An XMM‐Newton survey of broad iron lines in AGN

We report on the iron Kα line properties of a sample of Seyfert galaxies observed with the XMM‐Newton EPIC pn instrument. Using a systematic and uniform analysis, we find that complexity at iron‐K is extremely common in the XMM‐Newton spectra. Once appropriate soft X‐ray absorption, narrow 6.4 keV emission and associated Compton reflection are accounted for, ∼75% of the sample show an improvement when a further component is introduced. The typical properties of the broad emission are both qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with previous results from ASCA. The complexity is in general very well described by relativistic accretion disk models. In most cases the characteristic emission radius is constrained to be within ∼50R _g, where strong gravitational effects become important. We find in about 1/3 of the sample the accretion disk interpretation is strongly favoured over competing models. In a few objects no broad line is apparent. We find evidence for emission within 6R _g in only two cases, both of which exhibit highly complex absorption. Evidence for black hole spin based on the X‐ray spectra therefore remains tentative. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey monitor telescope pipeline

The photometric calibration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a multi‐step process which involves data from three different telescopes: the 1.0‐m telescope at the US Naval Observatory (USNO), Flagstaff Station, Arizona (which was used to establish the SDSS standard star network); the SDSS 0.5‐m Photometric Telescope (PT) at the Apache Point Observatory (APO), NewMexico (which calculates nightly extinctions and calibrates secondary patch transfer fields); and the SDSS 2.5‐m telescope at APO (which obtains the imaging data for the SDSS proper). In this paper, we describe the Monitor Telescope Pipeline, MTPIPE, the software pipeline used in processing the data from the single‐CCD telescopes used in the photometric calibration of the SDSS (i.e., the USNO 1.0‐m and the PT). We also describe transformation equations that convert photometry on the USNO‐1.0m u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ system to photometry the SDSS 2.5m ugriz system and the results of various validation tests of the MTPIPE software. Further, we discuss the semi‐automated PT factory, which runs MTPIPE in the day‐to‐day standard SDSS operations at Fermilab. Finally, we discuss the use of MTPIPE in current SDSS‐related projects, including the Southern u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ Standard Star project, the u ′g ′r ′i ′z ′ Open Star Clusters project, and the SDSS extension (SDSS‐II). (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

TAOS – The Taiwanese‐American Occultation Survey

The Taiwanese‐American Occultation Survey (TAOS) seeks to determine the number and size spectrum for small (∼3 km) bodies in the Kuiper Belt. This will be accomplished by searching for the brief occultations of bright stars (R ∼ 14) by these objects. We have designed and built a special purpose photometric monitoring system for this purpose. TAOS comprises four 50 cm telescopes, each equipped with a 2048 × 2048 pixel CCD camera, in a compact array located in the central highlands of Taiwan. TAOS will monitor up to 2 000 stars at 5 Hz. The system went into scientific operation in the autumn of 2005. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The age of Wolfe Creek meteorite crater (Kandimalal), Western Australia

Wolfe Creek crater lies in northwestern Australia at the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Together with Meteor Crater, it is one of the two largest craters on Earth from which meteorite fragments have been recovered. The age of the impact is poorly constrained and unpublished data places the event at about 300,000 years ago. In comparison, Meteor Crater is well constrained by exposure dating. In this paper, we present new ages for Wolfe Creek Crater from exposure dating using the cosmogenic nuclides ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al, together with optically stimulated luminescence ages (OSL) on sand from a site created by the impact. We also present a new topographic survey of the crater using photogrammetry. The exposure ages range from ~86 to 128 ka. The OSL ages indicate that the age of the impact is most likely to be ~120 ka with a maximum age of 137 ka. Considering the geomorphic setting, the most likely age of the crater is 120 ± 9 ka. Last, we review the age of Meteor Crater in Arizona. Changes in production rates and scaling factors since the original dating work revise the impact age to 61.1 ± 4.8 ka, or ~20% older than previously reported.     

The intermediate orbit of resonance asteroids of the Hecuba family constructed on the basis of solution of the internal variant of the generalized problem of the three fixed centres

On the basis of the solution of the internal variant of the generalized problem of three fixed centres (taking as an example a minor planet of 108 Hecuba) an intermediate orbit of the resonance asteroids of the Hecuba family has been constructed. Comparison of the results obtained from the formulae with observations and also with the results of Isaeva (1976) showed that in investigating the motion of the celestial bodies it would be reasonable to use the orbits of the internal variant of the generalized problem of three fixed centres.     

