A numerical survey of neutron star crustal density profiles

An accurate numerical survey of the density profiles corresponding to the crusts of neutron stars for representative equation of state models is presented. This will find application in calculations of thermal and magnetic evolution of neutron stars.     

High-resolution profile of stable isotopes and iridium across a K/T boundary section from Koshak Hill, Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan

Oxygen and carbon isotopes were measured to a high depth resolution in a nannoplankton carbonate sequence spanning the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at Koshak Hill, Mangyshlak Peninsula, Kazakhstan. The boundary is characterized by the presence of a ∼ 1 cm thick clay layer having a sharp peak in iridium concentration with a maximum value of 3.7 ng g^-1. The δ¹⁸O data reveal rapid (∼10³ years) excursion of sea-surface temperature at the boundary where an initial cold pulse is followed by a persistent warm period. The δ¹³C data, in contrast, indicate only a gradual change in productivity across the boundary. The observations suggest a biogeochemical scenario for the boundary event pertaining to shallow epicontinental seas.     

Dehydration melting of micas in the Chilka Lake Khondalites: The link between the metapelites and granitoids

Garnet-sillimanite gneisses, locally known as khondalites, occur abundantly in the Chilka Lake granulite terrane belonging to the Eastern Ghats Proterozoic belt of India. Though their chemistry has been modified by partial melting, it is evident that the majority of these rocks are metapelitic, with some tending to be metapsammitic. Five petrographically distinct groups are present within the khondalites of which the most abundant group is characteristically low in Mg:Fe ratios — the main chemical discriminant separating the five groups. The variations in Mg:Fe ratios of the garnets, biotites, cordierites, orthopyroxenes and spinels from the metapelites are compatible with those in the bulk rocks. A suite of granitoids containing garnet, K-feldspar, plagioclase and quartz, commonly referred to as leptynites in Indian granulite terranes, are interlayered with khondalites on the scale of exposures; in a few spots, the intercalated layers are thin. The peraluminous character of the leptynites and presence of sillimanite trails within garnets in some of them suggest derivation of leptynites by partial melting of khondalites. Here we examine this connection in the light of results derived from dehydration melting experiments of micas in pelitic and psammitic rocks. The plots of leptynites of different chemical compositions in a (MgO + FeO)-Na₂O-K₂O projection match the composition of liquids derived by biotite and muscovite dehydration melting, when corrected for co-products of melting reactions constrained by mass balance and modal considerations. The melt components of the leptynites describe four clusters in the M-N-K diagram. One of them matches melts produced dominantly by muscovite dehydration melting, while three clusters correspond to melting of biotite. The relative disposition of the clusters suggests two trends, which can be correlated with different paths that pelitic and psammitic protoliths are expected to generate during dehydration melting. Thus the leptynites evidently represent granitoids which were produced by dehydration melting in metapelites of different compositions. The contents of Ti, Y, Nb, Zr and Th in several leptynites indicate departures from equilibrium melt compositions, and entrainment of restites is considered to be the main causative factor. Disequilibrium in terms of major elements is illustrated by leucosomes within migmatites developed in a group of metapelites. But the discrete leptynites that have been compared with experimental melts approach equilibrium melt compositions closely.     

Determination of source duration and moment of earthquakes in the Indian Peninsula using love waveforms

Love waves recorded by a long-period seismograph at New Delhi (NDI) from seven earthquakes of magnitude 4.3 to 5.2 in Koyna and Bhatsa on the western coast and one earthquake in Ongole on the eastern coast of the Indian Peninsula have been used to determine the seismic moment for each of the earthquakes by waveform modeling. Transverse component of the synthetic seismogram shows that the maximum amplitude of waveform decreases with an increase of source duration. Thus for an evaluation of the seismic moment by equating the amplitude level of the observed and synthetic waveforms, we must know the source duration. The synthetic seismogram also indicates that a short source duration gives rise to a small but sharp pulse and this pulse is interpreted as anLg wave. Comparison of the observed and synthetic waveforms has been used for a simultaneous evaluation of the source duration and seismic moment. The source durations are found to vary between 2.2 and 4.4 s; for earthquakes with a magnitude range between 4.3 and 5.2 these durations are slightly higher than normal. We obtain moment (M ₀) of Ongole earthquake (M _L =5.1)as 1.7×10²⁴ dyne-cm; moments of Koyna and Bhatsa earthquakes (4.3M _L 5.2) on the western coast lie between 0.7×10²³ and 3.6×10²³ dyne-cm. Moment (M ₀)-magnitude (M _L ) relation logM ₀=1.5M _L +16.0 for the western United States region agrees as well, in general, with the results for the earthquakes in the Indian Peninsula.     

