Chitinozoans and scolecodonts from the Silurian and Devonian of Japan

Silurian and Devonian chitinozoans and scolecodonts are recorded from strata of the Hida‐Gaien Terrane, central Honshu. Silurian chitinozoans include Eisenackitina, Bursachitina, and the species Angochitina elongata. The latter provides a precise biostratigraphical tie between the Japanese succession and the Type Ludlow Series of the Welsh Borderland, UK, and indicates a Ludlow age (Gorstian or early Ludfordian) for the upper member of the Yoshiki Formation in the Ichinotani Valley. Chitinozoans from other Yoshiki Formation localities contain other specimens of Lagenochitinidae. Scolecodonts are more common than chitinozoans in the palynological residues, but are mostly represented by fragments or minor apparatus elements with a low biostratigraphical value. However, material from the Yoshiki and Fukuji Formations includes several species of Mochtyella as well as representatives of Oenonites, Kettnerites, Lunoprionella, Vistulella? and possibly other placognath taxa. Scolecodonts are also present in the Silurian Middle Member of the Gionyama Formation, Kyushu, including a well‐preserved jaw of Pistoprion, and fragments of putative Kettnerites and Oenonites. These finds of scolecodonts suggest close similarity in assemblages between Paleozoic polychaete faunas of Japanese terranes and those of Baltica‐Laurentia.     

Astrophysical constraints on the proton-to-electron mass ratio with FAST

That the laws of physics are the same at all times and places throughout the Universe is one of the basic assumptions of physics. Astronomical observations provide the only means to test this basic assumption on cosmological time and distance scales. The possibility of variations in the dimensionless physical constant μ-the proton-to-electron mass ratio, can be tested by comparing astronomical measurements of the rest frequency of certain spectral lines at radio wavelengths with laboratory determinations. Different types of molecular transitions have different dependencies on μ and so observations of two or more spectral lines towards the same astronomical source can be used to test whether there is any evidence for either temporal or spatial changes in the physical fundamental constants. μ will change if the relative strength of the strong nuclear force compared to the electromagnetic force varies. Theoretical studies have shown that the rotational transitions of some molecules which have transitions in the frequency range that will be covered by FAST(e.g., CH_3 OH, OH and CH) are sensitive to changes in μ. A number of studies looking for possible variations in μ have been undertaken with existing telescopes, however, the greater sensitivity of FAST means it will open new opportunities to significantly improve upon measurements made to date.In this paper, we discuss which molecular transitions and sources(both in the Galaxy and external galaxies)are likely targets for providing improved constraints on μ with FAST.     

The double helium-white dwarf channel for the formation of AM CVn binaries

Most close double helium white dwarfs will merge within a Hubble time due to orbital decay by gravitational wave radiation.However,a significant fraction with low mass ratios will survive for a long time as a consequence of stable mass transfer.Such stable mass transfer between two helium white dwarfs(He WDs) provides one channel for the production of AM CVn binary stars.In previous calculations of double He WD progenitors,the accreting He WD was treated as a point mass.We have computed the evolution of 16 double He WD models in order to investigate the consequences of treating the evolution of both components in detail.We find that the boundary between binaries having stable and unstable mass transfer is slightly modified by this approach.By comparing with observed periods and mass ratios,we redetermine masses of eight known AM CVn stars by our double He WDs channel,i.e.HM Cnc,AM CVn,V406 Hya,J0926,J1240,GP Com,Gaia14 aae and V396 Hya.We propose that central spikes in the triple-peaked emission spectra of J1240,GP Com and V396 Hya and the surface abundance ratios of N/C/O in GP Com can be explained by the stable double He WD channel.The mass estimates derived from our calculations are used to discuss the predicted gravitational wave signal in the context of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna(LISA) project.     