Mass flow and the validity of ionization equilibrium on the Sun

Ionization equilibrium is a useful assumption which allows temperatures and other plasma properties to be deduced from spectral observations. Inherent to this assumption is the premise that the ion stage densities are determined solely by atomic processes which are local functions of the plasma temperature and electron density. However, if the time scale of plasma flow through a temperature gradient is less than the characteristic time scale for an important atomic process, deviations from the ionization stage densities expected for equilibrium will occur which could introduce serious errors into subsequent analyses. In the past few years, significant flow velocities in the upper solar atmosphere have been inferred from observations of emission lines originaing in the transition region (about 10⁴–10⁶ K) and corona. In this paper, three models of the solar atmosphere (quiet Sun, coronal hole, and a network model) are examined to determine if the emission expected from these model atmospheres could be produced from equilibrium ion populations when steady flows of several kilometers per second are assumed. If the flows are quasi-periodic instead of steady, spatial and temporal averaging inherent in the observations may allow for the construction of satisfactory models based on the assumption of ionization equilibrium. Representative emission lines are analysed for the following ions: C iii, iv, O iv, v, vi, Ne vii, viii, Mg ix, x, Si xii, and Fe ix–xiv. Two principle conclusions are drawn. First, only the iron ions are generally in equilibrium for steady flows of 20 km s^–1. For carbon and oxygen, ionization equilibrium is not a valid assumption for steady flows as small as 1 km s^–1. Second, the three models representing different solar conditions behave in a qualitatively similar manner, implying that these results are not particularly model dependent over the range of temperature gradients and electron densities thus far inferred for the Sun. In view of the flow velocities which have been reported for the Sun, our results strongly suggest caution in using the assumption of ionization equilibrium for interpreting spectral lines produced in the transition region.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Shock deformation confirms the impact origin for the Cerro do Jarau,Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil, structure

Cerro do Jarau is a conspicuous, circular morpho‐structural feature in Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil), with a central elevated core in the otherwise flat “Pampas” terrain typical for the border regions between Brazil and Uruguay. The structure has a diameter of approximately 13.5 km. It is centered at 30^o12′S and 56^o32′W and was formed on basaltic flows of the Cretaceous Serra Geral Formation, which is part of the Paraná‐Etendeka Large Igneous Province (LIP), and in sandstones of the Botucatu and Guará formations. The structure was first spotted on aerial photographs in the 1960s. Ever since, its origin has been debated, sometimes in terms of an endogenous (igneous) origin, sometimes as the result of an exogenous (meteorite impact) event. In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted in order to investigate its nature and origin. Although the results have indicated a possible impact origin, no conclusive evidence could be produced. The interpretation of an impact origin was mostly based on the morphological characteristics of the structure; geophysical data; as well as the occurrence of different breccia types; extensive deformation/silicification of the rocks within the structure, in particular the sandstones; and also on the widespread occurrence of low‐pressure deformation features, including some planar fractures (PFs). A detailed optical microscopic analysis of samples collected during a number of field campaigns since 2007 resulted in the disclosure of a large number of quartz grains from sandstone and monomict arenite breccia from the central part of the structure with PFs and feather features (FFs), as well as a number of quartz grains exhibiting planar deformation features (PDFs). While most of these latter grains only carry a single set of PDFs, we have observed several with two sets, and one grain with three sets of PDFs. Consequently, we here propose Cerro do Jarau as the seventh confirmed impact structure in Brazil. Cerro do Jarau, together with Vargeão Dome (Santa Catalina state) and Vista Alegre (Paraná State), is one of very few impact structures on Earth formed in basaltic rocks.     

A search for the 53-MHz OH line near G48.4−1.4 using the National MST Radar Facility

We present the results of a search for the ground-state hyperfine transition of the OH radical near 53 MHz using the National Mesosphere–Stratosphere–Troposphere (MST) Radar Facility at Gadanki, India. The observed position was G48.4−1.4 near the Galactic plane. The OH line is not detected. We place a 3σ upper limit for the line flux density at 39 Jy from our observations. We also did not detect recombination lines (RLs) of carbon, which were within the frequency range of our observations. The 3σ upper limit of 20 Jy obtained for the flux density of carbon RLs, along with observations at 34.5 and 327 MHz, are used to constrain the physical properties of the line-forming region. Our upper limit is consistent with the line emission expected from a partially ionized region with electron temperature, density and path lengths in the range 20–300 K, 0.03–0.3 cm⁻³ and 0.1–170 pc, respectively.     

Correcting systematic effects in a large set of photometric light curves

We suggest a new algorithm to remove systematic effects in a large set of light curves obtained by a photometric survey. The algorithm can remove systematic effects, such as those associated with atmospheric extinction, detector efficiency, or point spread function changes over the detector. The algorithm works without any prior knowledge of the effects, as long as they linearly appear in many stars of the sample. The approach, which was originally developed to remove atmospheric extinction effects, is based on a lower rank approximation of matrices, an approach which has already been suggested and used in chemometrics, for example. The proposed algorithm is especially useful in cases where the uncertainties of the measurements are unequal. For equal uncertainties, the algorithm reduces to the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) algorithm. We present a simulation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and we point out its potential, in the search for transit candidates in particular.