A HFSE- and REE-enriched ferrodiorite suite from the Bolangir Anorthosite Complex, Eastern Ghats Belt, India

The massif-type anorthosite complex at Bolangir in the northern part of the Eastern Ghats belt occurs in a milieu of predominantly supracrustal granulite-grade rocks. The massif is separated from the host gneisses by coarse-grained garnetiferous granitoid gneisses which are interpreted as coeval crustallyderived melts. Melanocratic ferrodiorite rocks occur at the immediate contact with the anorthosite massif which they intrude in cross-cutting dikes and sheets. The emplacement age of the anorthosite diapir and the associated igneous suites is deemed to be pre-D₂. Recrystallization of the igneous assemblages of the ferrodiorite suite (750–800°C, 7–8kbar, ) during a period of near-isobaric cooling from the igneous crystallization stage to the regionalP-T regime led to extensive development of coronitic garnet at the interface of plagioclase phenocrysts with the mafic matrix assemblage (opx + fay + cpx + ilm ± amph, bio). Abundant accessory phases are zircon, apatite and thorite. The mafic phases have extremely ferrous compositions (X_Fe gar: 0.93-0.87, fay: 0.90-0.87, opx: 0.80-0.60, cpx: 0.70-0.47, amph: 0.81-0.71) reflecting the low Mg-number (16-8) of the rocks. Compared to worldwide occurrences of similar rocks, the Bolangir ferrodiorites (SiO₂ 36–58 wt.%, FeO*: 39-10 wt.%) are characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of HFSE and REE (TiO₂: 4.8-1.0 wt.%, P₂O₅: 1.7-0.5 wt.%, Zr: 5900-1300 ppm, Y: 240-80 ppm, La: 540-100 ppm, Ce: 1100-200 ppm, Yb: 22-10 ppm, Th: 195-65 ppm). Well defined linear variation trends for major and trace elements reflect progressive plagioclase accumulation towards the felsic members of the suite. The ferrodiorites are interpreted to represent residual liquids of anorthosite crystallization which after segregation and extraction from the ascending diapir became enriched in HFSE and REE through selective assimilation of accessory phases (zircon, monazite, apatite) from crustal felsic melts. Ferromonzodioritic rock presumably formed through hybridization between the ferrodiorite and overlying felsic melts.     

The origin of chloritoid – 3‐mica pseudomorph growth in staurolite–muscovite schist,Bangriposi (Eastern India)

At Bangriposi, variable stages in replacement of staurolite by chloritoid – Na–K–Ca mica shimmer aggregates in muscovite schists provides insight into the complex interplay between fluid flow, mass transfer, and dissolution–precipitation during pseudomorph growth. Idioblastic chloritoid growing into mica caps without causing visible deformation, and monomineralic chloritoid veins (up to 300 μm wide) within shimmer aggregates replacing staurolite attest to chloritoid nucleation in fluid‐filled conduits along staurolite grain boundaries and crystallographic planes. The growth of shimmer aggregates initiated along staurolite margins, and advanced inwards into decomposing staurolite along networks of crystallographically controlled fluid‐filled conduits. Coalescence among alteration zones adjacent to channel fills led to dismemberment and the eventual demise of staurolite. Mass balance calculation within a volume‐fixed, silica‐conserved reference frame indicate the shimmer aggregates grew via precipitation from fluids in response to mass transport that led to the addition of H₂O, K₂O, Na₂O and CaO in the reaction zone, and Al₂O₃ was transported outward from the inward‐retreating margin of decomposing staurolite. This aided precipitation of chloritoid in veins and in the outer collars, and as disseminated grains in the shimmer aggregates at mid‐crustal condition (~520 ± 20 °C, 5.5 ± 2.0 kbar). Computation using one‐dimensional transport equation suggests that staurolite decomposition involved advection dominating over diffusive transport; the permeation of externally derived H₂O caused flattening of chemical potential gradients in H₂O and aqueous species, for example, and , computed using the Gibbs method. This suggests that staurolite decomposition was promoted by the infiltration of a large volume of H₂O that flattened existing chemical potential gradients. In the initial stages of replacement, chloritoid super‐saturation in fluid caused preferential nucleation and growth of chloritoid at staurolite grain boundaries and in crystallographic planes. As reaction progressed, further chloritoid nucleation was halted, but chloritoid continued to grow as the 3‐mica aggregates continued to replace the remaining staurolite in situ, while the chloritoid‐compatible elements were transported in the water‐rich phase facilitating continued growth of the existing chloritoid grains.     

The formation of superdense gaseous cores in the nuclei of disk galaxies: II

In a previous paper (hereafter referred to as Paper I) we have tried to show that superdense cores in the nuclei of disk galaxies can be formed by accretion of gas ejected by the evolved stars which populate the central bulge of these galaxies. Solving the equations for radial flow of a magnetized gas, we found that the accretion of an explodable mass at the core can be achieved over a time-scale ranging from a few times 10⁷ and a few times 10⁸ yr. It was shown, however, that the accretion process is seriously inhibited if the gas possesses sufficient rotational velocity but lacks any dissipative, mechanism within the system. Since rotational velocity is an observed parameter of the stars which shed the gas to be accreted, one must consider the existence of some dissipative force in it in order that the accretion process may be efficient. In the present paper, therefore, we have solved the problem of the flow of a rotating, viscous (variable), magnetized gas. With plausible assumptions regarding some of the parameters involved, the time-scale for the accretion of an explodable mass (10⁹ M ) at the core again turns out to be ranging between a few times 10⁷ and a few times 10⁸yr. Such time-scale has been proposed by several authors as that for repeated explosions in nuclei of these galaxies. It has also been proposed by many authors that the spiral arms are generated and destroyed in disk galaxies over the same time-scale. Our solution also yields a nearly linear rotational velocity law which is usually observed in the central regions of these galaxies.     

On short period signals obtained from explosions within the earth

Summary Propagation of dilational waves in radial directions from a spherical cavity in a medium with velocity varying periodically with distance has been considered. It has been shown that when the wave-length of the propagating wave is twice the wave-length of variation of the velocity in the medium the displacement even at a large distance is very great.