Dust torus formed by particles ejected from a celestial body at an arbitrary point of its elliptic orbit

Dust comnplexes make one of the components of the Solar System. The surface shape of a typical dust complex consisting of particles ejected by a celestial body is found analytically, under reasonable assumptions (the main one being the smallness of perturbations). Parametric equations of the surface are obtained. The main properties of the surface are established and studied. Singular points are found, and the topological type of the surface as a whole and in the vicinity of the singular points (one conic points and one constriction) is examined.     

Der Bau von Nordost-Asien nach neueren Forschungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

V475 Sct (Nova Scuti 2003) – Binary or Triple System?

UBV RI photometry and 4600–9000 Å spectroscopy of nova V475 Sct taken in the first 3 month after discovery is presented. The object can be classified as a Fe II type slow nova with t _2,V = 48 days, t _3,V = 53 days. The absolute magnitude of the nova at maximum, its colour excess and distance were determined. The observed 13.4 day periodicity of flares can be explained by the mass transfer bursts from the red to the white dwarf, probably caused by the periastron passage of a third body. Two sets of absorptions are seen in the P Cyg-type Hα line profile. They arise in the expanding shell of the nova.     

Neoproterozoic—Early Paleozoic evolution of peri-Gondwanan terranes: implications for Laurentia-Gondwana connections

Neoproterozoic tectonics is dominated by the amalgamation of the supercontinent Rodinia at ca. 1.0 Ga, its breakup at ca. 0.75 Ga, and the collision between East and West Gondwana between 0.6 and 0.5 Ga. The principal stages in this evolution are recorded by terranes along the northern margin of West Gondwana (Amazonia and West Africa), which continuously faced open oceans during the Neoproterozoic. Two types of these so-called peri-Gondwanan terranes were distributed along this margin in the late Neoproterozoic: (1) Avalonian-type terranes (e.g. West Avalonia, East Avalonia, Carolina, Moravia-Silesia, Oaxaquia, Chortis block that originated from ca. 1.3 to 1.0 Ga juvenile crust within the Panthalassa-type ocean surrounding Rodinia and were accreted to the northern Gondwanan margin by 650 Ma, and (2) Cadomian-type terranes (North Armorica, Saxo-Thuringia, Moldanubia, and fringing terranes South Armorica, Ossa Morena and Tepla-Barrandian) formed along the West African margin by recycling ancient (2–3 Ga) West African crust. Subsequently detached from Gondwana, these terranes are now located within the Appalachian, Caledonide and Variscan orogens of North America and western Europe. Inferred relationships between these peri-Gondwanan terranes and the northern Gondwanan margin can be compared with paleomagnetically constrained movements interpreted for the Amazonian and West African cratons for the interval ca. 800–500 Ma. Since Amazonia is paleomagnetically unconstrained during this interval, in most tectonic syntheses its location is inferred from an interpreted connection with Laurentia. Hence, such an analysis has implications for Laurentia-Gondwana connections and for high latitude versus low latitude models for Laurentia in the interval ca. 615–570 Ma. In the high latitude model, Laurentia-Amazonia would have drifted rapidly south during this interval, and subduction along its leading edge would provide a geodynamic explanation for the voluminous magmatism evident in Neoproterozoic terranes, in a manner analogous to the Mesozoic-Cenozoic westward drift of North America and South America and subduction-related magmatism along the eastern margin of the Pacific ocean. On the other hand, if Laurentia-Amazonia remained at low latitudes during this interval, the most likely explanation for late Neoproterozoic peri-Gondwanan magmatism is the re-establishment of subduction zones following terrane accretion at ca. 650 Ma. Available paleomagnetic data for both West and East Avalonia show systematically lower paleolatitudes than predicted by these analyses, implying that more paleomagnetic data are required to document the movement histories of Laurentia, West Gondwana and the peri-Gondwanan terranes, and test the connections between them.     

Application of laser strainmenters to the study of earthquake physics

The paper considers possibilities of applying laser strainmeters for the study of earthquake physics. One of laser strainmeters is described. A high efficiency of using the laser strainmeters for the study of earthquakes and their precursors is shown. In records of the spaced laser strainmeters, anomalous deformations propagating from the east to the west with the speed comparable with that of migration of earthquakes were found.     

Nature of the X-ray Source in Supernova Remnant RCW103

I discuss the nature of the compact X-ray source in the center of the supernova remnant RCW 103. Several models, based on the accretion onto a compact object are briefly discussed. I show that it is more likely that the central X-ray source is an accreting neutron star than an accreting black hole. I also argue that models of a disrupted binary system consisting of an old accreting neutron star and a new one observed as a 69-ms pulsar are most favored. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.