Optical variability of gamma-ray loud blazars

Blazars display flux variability on diverse timescales ranging from minutes to months. In our blazar monitoring project carried out on the 1.2meter telescope at Gurushikhar, Mount Abu, India, we selected someγ-ray loud blazars to study the variability over both the short and the long time scales. In this paper we have reported results based on photometric monitoring on 8 nights during the observing run in the first half of the year 2000 for 5 blazars: S5 0716+714, OJ 287, S4 0954+658, Mrk421 and PKS 2155–304 in B and R passbands. Microvariability and rapid variability has been observed in these sources suggesting that variability is a common property in these objects. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Axisymmetric modes of rotating relativistic stars in the Cowling approximation

Axisymmetric pulsations of rotating neutron stars can be excited in several scenarios, such as core collapse, crust- and core-quakes or binary mergers, and could become detectable in either gravitational waves or high-energy radiation. Here, we present a comprehensive study of all low-order axisymmetric modes of uniformly and rapidly rotating relativistic stars. Initial stationary configurations are appropriately perturbed and are numerically evolved using an axisymmetric, non-linear relativistic hydrodynamics code, assuming time-independence of the gravitational field (Cowling approximation). The simulations are performed using a high-resolution shock-capturing finite-difference scheme accurate enough to maintain the initial rotation law for a large number of rotational periods, even for stars at the mass-shedding limit. Through Fourier transforms of the time evolution of selected fluid variables, we compute the frequencies of quasi-radial and non-radial modes with spherical harmonic indices l =0 , 1, 2 and 3, for a sequence of rotating stars from the non-rotating limit to the mass-shedding limit. The frequencies of the axisymmetric modes are affected significantly by rotation only when the rotation rate exceeds about 50 per cent of the maximum allowed. As expected, at large rotation rates, apparent mode crossings between different modes appear. In addition to the above modes, several axisymmetric inertial modes are also excited in our numerical evolutions.     

Critical Investigation of Wear Behaviour of WC Drill Bit Buttons

Mining and petroleum drill bits are subjected to highly abrasive rock and high-velocity fluids that cause severe wear and erosion in service. To augment the rate of penetration and minimize the cost per foot, such drill bits are subjected to increasing rotary speeds and weight. A rotary/percussive drill typically hits the rock 50 times per second with hydraulic impact pressure of about 170–200 bar and feed pressure of about 90–100 bar, while rotating at 75–200 rpm. The drill rig delivers a high-velocity flow of drilling fluid onto the rock surface to dislodge cuttings and cool the bit. The impingement of high-velocity drilling fluid with entrained cuttings accelerates the erosion rate of the bit. Also, high service temperature contributes to softening of the rock for increased penetration. Hence, there is a need to optimize the drilling process and balance the wear rate and penetration rate simultaneously. This paper presents an experimental scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of electroplated (nickel-bonded) diamond drills for different wear modes.     

Evaluation of hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality in the Jhansi district of Bundelkhand region, India

A base line study involving analysis of groundwater samples from the Jhansi district were carried out to determine the major and trace element chemistry and to assess the hydrogeochemical processes and water quality for domestic and irrigation uses. Study results show that groundwater is mildly acidic to alkaline in nature and HCO₃ ^?, Cl^?, Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ are the major contributing ions for the dissolved loads. The data plotted on the Gibbs and Piper diagrams reveal that the groundwater chemistry is mainly controlled by rock weathering with secondary contribution from anthropogenic sources. In a majority of the groundwater samples, alkaline earth metals exceed alkalies and weak acid dominate over strong acids. Ca–Mg–HCO₃ is the dominant hydrogeochemical facies in the majority of the groundwater samples. The computed saturation indices demonstrate that groundwater is oversaturated with respect to dolomite and calcite. Kaolinite is the possible mineral that is in equilibrium with the water, implying that the groundwater chemistry favors kaolinite formation. A comparison of groundwater quality parameters in relation to specified limits for drinking water shows that the concentrations of TDS, F^?, NO₃ ^?, total hardness and Fe are exceeding the desirable limits in many water samples. Quality assessment for irrigation uses reveal that the groundwater is of good to suitable category. Higher salinity and residual sodium carbonate values at some sites restrict the suitability of groundwater and need an adequate drainage and water management plan for the area.     

Charged fluid to anisotropic fluid distribution in general relativity

A new class of well behaved anisotropic super-dense stars has been derived with the help of a given class of charged fluid distributions. The anisotropy parameter (or the electric intensity) is zero at the centre and monotonically increasing towards the pressure free interface. All the physical parameter such as energy density, radial pressure, tangential pressure and velocity of sound are monotonically decreasing towards the surface. The maximum mass measures 3.8593 solar mass and the corresponding radius is 21.2573 km for n=1 i.e. N tends to infinity.     

