On the interpretation of the π-component splitting in sunspot spectra

It is shown that in order to explain the observed splitting of the -component in the sunspot umbra spectrum by the hypothesis of the coexistence in sunspots of weak- and strong-field regions with opposite polarities, one has to admit the additional assumption that in the weak-field regions the Doppler halfwidth ( _D) and the ratio between line opacity and continuum opacity ( ₀) are both less than those in the strong-field regions.     

Resonance rotation of celestial bodies and Cassini's laws

Celestial body rotation about its center of mass, taking into account the body orbit evolution, is considered. Non-linear evolution equations of motion are constructed. Empirical Cassini's laws describing the Moon motion result from these equations as their stationary points. Bifurcation conditions of steady motions are written out and conditions of their stability are investigated. Hypothesis of Mercury's resonance motion analogous to the motion by Cassini is discussed. Consequences of this hypothesis are considered.The first information including the results mentioned in the paper was previously published in preprint [1].     

Relative deformations of selenodetic nets of coordinates

One of the main problems of selenodesy consists of the construction of a net of basic reference points on the surface of the Moon. At present there exist many catalogues containing the coordinates of selected objects on the Moon. These catalogues differ by the presence of both systematic and accidental errors.The investigations concerning the comparison of catalogues and the elucidation of their systematic differences are of very recent date. Various methods of interpretation of the systematic differences between catalogues have been proposed. Without an attempt to encompass the whole problem in what follows, we shall describe one method for comparative study of catalogues based on the theory of the deformation of continuous media.     

Stochastic models of hot planetary and satellite coronas: Atomic oxygen in Europa’s corona

This paper analyzes the formation, kinetics, and transport of hot oxygen atoms in the atmosphere of the Jovian satellite Europa. Atmospheric sources of suprathermal oxygen atoms are assumed to be represented by the processes of dissociation of molecular oxygen, which is the main component of the atmosphere, by solar UV radiation and electron fluxes from the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter, as well as by the reaction of dissociative recombination of the main ionospheric ion O ₂ ⁺ which thermal electrons. It is shown that dissociation in Europa’s near-surface atmosphere is balanced by the processes of the loss of atomic oxygen due to the effective escape of suprathermal oxygen atoms into the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter along the orbit of Europa and due to ionization by magnetospheric electrons and catalytic recombination of oxygen atoms on the icy surface of the satellite. It thus follows that atomic oxygen is only a small admixture to the main atmospheric component—molecular oxygen—in the near-surface part of the atmosphere. However, the outer exospheric layers of Europa’s atmosphere are populated mostly by suprathermal oxygen atoms. The near-surface molecular envelope of Europa is therefore surrounded by a tenuous extended corona of hot atomic oxygen.     

On the thermal regeneration rate for light gravitinos in the early Universe

We investigate the light gravitino regeneration rate in the early Universe in models based on N = 1 supergravity. Motivated by a recent claim by Fischler, we evaluate finite-temperature effects on the gravitino regeneration rate due to the hot primordial plasma for a wide range of the supersymmetry-breaking scale F. We find that the leading thermal corrections to the gravitino pole mass and to the Goldstino coupling are negligible for a wide range of temperatures, thereby justifying the extension of the equivalence theorem for the helicity-1/2 gravitino and Goldstino to a hot primordial plasma background. Utilizing the Braaten-Pisarski resummation method, and assuming that the other particles are close to thermal equilibrium, the helicity-1/2 gravitino regeneration rate is found to be insensitive to magnetic Debye screening and of order _s(T) log(1/_s(T))¦m_soft/ F ¦²T³(1_s(T) log(1/_s(T))T²/¦F ¦) up to a calculable, model-dependent O(1) numerical factor. We review the implications of this regeneration rate for supergravity cosmology, focusing in particular on scenarios for baryogenesis.     

