Measurement of a Peak in the Cosmic Microwave Background Power Spectrum from the North American Test Flight of Boomerang

We describe a measurement of the angular power spectrum of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at scales of 0&fdg;3 to 5 degrees from the North American test flight of the Boomerang experiment. Boomerang is a balloon-borne telescope with a bolometric receiver designed to map CMB anisotropies on a long-duration balloon flight. During a 6 hr test flight of a prototype system in 1997, we mapped more than 200 deg(2) at high Galactic latitudes in two bands centered at 90 and 150 GHz with a resolution of 26&arcmin; and 16&farcm;5 FWHM, respectively. Analysis of the maps gives a power spectrum with a peak at angular scales of 1 degrees with an amplitude 70 μK(CMB).     

The Spectroscopic Orbit of the Planetary Companion Transiting HD 209458

Three new silicon-bearing radicals of astrophysical interest, SiCCH and the two nearly isoenergetic isomers SiCN and SiNC, were detected in a laboratory discharge in their X2Pi ground states by Fourier transform microwave and millimeter-wave absorption spectroscopy. Hyperfine structure was observed in the low rotational transitions of the (2)Pi(1/2) ladder, and well-resolved Lambda-doubling was observed in both fine-structure ladders. With the spectroscopic constants derived from the laboratory measurements, the spectra of all three can be calculated to an uncertainty of less than 0.1 km s(-1) in equivalent radial velocity over the entire range of interest to radio astronomers. SiCN, with a dipole moment of 2.9 D, is probably the most promising of the three for astronomical discovery.     

O-bearing Molecules in Carbon-rich Proto-Planetary Objects

We use high-precision multiband photometric data of the first-overtone RR Lyrae star U Comae to investigate the predictive capability of full-amplitude, nonlinear, convective hydrodynamical models. The main outcome of this investigation is that theoretical predictions properly account for the luminosity variations along a full pulsation cycle. Moreover, we find that this approach, because of the strong dependence of this observable and of the pulsation period on stellar parameters, supplies tight constraints on stellar mass, effective temperature, and distance modulus. Pulsational estimates of these parameters appear in good agreement with empirical ones. Finally, a well-defined bump just before the luminosity maximum gave the unique opportunity to calibrate the turbulent convection model adopted for handling the coupling between pulsation and convection.     

波形极相似的地震丛集中剪切波分裂的变化

在1991年大同MS5.8地震余震的记录中,一些小地震丛集中可见波形极为相似的地震对,利用各对地震记录的互相关函数可以确认其相似性．为了辨认剪切波波形中发生的微小变化,采用重采样技术提高采样率．可以直接从地震图中观察到丛集中成对地震的剪切波分裂的变化．      

PETROLOGY AND AGE OF THE KINNAR KAILAS GRANITE:EVIDENCES FOR AN ORDOVICIAN POST-OROGENIC EXTENSION IN THE HIGHER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINE, SUTLEJ, INDIA.

PETROLOGY AND AGE OF THE KINNAR KAILAS GRANITE:EVIDENCES FOR AN ORDOVICIAN POST-OROGENIC EXTENSION IN THE HIGHER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINE, SUTLEJ, INDIA     

YARLUNG ZANGBO OPHIOLITES,SOUTHERN TIBET REVISITED

YARLUNG ZANGBO OPHIOLITES,SOUTHERN TIBET REVISITED     

LARGE-SCALE STRAIN PATTERNS,GREAT EARTHQUAKE BREAKS,AND LATE PLEISTOCENE SLIP-RATE ALONG THE ALTYN TAGH FAULT (CHINA)

LARGE-SCALE STRAIN PATTERNS,GREAT EARTHQUAKE BREAKS,AND LATE PLEISTOCENE SLIP-RATE ALONG THE ALTYN TAGH FAULT (CHINA)     

ACCRETION OF AN EARLY CRETACEOUS INTRA- OCEANIC ISLAND ARC TO INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM THE YARLUNG ZANGBO SUTURE ZONE

ACCRETION OF AN EARLY CRETACEOUS INTRA- OCEANIC ISLAND ARC TO INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM THE YARLUNG ZANGBO SUTURE ZONE     

Gravity changes before large earthquakes in China: 1998–2005

Although it is well known that coseismic gravity changes take place during an earthquake, previous research has not yielded convincing evidence demonstrating that significant gravity changes occur before large earthquakes. Furthermore, even if we suspect that gravity changes occur before large earthquakes, we have yet to demonstrate how to consistently observe these changes for useful earthquake forecast that would bring benefits to society. We analyzed ground gravity survey data obtained in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2005 at stations of the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) and examined gravity changes be-fore the occurrence of nine large (Ms≥6.8) earthquakes that ruptured within or near mainland China and Taiwan from November 2001 to August 2008. Results from this analysis show that significant gravity changes occurred across a large region before each of these nine large earthquakes, and these changes were detected by repeated ground gravity surveys through CMONOC. Although these gravity changes were significant, more research is needed to investigate whether these gravity changes could be viewed as precursors of large earthquakes. Limitations and uncertainties in the data include sparseness of the gravity monitoring network, long time intervals between consecutive gravity surveys, inevitable measurement errors, hydrological effects on gravity, and effects of vertical crustal movements on gravity. Based on these observations, we make several recommendations about possible future direc-tions in earthquake-related research using gravity monitoring data.