Cosmic-ray positrons: are there primary sources?

Galactic cosmic rays consist of primary and secondary particles. Primary cosmic rays are thought to be energized by first order Fermi acceleration processes at supernova shock fronts within our Galaxy. The cosmic rays that eventually reach the Earth from this source are mainly protons and atomic nuclei, but also include electrons. Secondary cosmic rays are created in collisions of primary particles with the diffuse interstellar gas. They are relatively rare but carry important information on the Galactic propagation of the primary particles. The secondary component includes a small fraction of antimatter particles, positrons and antiprotons. In addition, positrons and antiprotons may also come from unusual sources and possibly provide insight into new physics. For instance, the annihilation of heavy supersymmetric dark matter particles within the Galactic halo could lead to positrons or antiprotons with distinctive energy signatures. With the High-Energy Antimatter Telescope (HEAT) balloon-borne instrument, we have measured the abundances of positrons and electrons at energies between 1 and 50 GeV. The data suggest that indeed a small additional antimatter component may be present that cannot be explained by a purely secondary production mechanism. Here we describe the signature of the effect and discuss its possible origin.     

Hydrodynamical non-radiative accretion flows in two dimensions

Two-dimensional (axially symmetric) numerical hydrodynamical calculations of accretion flows that cannot cool through emission of radiation are presented. The calculations begin from an equilibrium configuration consisting of a thick torus with constant specific angular momentum. Accretion is induced by the addition of a small anomalous azimuthal shear stress which is characterized by a function ν . We study the flows generated as the amplitude and form of ν are varied. A spherical polar grid which spans more than two orders of magnitude in radius is used to resolve the flow over a wide range of spatial scales. We find that convection in the inner regions produces significant outward mass motions that carry away both the energy liberated by and a large fraction of the mass participating in the accretion flow. Although the instantaneous structure of the flow is complex and dominated by convective eddies, long-time averages of the dynamical variables show remarkable correspondence to certain steady-state solutions. The two-dimensional structure of the time-averaged flow is marginally stable to the Høiland criterion, indicating that convection is efficient. Near the equatorial plane, the radial profiles of the time-averaged variables are power laws with an index that depends on the radial scaling of the shear stress. A stress in which ν ∝ r ^1/2 recovers the widely studied self-similar solution corresponding to an ' α -disc'. We find that, regardless of the adiabatic index of the gas, or the form or magnitude of the shear stress, the mass inflow rate is a strongly increasing function of radius, and is everywhere nearly exactly balanced by mass outflow. The net mass accretion rate through the disc is only a fraction of the rate at which mass is supplied to the inflow at large radii, and is given by the local, viscous accretion rate associated with the flow properties near the central object.     

Line-driven disc wind models with an improved line force

We describe an efficient method of calculating the radiation pressure resulting from spectral lines, including all the terms in the velocity gradient tensor. We apply this method to calculate the two-dimensional, time-dependent structure of winds from luminous discs. Qualitative features of our new models are very similar to those we calculated including only the dominant terms in the tensor. In particular, we find that models which displayed unsteady behaviour in our earlier paper are also unsteady with the new method, and gross properties of the winds, such as mass-loss rate and characteristic velocity, are not changed by the more accurate approach. The largest change caused by the new method is in the disc-wind opening angle: winds driven only by the disc radiation are more polar with the new method, whilst winds driven by the disc and central object radiation are typically more equatorial. In the closing discussion, we provide further insight into the way the geometry of the radiation field and consequent flow determine the time properties of the flow.     

A spatially resolved 'inside-out' outburst of IP Pegasi

We present a comprehensive photometric data set taken over the entire outburst of the eclipsing dwarf nova IP Peg in 1997 September/October. Analysis of the light curves taken over the long rise to the peak-of-outburst shows conclusively that the outburst started near the centre of the disc and moved outwards. This is the first data set that spatially resolves such an outburst. The data set is consistent with the idea that long rise times are indicative of such 'inside-out' outbursts. We show how the thickness and the radius of the disc, along with the mass transfer rate, change over the whole outburst. In addition, we show evidence of the secondary and the irradiation thereof. We discuss the possibility of spiral shocks in the disc; however, we find no conclusive evidence of their existence in this data set.     

Simultaneous determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in seawater by high temperature catalytic oxidation: conditions for precise shipboard measurements

Appropriate conditions have been achieved for the accurate, rapid, and highly precise shipboard simultaneous determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in seawater by high temperature catalytic oxidation. A nitrogen-specific Antek 705D chemiluminescence detector and a CO₂-specific LiCor Li6252 IRGA have been coupled in-series with a Shimadzu TOC-5000 organic carbon analyser. Precision of both simultaneous measurements is ≤1.5%, i.e. ±1 μmol C l⁻¹ and ±0.3 μmol N l⁻¹, respectively. Quality of analysis is not compromised by vibrations associated with ocean going research vessels.     

Measurements of the vertical correlation in turbulence under broken waves

Turbulence measurements have been carried out in the surf zone of a wave flume. The purpose of the measurements is to determine the length scale of the turbulence generated by the wave breaking. The length scale of the turbulence is estimated on basis of the correlation between simultaneous measurements of the vertical turbulent fluctuations, taken at different levels above the bed.     

Analysis of Thomsen parameters for finely layered VTI media

Since the work of Postma and Backus, much has been learned about elastic constants in vertical transversely isotropic (VTI) media when the anisotropy is due to fine layering of isotropic elastic materials. Nevertheless, there has continued to be some uncertainty about the possible range of Thomsen's anisotropy parameters ε and δ for such media. We use both Monte Carlo studies and detailed analysis of Backus' equations for both two- and three-component layered media to establish the results presented. We show that ε lies in the range ?3/8 ε ½[〈v²_p〉〈v^?2_p〉?1], for finely layered media; smaller positive and all negative values of ε occur for media with large fluctuations in the Lamé parameter λ in the component layers. We show that δ can also be either positive or negative, and that for constant density media, sign (δ) = sign (〈v^?2_p〉 ? 〈v^?2_s〉〈v²_s/v²_p〉). Monte Carlo simulations show that among all theoretically possible random media, positive and negative δ are equally likely in finely layered media. (Of course, the δs associated with real earth materials may span some smaller subset of those that are theoretically possible, but answering this important question is beyond our present scope.) Layered media having large fluctuations in λ are those most likely to have positive δ. This is somewhat surprising since ε is often negative or a small positive number for such media, and we have the general constraint that ε ? δ > 0 for layered VTI media. Since Gassmann's results for fluid-saturated porous media show that the mechanical effects of fluids influence only the Lamé parameter λ, not the shear modulus μ, these results suggest that small positive δ occurring together with small positive ε (but somewhat larger than δ) may be indicative of changing fluid content in a layered earth.