3-D Prestack-migration of Wide-angle Data from a Variscan Transition Zone

—In addition to the near normal-incidence observations within the German DEKORP 2 project in 1984, wide-angle observations have been carried out on a parallel profile across the boundary between the Saxothuringian and Moldanubian crust, approximately 50 km NE of the main transect to control three-dimensional variations. Explosion sources have been used for the entire survey, providing excellent conditions for wide-angle registrations. A velocity model has been derived on the basis of in- and off-line refraction measurements using a kinematic raytracer which was extended to three dimensions by interpolation of 2-D velocity fields between parallel sections. Although prestack-migration of the data led to aliasing effects due to large shot and geophone spacing, stable results were obtained by forming envelopes after single-shot migration. The migrated sections reveal a strongly reflective Moho at about 31 km depth and a steeply (50°) dipping intracrustal reflector, which seems to be related to the border between the two Variscan units.     

Escape from a Crisis in Fokker-Planck Models

Recent N-body simulations have shown that there is a serious discrepancy between the results of N-body simulations and the results of Fokker-Planck simulations for the evolution of globular and rich open clusters under the influence of the galactic tidal field. In some cases, the lifetime obtained from Fokker-Planck calculations is more than an order of magnitude smaller than those from N-body simulations. In this paper we show that the principal cause for this discrepancy is an over-simplified treatment of the tidal field used in previous Fokker-Planck simulations. We performed new Fokker-Planck calculations using a more appropriate implementation for the boundary condition of the tidal field. The implementation is only possible with anisotropic Fokker-Planck models, while all previous Fokker-Planck calculations rely on the assumption of isotropy. Our new Fokker-Planck results agree well with N-body results. Comparison of the two types of simulations gives a better understanding of the evolution of such clusters. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Diffusion metasomatism in silica-undersaturated sapphirine-bearing granulite from Rumdoodle Peak, Framnes Mountains, east Antarctica

At Rumdoodle Peak, near Mawson Base, east Antarctica, an enclave of metasedimentary granulite is enclosed in the Mawson Charnockite, an extensive c. 960 Ma intrusion. The enclave contains a disrupted layer of black spinel-orthopyroxene-phlogopite gneiss, which was truncated by a quartz-rich vein. A reaction band that developed between these units is composed of a sequence of mineral zones that contain spinel, orthopyroxene, sapphirine, cordierite and plagioclase. The sequence of mineral zones approximately matches that predicted by a model of closed system diffusion metasomatism, involving the exchange of Si for Fe and Mg. The reaction bands differ from the model in the presence of micro-scale disequilibrium textures, that include “double coronas” composed of cordierite surrounding sapphirine and sapphirine surrounding spinel. The growth of the reaction band was controlled by diffusion along intergranular pathways, with local equilibrium maintained adjacent to grain boundaries. The presence of corona textures is a result of slow reaction rates, due to limited diffusive exchange of Si and Al across mineral grains. Received: 15 January 1998 / Accepted: 7 September 1998     

Stellar sources in the isogal inner galactic bulge field (l=0°,b= − 1°)

ISOGAL is a survey at 7 and 15 μm with ISOCAM of the inner galactic disk and bulge of our Galaxy. The survey covers ∼ 22 deg² in selected areas of the centrall = ±30 degree of the inner Galaxy. In this paper, we report the study of a small ISOGAL field in the inner galactic bulge (l = 0°,b = −1°, area = 0.033deg²). Using the multicolor nearinfrared data (IJK_s) of DENIS (DEep Near Infrared Southern Sky Survey) and mid-infrared ISOGAL data, we discuss the nature of the ISOGAL sources. The various color-color and color-magnitude diagrams are discussed in the paper. While most of the detected sources are red giants (RGB tip stars), a few of them show an excess in J-K_s and K_s-[15] colors with respect to the red giant sequence. Most of them are probably AGB stars with large mass-loss rates.     

Policy-relevant Surfaced Data on Population Distribution and Characteristics

Surface modelling has great potential as a means of reducing the perennial constraints on data availability for policy-relevant analyses of population distribution and characteristics. The challenge is that the key criteria routinely used to distinguish which datasets are suitable for policy analyses in Britain are rooted in the Government Statistical Service's adherence to classical statistical practices. In this paper, the strengths and weaknesses of surfaced data are examined against these criteria, and the potential for overcoming the likely resistance to adopting surfaced data is suggested to lie in customisation of the analyses to meet specific policy concerns. To illustrate this approach, and assess its potential value for policy analyses, two datasets produced by different forms of surfacing are described.