Galactic mass determinations from incomplete rotation curves

Given an incomplete rotation curve of a spiral galaxy, various assumptions about the Galaxy beyond the last observed point are made: (A) the force falls off as 1/r ², (B) the mass density is zero, and (C) the mass density falls off as 1/r ³. The msss distributions obtained from each of these assumptions are all well behaved, and it is impossible to choose the correct curve from considerations of the resulting mass distributions alone. The correct mass distribution in the disk system of a galaxy cannot be deduced from an incomplete rotation curve.     

The relation of energetic solar X-rays (hν>60 keV) and high frequency microwaves deduced from the periodic bursts of August 8, 1968 flare

Correlated sixteen-second periodic bursts were observed during the flash phase of a class 2b solar flare in energetic X-rays, microwaves, and EUV ionizing radiation. The observations of the periodic structures in the various X-ray energy channels indicate that the structures are predominantly a phenomenon of high energy electrons, E>80 keV. In view of the fact that the periodic X-ray structures were correlated extensively in microwave and EUV frequencies, a plausible conclusion is that these three types of radiation have a common energy source. The acceleration of the energetic electrons must occur deep in the chromosphere where there are sufficient solar constituents that can be ionized to produce the correlated periodic EUV radiation.     

Climate control on Venus: Comparison of the carbonate and pyrite models

We review two models describing the Venus climate system: the carbonate and pyrite models. It has been argued carbonate and pyrite are potentially important minerals controlling the climate of Venus, though existence of either minerals has not been confirmed. Although it used to be proposed that carbonation reaction might explain the Venus’ atmospheric CO₂ abundance, it is unlikely Venus’ surface is reactive enough to control the Venus’ massive CO₂ atmosphere. Venus’ surface carbonate is also able to affect the climate through the reaction with atmospheric SO₂ to form anhydrite. Under the carbonate model the climate state is not in equilibrium and would be unstable due to the reaction between carbonate and SO₂. On the other hand, pyrite-magnetite reaction is proposed to explain the Venus’ atmospheric SO₂ abundance. Under pyrite-magnetite reaction, however, the climate would be stabilized such that the existing climate state is maintained over a geological timescale, while some observational facts such as atmospheric abundance of SO₂ and surface temperature could also be reasonably explained.     

On the mass-luminosity relation

The results of a least-squares study of the mass-luminosity relation for eclipsing and visual binary stars consisting of main sequence components are presented. Two methods are discussed. In Part A, the values of the coefficientsA andB in the relation logM=A+BM _Bol are determined. Part B presents a technique which permits the determination of α and β in the relationM=αL ^β, when only the sum of the masses, and not the individual masses of each component, is known. The results and a comparison of the two methods are discussed. It is found that the following massluminosity relation represents the observational data satisfactorily: $$log M = 0.504 - 0.103M_{BOL,} {\text{ }} - \leqslant M_{BOL} \leqslant + 10.5$$ . A discussion of the data and of the possibility that separate mass-luminosity relations may exist for visual and eclipsing binaries is given. The possiblity that more than one mass-luminosity relation is required in the range ?8≤M _Bol ≤+13 is also discussed.     

Diamond xenolith and matrix organic matter in the Sutter's Mill meteorite measured by C‐XANES

The Sutter's Mill (SM) meteorite fell in El Dorado County, California, on April 22, 2012. This meteorite is a regolith breccia composed of CM chondrite material and at least one xenolithic phase: oldhamite. The meteorite studied here, SM2 (subsample 5), was one of three meteorites collected before it rained extensively on the debris site, thus preserving the original asteroid regolith mineralogy. Two relatively large (10 μm sized) possible diamond grains were observed in SM2‐5 surrounded by fine‐grained matrix. In the present work, we analyzed a focused ion beam (FIB) milled thin section that transected a region containing these two potential diamond grains as well as the surrounding fine‐grained matrix employing carbon and nitrogen X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (C‐XANES and N‐XANES) spectroscopy using a scanning transmission X‐ray microscope (STXM) (Beamline 5.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). The STXM analysis revealed that the matrix of SM2‐5 contains C‐rich grains, possibly organic nanoglobules. A single carbonate grain was also detected. The C‐XANES spectrum of the matrix is similar to that of insoluble organic matter (IOM) found in other CM chondrites. However, no significant nitrogen‐bearing functional groups were observed with N‐XANES. One of the possible diamond grains contains a Ca‐bearing inclusion that is not carbonate. C‐XANES features of the diamond‐edges suggest that the diamond might have formed by the CVD process, or in a high‐temperature and ‐pressure environment in the interior of a much larger parent body.     

