Globular cluster systems in low-luminosity early-type galaxies near the Fornax cluster centre

We present a photometric study of the globular cluster systems (GCSs) of the Fornax cluster galaxies NGC 1374, NGC 1379 and NGC 1387. The data consist of images from the wide-field MOSAIC imager of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) 4-m telescope, obtained with Washington C and Kron–Cousins R filters. The images cover a field of  36 × 36 arcmin²  , corresponding to  200 × 200 kpc²  at the Fornax distance. Two of the galaxies, NGC 1374 and NGC 1379, are low-luminosity ellipticals while NGC 1387 is a low-luminosity lenticular. Their cluster systems are still embedded in the cluster system of NGC 1399. Therefore, the use of a large field is crucial and some differences to previous work can be explained by this. The colour distributions of all GCSs are bimodal. NGC 1387 presents a particularly distinct separation between red and blue clusters and an overproportionally large population of red clusters. The radial distribution is different for blue and red clusters, red clusters being more concentrated towards the respective galaxies. The different colour and radial distributions point to the existence of two globular cluster subpopulations in these galaxies. Specific frequencies are in the range   S_N = 1.4–2.4  , smaller than the typical values for elliptical galaxies. These galaxies might have suffered tidal stripping of blue globular clusters by NGC 1399.     

WSO-UV progress and expectations

The World Space Observatory Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) is the space mission that will grant access to the ultraviolet (UV) range in the post Hubble epoch. WSO-UV is equipped with instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy and it is fully devoted to UV astronomy. In this article, we outline the WSO-UV mission model and present the current status of the project.     

Variability of extreme events in the Colombian Pacific and Caribbean catchment basins

This paper analyses the behavior of extreme events of surface precipitation and temperature inside the Pacific and Caribbean Catchment Basins in Colombia using several datasets such as observations, reconstructed data, NCEP-NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses and data from the regional model REMO. We use an extreme value method that selects the time series excesses over a nonstationary threshold and adjusts them to a generalized Pareto distribution. The goodness of fit is evaluated through a test that includes the Cramer–von Mises, Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Anderson–Darling statistics and the p values generated by parametric bootstrap resampling. The test not only evaluates the goodness of fit but also the threshold choice. The parameters are presented in maps that allow recognition of the features of the extreme behaviour inside the catchment basins, and differences and similarities between them. Maps of return periods for the maximum extreme events are also presented. A strong influence of the El Niño–Southern oscillation on the extreme events of both temperature and precipitation is found in the two catchment basins.     

Rain scavenging of soluble gases by non-evaporating and evaporating droplets from inhomogeneous atmosphere

We suggest a one-dimensional model of precipitation scavenging of soluble gaseous pollutants by non-evaporating and evaporating droplets that is valid for arbitrary initial vertical distribution of soluble trace gases in the atmosphere. It is shown that for low gradients of soluble trace gases in the atmosphere, scavenging of gaseous pollutants is governed by a linear wave equation that describes propagation of a wave in one direction. The derived equation is solved by the method of characteristics. Scavenging coefficient and the rates of precipitation scavenging are calculated for wet removal of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and ammonia (NH₃) using measured initial distributions of trace gases. It is shown that scavenging coefficient for arbitrary initial vertical distribution of soluble trace gases in the atmosphere is non-stationary and height-dependent. In case of exponential initial distribution of soluble trace gases in the atmosphere, scavenging coefficient for non-evaporating droplets in the region between the ground and the position of a scavenging front is a product of rainfall rate, solubility parameter, and the growth constant in the formula for the initial profile of a soluble trace gas in the atmosphere. This expression yields the same estimate of scavenging coefficient for sulfur dioxide scavenging by rain as field estimates presented in McMahon and Denison (1979). It is demonstrated that the smaller the slope of the concentration profile the higher the value of a scavenging coefficient.     

Ultraviolet Studies Of Interacting Binaries

Interacting Binaries consist of a variety of stellar objects in different stages of evolution and those containing accreting compact objects still represent a major challenge to our understanding of not only close binary evolution but also of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. These end-points of binary star evolution are ideal laboratories for the study of accretion and outflow processes, and provide insight on matter under extreme physical conditions. One of the key-questions of fundamental relevance is the nature of SN Ia progenitors. The study of accreting compact binary systems relies on observations over the entire electromagnetic spectrum and we outline here those unresolved questions for which access to the ultraviolet range is vital, as they cannot be addressed by observations in any other spectral region.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Photon-stimulated desorption of Na from a lunar sample: temperature-dependent effects

We report recent results in an investigation of source mechanisms for the origin of Na atoms in tenuous planetary atmospheres, focusing on non-thermal processes. Experiments include photon stimulated desorption (PSD), electron stimulated desorption (ESD), and ion sputtering of Na atoms from the surface of a lunar basalt sample. Bombardment of the sodium covered surface by 3 keV Ar⁺ ions removes Na from the surface by sputtering into vacuum and by implantation into the sample bulk. Bombardment of the Na covered surface by ultraviolet photons or by low energy electrons (E>3 to 4 eV) causes desorption of “hot” Na atoms. These results are consistent with our previous measurements of sodium and potassium desorption from a silica surface: electron- or photon-induced charge transfer from the substrate to the ionic adsorbate causes formation of a neutral alkali atom in a repulsive configuration, from which desorption occurs. There is a strong temperature-dependence of Na ESD and PSD signals, under conditions where the Na surface coverage is constant and thermal desorption is negligible. The yield of Na (atoms/photon) increases by 10× from 100 to 470 K; an activation energy of ∼20 meV is measured. This phenomenon may be attributed to thermally-induced changes in surface bonding sites, and will affect recent modeling of the sodium atmospheres of Mercury and the Moon.     

Collisional processes at the junction of the Aleutian–Kamchatka arcs: new evidence from fission track analysis and field observations

The Aleutian island arc collides with the Kuril–Kamchatka arc in the area of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Field studies of neotectonic structures and apatite fission track analysis provide evidence for crustal plate shortening onshore the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Tectonic blocks show differential mean exhumation rates varying from 0.18 ± 0.04 mm yr⁻¹ in the north up to 1.2 ± 0.18 mm yr⁻¹ in the south of the peninsula. A few of the fission track length data point to an unsteady exhumation rate. The blocks are separated by major dextral fault zones splaying off from Aleutian island arc fault zones. Across the western segment of the North American–Pacific Plate boundary the strain is partitioned along the fault zones and increases from north to south. Results from this study suggest that indentation and accretion of island arc fragments has recently occurred in the southeastern part of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula.     

Man-and-machine technology for the prediction of mineral deposits using geophysical data

To predict secondary geological structures that control the localization of mineral deposits in areas of cover, it is practical to use complex geophysical data. The prediction process is iterative and employs pattern recognition techniques. Each iterative cycle can include the procedure of location and ranging according to their appropriateness to the problem. The quality of the prediction is a function of the suitability of the geological environment under investigation and of the anomalies contained in the geophysical data and their selection.     

Quasi-static Motions of Viscoelastic Satellites

We consider the motion of a spacecraft which consists of a rigid body with a thin viscoelastic circular ring attached at some point of the body. Assuming that the stiffness of the ring is large and the dissipation is small enough, we study the quasi-static motion which is set in after free elastic oscillations have damped. In particular, the steady-state motions in the weakly elliptic orbit are found and their stability is investigated.