A class of new solutions of generalized charged analogues of Buchdahl’s type super-dense star

The present paper reports a class of new solutions of charged fluid spheres expressed by a space time with its hypersurfaces t=const. as spheroid for the case 0<K<1 with surface density 2×10¹⁴ gm/cm³. When the Buchdahl’s type fluid spheres are electrified with generalized charged intensity and it is utilized to construct a super-dense star and found that star satisfies all reality conditions except the casual condition for 0<K≤0.05. The maximum mass occupied and the corresponding radius have been obtained 8.130871 M _Θ and 24.60916 km respectively. Further, the redshift at the centre and on the surface are noted by z ₀=0.933729 and z _a =0.383808 respectively.     

Channel pattern transformation of the Burhi‐Gandak river,Bihar, India: A study based on multidata sets

The Burhi‐Gandak river is one of the major tributaries of the Ganga River in the middle Ganga basin. The river is i known to have an oscillatory character and has changed its course in Recent times. In the present study, a variety of remote sensing data combined with surface and subsurface data have been used to delineate the fluvial palaeofeatures of this river. The palaeofeatures of the Burhi‐Gandak indicate that the river has shifted from N to S over a distance of 30 km. Further, its is observed that Burhi‐Gandak river had a larger channel width and higher discharge on earlier times and was very active. On detailed examination, a past link between the now northerly flowing Baghmati and Burhi‐Gandak rivers is detected. Based on the above features, three distinct stages of migration of the river have been identified and a summary of fluvial palaeohistory is presented.     

Formation of an Hesperian-aged sedimentary basin containing phyllosilicates in Coprates Catena,Mars

The extensive light-toned deposits in canyons and troughs in Valles Marineris provide evidence of formation through water-related processes. As such, these deposits offer a window to past conditions on Mars. We study a small outcrop of light-toned deposits in a closed trough in Coprates Catena, a chain of collapse pits to the south-east of the main Valles Marineris system. A well-exposed sequence of deposits on the base of the north wall of the trough offers a 220 m section for geochemical and morphologic analysis. Using CRISM data we identify the presence of both phyllosilicates and sulfates and/or opaline silica in the light toned deposits, which vary in relative strength with elevation. We observe a trend in the dominant mineralogical signal, with Al phyllosilicates occurring near the base of the deposits, both below and above a band of Fe/Mg phyllosilicates, before a transition to more sulfate- or opaline silica-rich material near the top of the section. This trend likely reflects a change in the chemistry of the water in which the deposits formed. Using a HiRISE Digital Elevation Model, we find that the layers in the light-toned deposits on both sides of the trough dip gently towards the center of the trough, with a dip direction that aligns with the strike of the trough, suggesting that the light-toned deposits formed after the trough. Our general morphologic and mineralogical observations fit well with significant amounts of water in the trough. The deposits are too small to be dated using crater counting techniques, however, our crater analysis suggests that the plains in which the trough formed are probably Late Hesperian in age. If the chemistry of the light-toned deposits reflects the primary depositional mineralogy, then this and other small troughs in Coprates Catena might provide evidence of limited phyllosilicate formation in this region towards the end of the Hesperian era on Mars.     

Spatial and temporal variations in the groundwater contributing areas of inland wetlands

Water quality and groundwater dynamics in wetlands are strongly influenced by the spatiotemporal distribution of contaminant application, and variations and changes in climate, vegetation, and anthropogenic interventions in its neighborhood. For groundwater-fed wetlands, this relevant neighborhood at least extends to the groundwater contributing area (GCA) boundary. In spite of its importance, understanding of the nature of GCA dynamics vis-à-vis meteorological variations remains largely understudied. This work attempts to map GCA of inland forested wetlands. Following that, two specific questions are answered: (a) Is GCA extent and its variation different than that of the topographic contributing area (TCA)? and (b) Is the temporal dynamics of GCA for different wetlands, all of which are experiencing very similar climatological forcing, similar? Our results show that GCAs for wetlands vary temporally, are much different in extent and shape than the TCA, and on an average are larger than the TCA. Although wetlands in the studied watershed experienced similar meteorological forcings, their covariation with forcings varied markedly. Majority of the wetlands registered an increase in GCA during dry period, but for a few the GCA decreased. This highlights the role of additional physical controls, other than meteorological forcings, on temporal dynamics of GCA. Notably, wetlands with larger TCA are found to generally have larger average GCA as well, thus indicating the dominant role of topography in determining the relative size of average GCA over the landscape. Our results provide a refined picture of the spatiotemporal patterns of GCA dynamics and the controls on it. The information will help improve the prediction of wet period dynamics, recharge, and contamination risk of groundwater-fed wetlands.