Discovery of the 'missing' mode in HR 1217 by the Whole Earth Telescope

HR 1217 is a prototypical rapidly oscillating Ap star that has presented a test to the theory of non-radial stellar pulsation. Prior observations showed a clear pattern of five modes with alternating frequency spacings of 33.3 and 34.6 μHz, with a sixth mode at a problematic spacing of 50.0 μHz (which equals  1.5×33.3 μHz)  to the high-frequency side. Asymptotic pulsation theory allowed for a frequency spacing of 34 μHz, but Hipparcos observations rule out such a spacing. Theoretical calculations of magnetoacoustic modes in Ap stars by Cunha predicted that there should be a previously undetected mode 34 μHz higher than the main group, with a smaller spacing between it and the highest one. In this Letter, we present preliminary results from a multisite photometric campaign on the rapidly oscillating Ap star HR 1217 using the 'Whole Earth Telescope'. While a complete analysis of the data will appear in a later paper, one outstanding result from this run is the discovery of a newly detected frequency in the pulsation spectrum of this star, at the frequency predicted by Cunha.     

空间太阳望远镜高速数据传输系统

“空间太阳望远镜”是中国的一项非常重要的天文卫星计划。卫星上将搭载 5个有效载荷 ,在可见光、远紫外、硬X射线、软X射线、Hα和射电波段同时观测太阳 ,其中的主光学望远镜口径达 1m。各有效载荷的CCD器件和其它敏感器件每天采集的科学数据量经过预处理后达 50Gbytes,再由数据压缩系统压缩至 8Gbytes,并储存在海量存储器中。如此庞大的数据量要求空间太阳望远镜的科学数据传输系统以高达 60Mbps的码速率向地面站传送。本文所有的工作均围绕着空间太阳望远镜高速数据传输系统展开 :1 .根据空间太阳望远镜的需求 ,综合研究、分析了它的科学数据传输系统的性能指标和特点 ,并作总体的方案设计 ;2 .设计开发了科学数据传输系统的信道编码和信道解码单元。信道编码单元将把海量存储器中的数据转换为适于QPSK射频调制格式化的串行数据流 ,信道解码单元实现相反的过程 ,文中详细给出了信道编码系统的原理、方法和实验结果。设计中引入了新的设计思想和方法 ,通信协议与现有地面站兼容 ;3 .完成了信道编码、解码环路的地面试验 ,结果表明信道编码、解码系统的技术指标完全符合空间太阳望远镜的要求。在理想无噪声条件下 ,闭环试验数据传输结果无误码 ,数据传输率达 60Mbps,是目前国内科学数据传输系统码速率     

A class of axially-symmetric electromagnetic mass models

This paper presents a set of solutions of coupled Einstein-Maxwell equations with matter for the Levi-Civita's metric which can be interpreted as electromagnetic mass models which are extensions of the electromagnetic mass models obtained previously. It may be pointed out that electromagnetic mass models are solutions of coupled Einstein-Maxwell equations with matter where all the characteristics of matter vanish when the charge vanishes. Existence of such solution tends to confirm Lorentz's conjecture that the mass of an electron may be of purely electromagnetic origin.     

Güttler scattering analogues for dust aggregates

We show that suitably defined Güttler (core-mantle) analogues can satisfactorily represent the optical cross-sections of aggregates of very small particles that result from mutual collisions and sticking. Earlier calculations using the discrete dipole approximation are seen to be in good agreement with Güttler analogue calculations, particularly in the case of the so-called Ballistic Particle-Cluster Aggregates (BPCA).     

Search for periodicity in light variations of the isolated Herbig Ae-star WW Vulpeculae

Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 61–65, January–February, 1993.     

Quasi-periodical structures in the galaxy populations: mass and luminosity functions for the cluster galaxies

A search and estimation of the statistical significance of the quasi-periodical structures (QPS) has been carried out: for the luminosity function of the galaxies in a few rich clusters; for the integrated mass function of galaxies in the superclusters identified via = 21 cm observations. Some statistically significant QPS have been revealed. The periods for these structures are in agreement between each other, at this basis the hypothesis has been proposed that an effect of the QPS at the level of galaxies has some universal character. Frequency doubling has been discovered for these QPS.     

Preservation of biological information in thermal spring deposits: developing a strategy for the search for fossil life on Mars

Current interpretations of the early history of Mars suggest many similarities with the early Earth and therefore raise the possibility that the Archean and Proterozoic history of life on Earth could have a counterpart on Mars. Terrestrial experience suggests that, with techniques that can be employed remotely, ancient springs, including thermal springs, could well yield important information. By delivering water and various dissolved species to the sunlit surface of Mars, springs very likely created an environment suitable for life, which could have been difficult, if not impossible, to attain elsewhere. The chemical and temperature gradients associated with thermal springs sort organisms into sharply delineated, distinctive and different communities, and so diverse organisms are concentrated into relatively small areas in a predictable and informative fashion. A wide range of metabolic strategies are concentrated into small areas, thus furnishing a useful and representative sampling of the existing biota. Mineral-charged springwaters frequently deposit chemical precipitates of silica and/or carbonate which incorporate microorganisms and preserve them as fossils. The juxtaposition of stream valley headwaters with volcanoes and impact craters on Mars strongly implies that subsurface heating of groundwater created thermal springs. On Earth, thermal springs create distinctive geomorphic features and chemical signatures which can be detected by remote sensing. Spring deposits can be quite different chemically from adjacent rocks. Individual springs can be hundreds of meters wide, and complexes of springs occupy areas up to several kilometers wide. Benthic microbial mats and the resultant stromatolites occupy a large fraction of the available area. The relatively high densities of fossils and microbial mat fabrics within these deposits make them highly prospective in any search for morphological evidence of life, and there are examples of microbial fossils in spring deposits as old as 300 Myr.     

A device for recording positions of a beam of an extralight torsion balance

A device for recording positions of a beam of an extralight torsion balance is developed, mounted, and tested by the practice of astronomical observations. The device makes it possible to completely automate the process of observations under constant monitoring of the measurement results in real time. The principle of color division of stationary marks which specify the meridian direction from a mobile marker is implemented owing to application of different luminescent paints and a source of UV radiation. In contrast to other recording systems of such type, the device described makes it possible to minimize convective air flows inside the chamber of a torsion balance and to drastically improve the accuracy of determining the beam direction at which the error of individual determination is ±0.172°. Long-term observations performed with the given device made it possible to reveal a distinct daily cycle in the behavior of a torsion balance, the nature of this cycle still being unclear.     

Light-time computations for the BepiColombo Radio Science Experiment

The Radio Science Experiment is one of the on board experiments of the Mercury ESA mission BepiColombo that will be launched in 2014. The goals of the experiment are to determine the gravity field of Mercury and its rotation state, to determine the orbit of Mercury, to constrain the possible theories of gravitation (for example by determining the post-Newtonian parameters), to provide the spacecraft position for geodesy experiments and to contribute to planetary ephemerides improvement. This is possible thanks to a new technology which allows to reach great accuracies in the observables range and range rate; it is well known that a similar level of accuracy requires studying a suitable model taking into account numerous relativistic effects. In this paper we deal with the modelling of the space-time coordinate transformations needed for the light-time computations and the numerical methods adopted to avoid rounding-off errors in such computations.