73p/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 – One Orbit after Break-Up: Search for Fragments

We report on our search campaign for the fragments of the Jupiter family cometand target of NASA's CONTOUR mission, Comet 3P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, one orbit revolution after the splitting of its nucleus in 1995 (Boehnhardt et al., 1995). Fragment C was found back with coma in November 1999 at 4 AU inbound and it continued to be active during the perihelion arc until at least December 2001 when we observed it last at 3.3 AU outbound. Fragment B was observed with coma between July and September 2001 when moving outbound from 2.35 to 2.75 AU. The search for other fragments including A, D (Boehnhardt et al., 1995) and E (Kodata et al., 2000a, b; Nakamura et al., 2000) in a search area of 15 × 4 arcmin starting at fragment C along direction of the extended radius vector was not successful in July and September 2001. The limiting magnitude of this search of ∼ 25 mag in R puts an upper limit on the radius of potential fragments of about 200 m (assuming albedo 0.04). The orbit deceleration parameter and the observed coma brightness of component C suggest that this object is the primary fragment that may contain a major part of the original nucleus.     

Blue and infrared light curves of the mysterious pre-main-sequence star V582 Mon (KH 15D) from 1955 to 1970

In recent years, an increasing number of publications have been devoted to the peculiar and mysterious pre-main-sequence star V582 Mon, also known as KH 15D. This extraordinary T Tauri star, located in the young star cluster NGC 2264, appears to be an eclipsing variable. In the present paper, we report a unique and self-consistent set of light curves in the blue and near-infrared (IR) bands, spanning a 15-yr interval (epoch 1955–1970). Our photometric data show clearly that the beginning of the eclipse stage occurred in early 1958 in the blue, and perhaps around 4 yr later in the IR. The light-curve period turns out to be the same reported by recent observations (about 48.3 d), so that no evidence for a period change results. On the other hand, in our data the light-curve shape appears to be sinusoidal and is therefore different from the one displayed today. The photometric behaviour, determined with time-series and colour-index analysis, suggests that V582 Mon (KH 15D) could initially be surrounded by an accretion disc/torus seen edge-on, with subsequent thin dust formation at the beginning of the blue radiation absorption. The dust could then aggregate into larger particles providing the transition between selective and total absorption, accompanied with eclipsing variability in the IR. The minima of the periodic light curve become deeper owing to the increasing dimension and number of dust grains, and then flatten owing to a contraction in the disc.     

Gamma ray signatures of ultra high energy cosmic ray accelerators: electromagnetic cascade versus synchrotron radiation of secondary electrons

We discuss the possibility of observing ultra high energy cosmic ray sources in high energy gamma rays. Protons propagating away from their accelerators produce secondary electrons during interactions with cosmic microwave background photons. These electrons start an electromagnetic cascade that results in a broad band gamma ray emission. We show that in a magnetized Universe (B≳10⁻¹² G) such emission is likely to be too extended to be detected above the diffuse background. A more promising possibility comes from the detection of synchrotron photons from the extremely energetic secondary electrons. Although this emission is produced in a rather extended region of size ∼10 Mpc, it is expected to be point-like and detectable at GeV energies if the intergalactic magnetic field is at the nanogauss level.      

Similarity between morphological characteristics of rills and ephemeral gullies in Sicily,Italy

This paper reports the results of a field investigation aimed to establish morphological similarity between rills and ephemeral gullies. Rill measurements were made on 14 plots having a surface area of 22–352 m² located on a 14·9% slope and on a plot 6·0 m wide and 22·0 m long having a uniform 22·0% slope. The plots are located on the experimental station for soil erosion measurements, ‘Sparacia’, of the Agricultural Faculty of Palermo University, in Sicily, Italy. All plots are subjected to natural rainfall. The measurements were made immediately following five events between November 2004 and December 2005. The ephemeral gully measurements were made on a cultivated area of about 120 ha, located in Central Sicily, which is representative of many soil‐crop conditions in the Mediterranean basin. The morphological similarity between rill and ephemeral gully was first tested. Then a power relationship between rill or gully volume and length, theoretically deduced by dimensional analysis and self‐similarity theory, was applied. This power relationship needs a different scale factor for rill and gully measurements. Finally, using two dimensionless groups representative of the channel morphology variables, the analysis showed that a single relationship can be applied to rill and gully measurements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reflections on reflexions – II. Effects of light echoes on the luminosity and spectra of Type Ia supernovae

In this paper, we present and discuss the effects of scattered light echoes (LEs) on the luminosity and spectral appearance of Type Ia supernovae (SNe). After introducing the basic concept of LE spectral synthesis by means of LE models and real observations, we investigate the deviations from pure SN spectra, light and colour curves, the signatures that witness the presence of an LE and the possible inferences on the extinction law. The effects on the photometric parameters and spectral features are also discussed. In particular, for the case of circumstellar dust, LEs are found to introduce an apparent relation between the post-maximum decline rate and the absolute luminosity, which is most likely going to affect the well-known Pskowski–Phillips relation.     

Extensional tectonics and volcano lateral collapses: insights from Ollagüe volcano (Chile‐Bolivia) and analogue modelling

Understanding the process of volcanic lateral collapse, which may be governed by numerous possible factors, can be significantly improved by identifying the role of each factor. Here we test the perturbation induced in a volcano by tectonic normal faulting in the basement, magma inflation and multiple flank deformation, based on fieldwork and analogue experiments. Ollagüe Volcano (Chile‐Bolivia) provides a good example of a sector collapse with exposed substrate extensional tectonics, and our experiments have been done with conditions consistent with field data. Results show that none of the possible tectonic conditions led to complete lateral failure; in agreement also with the field data, sector collapse of the model cone occurred only when a shallow magmatic intrusion within the volcano was reproduced. We also found out that volcano flank deformation is enhanced if a previous flank destabilization occurred, interleaved by new cone growth. Terra Nova, 18, 282–289, 2006     

Spectral and fragility evaluations of retrofitted structures through strength reduction and enhanced damping

A retrofit procedure for existing buildings called the "weakening and damping technique" (WED) is presented in this paper. Weakening of structures can limit the maximum response accelerations during severe ground motions, but leads to an increase in the displacements or inter-story drifts. Added damping by using viscous dampers, on the other hand, reduces the inter-story drifts and has no significant effect on total accelerations, when structures behave inelastically. The weakening and damping technique addresses the two main causes for both structural and nonstructural damage in structures. The weakening retrofit is particularly suitable for structures that have overstressed components and weak brittle components. In this paper, the advantages of the WeD are verified by nonlinear dynamic analysis and simplified spectral approach that has been modified to fit structures with additional damping devices. A hospital structure located in the San Femando Valley in California is selected as a case study. The results from both analyses show that the retrofit solution is feasible to reduce both structural acceleration and displacement. A sensitivity analysis is also carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the retrofitting method using different combinations of performance thresholds in accelerations and displacements through fragility analysis.