMMg-rich crystals leads to the inference that most Mg-rich crystals in comets are primitive grains processed in the early solar nebula prior to their incorporation into comets. Mg-rich crystals may condense in the hot (～1450 K), inner zones of the early solar nebula and then travel large radial distances out to the comet-forming zone. On the other hand, Mg-rich silicate crystals may be ISM amorphous silicates annealed at ～1000 K and radially distributed out to the comet-forming zone or annealed in nebular shocks at ～5-10 AU. Determining the relative abundance of amorphous and crystalline silicatesin comets probes the relative contributions of ISM grains and primitive grains to small, icy bodies in the solar system. The life cycle of dust from its stardust origins through the ISM to its incorporation into comets is discussed.     

Collisions of two solid bodies in Keplerian orbits; new orbits and systematic effects

It has been shown in various papers dealing with systems of colloding bodies in a Keplerian field that the dynamical evolution does not depend only on the initial orbital conditions. This is a consequence of the wide range of orbits generated by the collision process. From the study of a few pairs of orbits we examine what factors which produce that variety of orbits, and search for systematic effects. The role of the positions along the orbits, of inelasticity, of size, of mass and of relative inclination is emphasized.     

A Flare Due to the Interaction of a Small Loop and a Large Loop

A C6.0 GOES X-ray-class flare which occurred at 05:32 UT on 5 September 1994 in the active region NOAA 7773 is analyzed in this paper. We found that this flare was triggered by the interaction of a small loop and a large loop. The small loop connected a decaying magnetic flux, not an emergence of magnetic flux as usually shown. These two loops were matched well by the extrapolated force-free field lines based on the Boundary Element Method and the boundary condition of the observed photospheric vector magnetic field. Soft X-ray observation showed that these two loops gradually merged to become one, and the soft X-ray intensity increased during the merging process, agreeing with the simulated results of I-type coalescence derived by Fushiki and Sakai (1995) and Sakai and Fushiki (1995).     

Effect of Collisions and Magnetic Convergence on Electron Acceleration and Transport in Reconnecting Twisted Solar Flare Loops

We study a model of particle acceleration coupled with an MHD model of magnetic reconnection in unstable twisted coronal loops. The kink instability leads to the formation of helical currents with strong parallel electric fields resulting in electron acceleration. The motion of electrons in the electric and magnetic fields of the reconnecting loop is investigated using a test-particle approach taking into account collisional scattering. We discuss the effects of Coulomb collisions and magnetic convergence near loop footpoints on the spatial distribution and energy spectra of high-energy electron populations and possible implications on the hard X-ray emission in solar flares.     

An Analysis of Polar Coronal Hole Evolution: Relations to Other Solar Phenomena and Heliospheric Consequences

We use observations of the green corona low-brightness regions to construct a time series of a polar coronal hole area from 1939 to 1996, covering 5 solar cycles. We then perform a power-spectral analysis of the monthly data time series. Several persistent significant periodicities appear in the spectra, which are related with those found in solar magnetic flux emergence, geomagnetic storm sudden commencements and cosmic-ray flux at Earth. Of particular importance are the peak at around 1.6–1.8 yr recently found in cosmic-ray intensity fluctuations, and the peak at around 1 yr, also identified in coronal hole magnetic flux variations. Additional interesting features are the peaks close to 5 yr, 3 yr and the possible peak at around 30 yr, that were also found in other solar and interplanetary phenomena. Our results stress the physical connection between the solar magnetic flux emergence and the interplanetary medium dynamics, in particular the importance of coronal hole evolution in the structuring of the heliosphere.     

具有特殊红外色余的Be星及其分类

本文利用列于IRAS Point Source Catalog上的Be星资料,讨论了利用IRAS的三个流量(12μm、25μm、60μm)区分红外色余是自由-自由跃迁还是由星周尘埃再发射所产生。前者被认为是经典的Be星,而后者则可能是处于主序前的Herbig Ae/Be星。但是有16个一般认为是经典Be星的,却也显示出部分红外色余来自尘埃的再发射。它们的物理状态显然值得进一步研究。     

Photospheric Shear Flows in Solar Active Regions and Their Relation to Flare Occurrence

Solar active regions (ARs) that produce major flares typically exhibit strong plasma shear flows around photospheric magnetic polarity inversion lines (MPILs). It is therefore important to quantitatively measure such photospheric shear flows in ARs for a better understanding of their relation to flare occurrence. Photospheric flow fields were determined by applying the Differential Affine Velocity Estimator for Vector Magnetograms (DAVE4VM) method to a large data set of 2548 coaligned pairs of AR vector magnetograms with 12-min separation over the period 2012?–?2016. From each AR flow-field map, three shear-flow parameters were derived corresponding to the mean (\(\langle S\rangle \)), maximum (\(S_{\mathrm{max}}\)) and integral (\(S_{\mathrm{sum}}\)) shear-flow speeds along strong-gradient, strong-field MPIL segments. We calculated flaring rates within 24 h as a function of each shear-flow parameter and we investigated the relation between the parameters and the waiting time (\(\tau \)) until the next major flare (class M1.0 or above) after the parameter observation. In general, it is found that the larger \(S_{\mathrm{sum}}\) an AR has, the more likely it is for the AR to produce flares within 24 h. It is also found that among ARs which produce major flares, if one has a larger value of \(S_{\mathrm{sum}}\) then \(\tau \) generally gets shorter. These results suggest that large ARs with widespread and/or strong shear flows along MPILs tend to not only be more flare productive, but also produce major flares within 24 h or less.