Tectonic and stratigraphic implications of the relative ages of venusian plains and wrinkle ridges

A major ongoing controversy concerns the style of crustal evolution on Venus. At one extreme is a directional model that proposes a sequence of depositional and deformational events that occur at specific times in the evolution of the crust and that are global in extent. At the other extreme is a model that argues for different ages of these events in different places on the planet. A test of the directional model is here focused on whether wrinkle ridges formed at a single time in the recorded crustal history of Venus. Where sets of wrinkle ridges intersect it commonly is possible to determine that one set is older than the other. Also, the deformation responsible for wrinkle ridges is, in places, clearly progressive with respect to stratigraphic material units. These observations are not consistent with a specific single time for the formation of wrinkle ridges within the stratigraphic sequence. Within an area including about 1/3 of the surface of Venus 15% of craters that are younger than regional plains are older than wrinkle ridges, 85% are younger than wrinkle ridges. Taking 750 myr as a reasonable mean age for the regional plains, this implies that the mean age of wrinkle ridges is ∼110 myr younger than the mean age of plains. Solomon et al. (1999, Science 286, 87) propose that the emplacement of a large volume of plains lava would lead to a major atmospheric temperature increase. Their model predicts thermal stresses in the lithosphere that, at shallow depth, would reach peak compressive stresses in about 100 myr, a number very similar to the time lag between plains emplacement and wrinkle ridge formation indicated by the crater data. The thermal compressive stresses responsible for wrinkle ridges would be maintained at a level sufficient to deform basalt for at least 100 myr and possibly for as long as 350 myr. These time intervals are not really short compared to the mean age of the plains. Finally, because wrinkle ridges are demonstrably younger than the plains they deform, they cannot be related to the processes that formed the plains and thus should not be used to define a “plains with wrinkle ridges” unit.     

Scientific objectives and selection of targets for the SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR)

The European SMART-1 mission to the Moon, primarily a testbed for innovative technologies, was launched in September 2003 and will reach the Moon in 2005. On board are several scientific instruments, including the point-spectrometer SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR). Taking into account the capabilities of the SMART-1 mission and the SIR instrument in particular, as well as the open questions in lunar science, a selection of targets for SIR observations has been compiled. SIR can address at least five topics: (1) Surface/regolith processes; (2) Lunar volcanism; (3) Lunar crust structure; (4) Search for spectral signatures of ices at the lunar poles; and (5) Ground truth and study of geometric effects on the spectral shape. For each topic we will discuss specific observation modes, necessary to achieve our scientific goals. The majority of SIR targets will be observed in the nadir-tracking mode. More than 100 targets, which require off-nadir pointing and off-nadir tracking, are planned. It is expected that results of SIR observations will significantly increase our understanding of the Moon. Since the exact arrival date and the orbital parameters of the SMART-1 spacecraft are not known yet, a more detailed planning of the scientific observations will follow in the near future.     

Determination of autonomous three-dimensional force fields from a two-parameter family of orbits

Any two of the componentsX, Y, andZ of an autonomous force field which gives rise to the space orbitsF(x, y, z)=c ₁,G(x, y, z)=c ₂ are related by a partial differential equation with coefficients depending on the functionsF andG. This is a generalization of the corresponding equation for planar orbits (Bozis, 1983). The above partial differential equation is accompanied by the algebraic linear equation inX, Y, andZ expressing the fact that the force vector is lying in the osculating plane at each point of the orbit. The two equations constitute a generalization of the corresponding Szebehely's equations in the three dimensional space (Érdi, 1982). The generalization is meant in the sense that the dynamical system is not necessarily assumed to be conservative.     

Digital complex correlator for a C-band polarimetry survey

The international Galactic Emission Mapping project aims to map and characterize the polarization field of the Milky Way. In Portugal it will map the sky polarized emission of the Northern Hemisphere in C-band and provide templates for map calibration and foreground control of microwave space data to be provided by ESA Planck Surveyor mission and later missions. The receiver system is equipped with a novel receiver with a full digital back-end using a low-cost Field Programmable Gate Array without compromising its performance relation. This new digital backend comprises a base-band complex cross-correlator outputting the four Stokes parameters of the incoming polarized radiation. In this document we describe the design and implementation of the complex correlator using the FPGA and the dedicated digitizers at each receiver arm, detailing the method applied at the several algorithm stages. This correlator is suitable for large sky area polarization continuum surveys.