Peaks in the cosmological density field: sensitivity to initial power spectrum, redshift distortions and galaxy halo occupation

We investigate the number density of maxima in the cosmological galaxy density field smoothed with a filter as a probe of clustering. In previous work it has been shown that this statistic is closely related to the slope of the linear power spectrum, even when the directly measured power spectrum is non-linear. In the present paper we investigate the sensitivity of the peak number density to various models with differing power spectra, including rolling index models, cosmologies with massive neutrinos and different baryon densities. We find that rolling index models which have given an improved fit to CMB/LSS (cosmic microwave background/large scale structure) data yield a ∼10 per cent difference in peak density compared to the scale invariant case. Models with 0.3 eV neutrinos have effects of similar magnitude and it should be possible to constrain them with data from current galaxy redshift surveys. Baryon oscillations in the power spectrum also give rise to distinctive features in the peak density. These are preserved without modification when measured from the peak density in fully non-linear N -body simulations. Using the simulations, we also investigate how the peak density is modified in the presence of redshift distortions. Redshift distortions cause a suppression of the number of peaks, largely due to fingers of God overlapping in redshift space. We find that this effect can be modelled by using a modification of the input power spectrum. We also study the results when the simulation density field is traced by galaxies obtained by populating haloes with a halo occupation distribution consistent with observations. The peak number density is consistent with that in the dark matter for filter scales  >4  h ⁻¹ Mpc  , for which we find good agreement with the linear theory predictions. In a companion paper we analyse data from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey.     

Test of a geometric model for the modification stage of simple impact crater development

Abstract— Small terrestrial hypervelocity impact craters have a bowl-shaped form and are partially filled by an interior breccia lens, roughly parabolic in cross-section, of allochthonous material. This interior breccia volume is geometrically modelled as the volume of material slumped off the interior wall of the transient cavity during late stage crater modification. This model is tested by comparing the estimated volume of the breccia lens based on observational data with the calculated volume of slump material based on known dimensional parameters. The model fits well for Meteor Crater and Brent and is highly sensitive to changes in input parameters (e.g., a 10% increase in the input diameter for Meteor Crater produces an almost 200% increase in the model breccia lens volume). Further testing of the model with less constrained data from West Hawk Lake and Lonar leads to reasonable fits, given the sensitivity of the model to input parameters. Fits to other craters: Aouelloul, Tenoumer and Wolf Creek, where previous depth data are constrained only by gravity data, are unsatisfactory. However, revised depths can be obtained that fit both the gravity data and the model. While these tests do not provide unqualified support for the model, they do suggest that it may represent a good first order approximation. More and better quality dimensional data are required for more rigorous testing.     

Die Evolution der Reptilien in der Triaszeil

Zusammenfassung In die Triaszeit fällt die Hauptradiation der Reptilien. Es entstehen zahlreiche neue Ordnungen, wie Thecodontier, die als Dinosaurier zusammengefaßten Saurischier und Ornithischier, Krokodilier, Flugsaurier, Sauropterygier, Echsen, die meist als Rhynchocephalen bezeichneten Sphenodontier und Rhynchosaurier, Schildkröten, Ichthyosaurier, Pflasterzahnsaurier und Therapsiden. Ihre phylogenetischen Zusammenhänge sind zum Teil noch ungeklärt. Der Schritt zur Eroberung neuer Lebensräume auf dem Land, im Meer und in der Luft, der Trend zum Riesenwachstum, die Ausbildung einer Panzerung, die Verbesserung der Fortbewegungsweise und die Entwicklung der Warmblütigkeit ermöglichten den Reptilien im Erdmittelalter die uneingeschränkte Herrschaft über die Erde. Die geradezu explosionshafte Entfaltung der Reptilien in der Trias führte außerdem zur Entstehung zweier neuer Wirbeltierklassen, jener der Vögel und jener der Säugetiere. Aufgrund ihrer weiten Verbreitung, großen Unabhängigkeit von der Umwelt und hohen Evolutionsgeschwindigkeit können manche triassischen Reptilien für die Rekonstruktion der Paläogeographie und für die stratigraphische Korrelation unterschiedlich entstandener Ablagerungen herangezogen werden.