Stream formation in W Serpentis-type binaries

By the method proposed by Nazarenko (1993) and using observational data obtained by different authors, the physical conditions in the stream in the neighbourhood of the inner Lagrangian point L₁ were calculated for three interacting binary systems of W Ser-type: β Lyr, V367 Cyg, RY Sct. It is shown, that as a result of the evolutional expansion of the mass losing component the deep layers of its atmosphere reach the neighbourhood of the first Lagrangian point L₁ and a stream of axial symmetric shape is formed. Its radius is comparable to the dimension of the mass losing component. The rate of the mass transfer increases up to 10⁻⁵ M_⊙/yr. The calculated parameters of the stream in the neighbourhood of the point L₁ explain the main observational properties of the investigated systems (existence of extended circumstellar matter with a developed structure, high mass transfer rate).     

Search for Water in Martian Soil Using Global Neutron Mapping by the Russian HEND Instrument Onboard the US 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft

We present the first results of the global neutron mapping of Mars by the Russian High-Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) onboard the US 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Global neutron maps of Mars in various spectral ranges allow the content of water ice and adsorbed and bound water in a near-surface layer of the planet 1 to 2 m in thickness to be estimated. Huge regions of permafrost with a high (several tens of percent by weight) content of water ice are shown to be present in the north and the south of Mars. The continuous observations of Mars for 12 months, from February 18, 2002, through February 8, 2003, are indicative of significant seasonal variations on Mars where the transition from northern winter to northern summer occurred.     

The Influence of Reactive Torques on Comet Nucleus Rotation

Reactive torques, due to anisotropic sublimation on a comet nucleus surface, produce slow variations of its rotation. In this paper the secular effects of this sublimation are studied. The general rotational equations of motion are averaged over unperturbed fast rotation around the mass center (Euler-Poinsot motion) and over the orbital comet motion. We discuss the parameters that define typical properties of the rotational evolution and discover different classifications of the rotational evolution. As an example we discuss some possible scenarios of rotational evolution for the nuclei of the comets Halley and Borrelly.     

Daily relative sunspot numbers 1749–1848: reconstruction of missing observations

A great part of missing daily relative sunspot numbers in the time interval 1749–1848 was reconstructed by nonlinear two-step method of interpolation. In the first step gaps of missing observations not longer than five days were directly interpolated. In the second step data were sorted to so-called Bartels scheme, i.e., to rows of the length of 27 days subsequently ranged in a matrix. In this step the missing value at any position was interpolated from the data at the same position of preceding and following rows. The interpolation was limited to sequences of no more than four missing data. The procedure enables to interpolate long gaps and simultaneously to respect the 27-day variation of solar activity. Monthly and annual means of relative sunspot numbers are presented. The differences between monthly and annual means of the primary observations and of the data completed by interpolation fluctuate around zero. The amplitude of fluctuations depends inversely on the frequency of observations. Most conspicuous are the deviations in the time interval 1776–1795 where the frequency of observations is very low or almost zero. The average dispersion of monthly differences is ±11.5 R and that of annual differences is ±7.8 R. The two-step method of interpolation was tested on the series of daily data in the time interval 1918–1948. The sequence of missing daily data in the years 1818–1848 represents a masking function. This function was applied to the continuous data series in the time interval 1918–1948 and then the modified series was reconstructed. The differences between the monthly and annual means of primary and reconstructed data are small with fluctuations around zero and with dispersion for monthly differences ±2.7 R a for annual differences ±0.6 R. Corresponding dispersions of the data differences for monthly means in the time interval 1818–1848 are ±4.3 R and ±1.1 R for annual means. The small dispersion values and small differences among them give evidence about the applicability and the effectiveness of the nonlinear two-step method of interpolation and also about high credibility of relative sunspot numbers after reconstruction.     

Solar torsional oscillations and the grand activity cycle

Some consequences of a nonlinear coupling between magnetic field and rotation are studied within a solar type 2D dynamo model for a spherical convective shell. The magnetic feedback on the rotation law produces two main effects. First, the torsional oscillations are excited. Second, a long-term amplitude modulation of the dynamo cycles is produced. The latter may be identified with the grand cycle of solar activity. The dynamo model seems to be in accord with the phase relations between the torsional and magnetic activity oscillations observed in the 11-year cycle as well as in the 55-year grand cycle. It, however, fails to reproduce the observationally suggested global decreasing trend in the equatorial rotation rate.