Photometry of EX Hya

Photometric observations of EX Hya inB andVfilters are reported. The 67 min modulation of the light curve also is found to be in good agreement with the results of earlier studies. The (B-V) colour variation with respect to the 67 min variation is found to be opposite to those of typical colour variation during hump/superhump activity in other dwarf novae. The model of an intermediate polar is discussed.     

Thaw modification of frost-fissure wedges,Richards Island,Pleistocene Mackenzie Delta,Western Arctic Canada

Thaw modification is the general process whereby frost-fissure wedges are modified during thaw, and by which frost-fissure pseudomorphs may develop. Specific processes of thaw modification are inferred from ice-wedge pseudomorphs, composite-wedge pseudomorphs and deformed sand wedges in the Pleistocene Mackenzie Delta: i.e. thermal erosion, collapse, subsidence, refreezing, loading, buoyancy, spreading, folding and shearing. Thaw modification is believed to result in selective preservation of pseudomorphs and wedges. Sand wedges are more likely to be preserved than are ice-wedge pseudomorphs or compositewedge pseudomorphs, because only those sand wedges that penetrate massive ice or icy sediments are prone to thaw modification. Furthermore, whereas ice wedges preferentially develop in ice-rich, fine-grained sediments (thaw-sensitive), their pseudomorphs appear to be selectively preserved in ice-poor, coarse-grained sediments (thaw-stable).     

Dust formation in hot stars

It is known that the extremely hot environments of Wolf-Rayet stars and novae support dust formation, although in some selected cases only. The similarities in the luminosities of these objects suggest similar mechanisms of dust formation. The situation is reviewed in terms of the number of ionizing photons available for hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen other than helium. The larger abundance of nitrogen in the ejecta modifies these numbers significantly. Simple calculations for neutral carbon atoms via recombinations show that a critical condition is required to be met with for this purpose. This can be understood as due to the strong UV fields which leave the grains positively charged. Further, the type of dust appears to be decided by the ingredients constituting the ejecta.     

Numerical modelling of the impact crater depth-diameter dependence in an acoustically fluidized target

2D numerical modelling of impact cratering has been utilized to quantify an important depth-diameter relationship for different crater morphologies, simple and complex. It is generally accepted that the final crater shape is the result of a gravity-driven collapse of the transient crater, which is formed immediately after the impact. Numerical models allow a quantification of the formation of simple craters, which are bowl-shaped depressions with a lens of rock debris inside, and complex craters, which are characterized by a structural uplift. The computation of the cratering process starts with the first contact of the impactor and the planetary surface and ends with the morphology of the final crater. Using different rheological models for the sub-crater rocks, we quantify the influence on crater mechanics. To explain the formation of complex craters in accordance to the threshold diameter between simple and complex craters, we utilize the Acoustic Fluidization model. We carried out a series of simulations over a broad parameter range with the goal to fit the observed depth/diameter relationships as well as the observed threshold diameters on the Moon, Earth and Venus.     

Disc–Planet Interactions: Migration and Resonances in Extrasolar Planetary Systems

We consider orbital resonances in multiplanet systems. These are expected to arise during or just after formation in a gaseous disc. Disc–planet interaction naturally produces orbital migration and circularization through the action of tidal torques which in turn may lead to an orbital resonance. The mass and angular momentum content of the disc is likely to be comparable to that in the planets so that it is essential to fully incorporate the disc in the analysis.We study the orbital evolution of two planets locked in 2:1 commensurability through migration tidally induced by the disc using both analytic methods and numerical hydrodynamic simulations. The planets are assumed to orbit in an inner cavity containing at most only a small amount of disc material. Results are found to be sensitive to initial surface density profile, planet masses and disc parameters. The evolution may range between attaining and subsequently maintaining a resonance lock with two angles librating to divergent migration with no commensurability formed. In the former case eccentricities increase monotonically with time while the system undergoes inward migration. If the migration is halted by loss of the disc leaving the planets in a final configuration, there is likely to be a low probability of seeing resonant planets at small radii as well as a sensitive dependence on past history.We have also considered a multiplanet system in secular apsidal resonance. We consider the system as being in just one secular normal mode and include the effects of a gaseous disc. It is suggested that a normal mode may be selected by adding in some weak dissipative process in the disc and that it may remain, involving only the planets, when the disc is slowly removed.     

The Scattered Disk Population and the Oort Cloud

The trans-Neptunian belt has been subject to a strong depletion that has reduced its primordial population by a factor of one hundred over the solar system's age. One by-product of such a depletion process is the existence of a scattered disk population in transit from the belt to other places, such as the Jupiter zone, the Oort cloud or interstellar space. We have integrated the orbits of the scattered disk objects (SDOs) so far discovered by 2500 Myr to study their dynamical time scales and the probability of falling in each of the end states mentioned above, paying special attention to their contribution to the Oort cloud. We found that their dynamical half-time is close to 2.5 Gyr and that about one third of the SDOs end up in the Oort cloud.     

On the origin of high-eccentricity halo stars

The present-day chemical and dynamical properties of the Milky Way are signatures of the Galaxy's formation and evolution. Using a self consistent chemodynamical evolution code we examine these properties within the currently favoured paradigm for galaxy formation – hierarchical clustering within a CDM cosmology. Our Tree N-body/Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code includes a self-consistent treatment of gravity, hydrodynamics, radiative cooling, star formation, supernova feedback and chemical enrichment. Two models are described which explore the role of small-scale density perturbations in driving the evolution of structure within the Milky Way. The relationship between metallicity and kinematics of halo stars are quantified and the implications for galaxy formation discussed. While high-eccentricity halo stars have previously been considered a signature of `rapid collapse', we suggest that many such stars may have come from recently accreted satellites. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Periodicities of the de la rue Sunspot Area Measurements

In the 19th century De la Rue, Stewart, and Loewy carried out a compilation of drawings and photographs of the solar sunspots corresponding to the interval 1832–1868. Using these drawings and photographs, they determined fortnightly values of the percentage of the solar photosphere covered by the sunspots. In this work, we have performed a spectral analysis of these data in order to determine possible periodic signals. In addition to the 11-year solar cycle, short cycles of about 330 days and 30–50 days have been recovered, lacking the 150–160 days period discovered by other authors using several solar activity indicators.