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The Triassic is the period of the main radiation of the reptiles. Numerous new orders are developing such as the thecodonts, saurischians and ornithischians [dinosaurs], the crocodilians, pterosaurs, sauropterygians, lizards, the sphenodonts and rhynchosaurs, generally classified as rhynchocephalians, the chelonians, ichthyosaurs, plaeodonts and therapsids. Their phylogenetic relations are still partly unknown. The step towards conquering new habitats on land, in the sea and in the air, the trend towards gigantic size, the development of armour, the improvement of gait and the achievment of endothermy enabled the reptiles to dominate the earth absolutely during the Mesozoic. Moreover the obviously explosive evolution of the reptiles in the Triassic led to the development of two new classes of vertebrates, the birds and the mammals. Some Triassic reptiles can be used for paleogeographic reconstruction and stratigraphic correlation based on their wide distribution, great independence from the environment and rapid evolution.

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Résumé Dans l'histoire des reptiles le Trias est le temps caractérisé par la ramification la plus importante de ce groupe. De nombreuse ordres se forment, comme les Thécodontes, les Saurischiens et les Ornithischiens, les deux derniers réunis dans les Dinosauriens, puis les Crocodiliens, les Ptéroauriens, les Sauroptérygiens, les Lacertiliens, ainsi que les Sphénodontes et les Rhynchosauriens, les deux généralement englobés dans les Rhynchocéphales, mais aussi les Tortues, les Ichthyosauriens, les Placodontes et les Thérapsides. Leurs relations phylogénétiques ne sont connues qu'en partie. La possibilité d'occuper de nouveaux biotopes sur terre, dans la mer et dans l'air, la tendance à l'augmentation de la taille, qui conduit même à des formes gigantesques, le développement d'une armure, la perfection de la locomotion et la réalisation de l'homothermie furent les facteurs principaux, qui ont garanti aux reptiles leur rôle dominant au Mésozoique. L'évolution rapide et surprenante des reptiles au Trias conduisit à deux nouvelles classes de vertébrés, à savoir les Oiseaux et les Mammifères. Grâce à leur répartition mondiale, à leur indépendance de l'environnement et à leur évolution rapide, certains des reptiles triassiques peuvent contribuer beaucoup à la solution de questions de réconstruction paléogéographique ainsi qu'à la correlation stratigraphique des sédiments, qui contiennent leurs restes.

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Anomalous passive subsidence of deep‐water sedimentary basins: a prearc basin example,southern New Caledonia Trough and Taranaki Basin,New Zealand

Stratigraphic data from petroleum wells and seismic reflection analysis reveal two distinct episodes of subsidence in the southern New Caledonia Trough and deep‐water Taranaki Basin. Tectonic subsidence of ~2.5 km was related to Cretaceous rift faulting and post‐rift thermal subsidence, and ~1.5 km of anomalous passive tectonic subsidence occurred during Cenozoic time. Pure‐shear stretching by factors of up to 2 is estimated for the first phase of subsidence from the exponential decay of post‐rift subsidence. The second subsidence event occured ~40 Ma after rifting ceased, and was not associated with faulting in the upper crust. Eocene subsidence patterns indicate northward tilting of the basin, followed by rapid regional subsidence during the Oligocene and Early Miocene. The resulting basin is 300–500 km wide and over 2000 km long, includes part of Taranaki Basin, and is not easily explained by any classic model of lithosphere deformation or cooling. The spatial scale of the basin, paucity of Cenozoic crustal faulting, and magnitudes of subsidence suggest a regional process that acted from below, probably originating within the upper mantle. This process was likely associated with inception of nearby Australia‐Pacific plate convergence, which ultimately formed the Tonga‐Kermadec subduction zone. Our study demonstrates that shallow‐water environments persisted for longer and their associated sedimentary sequences are hence thicker than would be predicted by any rift basin model that produces such large values of subsidence and an equivalent water depth. We suggest that convective processes within the upper mantle can influence the sedimentary facies distribution and thermal architecture of deep‐water basins, and that not all deep‐water basins are simply the evolved products of the same processes that produce shallow‐water sedimentary basins. This may be particularly true during the inception of subduction zones, and we suggest the term ‘prearc’ basin to describe this tectonic setting.