The effect of dwarf galaxy disruption in semi-analytic models

We present results for a galaxy formation model that includes a simple treatment for the disruption of dwarf galaxies by gravitational forces and galaxy encounters within galaxy clusters. This is implemented a posteriori in a semi-analytic model by considering the stability of cluster dark matter subhaloes at   z = 0  . We assume that a galaxy whose dark matter substructure has been disrupted will itself disperse, while its stars become part of the population of intracluster stars responsible for the observed intracluster light. Despite the simplicity of this assumption, our results show a substantial improvement over previous models and indicate that the inclusion of galaxy disruption is indeed a necessary ingredient of galaxy formation models. We find that galaxy disruption suppresses the number density of dwarf galaxies by about a factor of 2. This makes the slope of the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function shallower, in agreement with observations. In particular, the abundance of faint, red galaxies is strongly suppressed. As a result, the luminosity function of red galaxies and the distinction between the red and the blue galaxy populations in colour–magnitude relationships are correctly predicted. Finally, we estimate a fraction of intracluster light comparable to that found in clusters of galaxies.     

Family <Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis> of periodic solutions of the restricted problem for small μ

The results of the calculation of the family h of symmetric periodic solutions of the planar restricted three-body problem for four values of μ = 0, 10^?3, 0.1, and 0.2 are presented. This family begins with retrograde circular orbits around the body of bigger mass. Associated with each value of μ are the table of critical orbits, the orbit pictures, graphs of the characteristics of the family in four coordinate systems, and graphs of the period and of traces (planar and vertical). Regularities on the family and its connection to the generating family are observed.     

In-situ observations of the latitudinal gradients of the solar wind parameters during 1976 and 1977

Interplanetary observations from Helios 1, Helios 2, and IMP-8 spacecraft during 1976 and 1977, namely the early portion of solar cycle 21, have been used to investigate the latitudinal gradients of the solar wind parameters with respect to the angular displacement from the current sheet inferred from synoptic HAO white-light maps of the solar corona at 1.75 solar radii. A latitudinal belt of ±25 deg around the current sheet has been investigated. Large gradients for solar wind flow speed, proton density and temperature have been found. Smoother gradients were also found for particle flux, kinetic, gravitational and thermal energy density flux. All these gradients revealed to become smoother going towards the solar cycle's maximum. Neither latitudinal nor temporal variations were identified for magnetic and thermal energy density. A remarkable result of this study is that the momentum flux density and the total energy flux density which other authors found to be independent of any longitudinal stream structure were also found to be independent of any latitudinal structure. Moreover, these two parameters did not show any temporal variation during the period of interest.     

Detection of CH3D on Titan

We report the detection of ¹³CH₃D in Titan's stratosphere from Cassini/CIRS infrared spectra near 8.7 μm. Fitting simultaneously the ν₆ bands of both ¹³CH₃D and ¹²CH₃D and the ν₄ band of CH₄, we derive a D/H ratio equal to and a ¹²C/¹³C ratio in deuterated methane of , consistent with that measured in normal methane.     

Sediment export from French rivers to the sea

Knowledge of sediment exports from continental areas is essential for estimating denudation rates and biogeochemical cycles. However, the estimation of current sediment fluxes to the sea is often limited by the availability and quality of sediment discharge data. This study aims to quantify the relative contributions of French rivers to the sediment discharge to the ocean. Sediment fluxes were assessed using the French river quality database, which is characterized by a low temporal resolution but long‐term measurement periods. An improved rating curve approach (IRCA) using daily discharge data, which allows the estimation of mean annual sediment loads from infrequent sediment concentration data, was used to calculate sediment fluxes. The resulting mean annual sediment loads show that French rivers export c. 16.21 Mt yr^‐1 of sediments to the sea. Among the 88 defined French rivers flowing to the sea, the four largest basins (Loire, Rhone, Garonne and Seine) export 13.2 Mt yr^‐1, which corresponds to 81.3% of total exports. No relationship was found between the mass of exported sediment and the size of the drainage basins. This is due to the variety of river basin typologies among these rivers, including lowland rivers in temperate climates, such as the Seine on the one hand and rivers draining mountainous areas in Alpine/Mediterranean areas on the other hand, such as the Rhone. The latter contributes 60% to the total sediment export for France while its drainage area is only 19% of the total area considered. Differences between the river basins considered are also shown by temporal indicators describing the duration of the exports, which may be linked with sediment production processes over drained areas. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ultra‐high pressure coronitic and pseudomorphous reactions in a metagranodiorite from the Brossasco‐Isasca Unit,Dora‐Maira Massif,western Italian Alps: a petrographic study and equilibrium thermodynamic modelling

Metagranodiorite samples from the Brossasco‐Isasca Unit, Dora‐Maira Massif, western Alps, show pseudomorphous and coronitic textures where igneous minerals were partially replaced by ultra‐high pressure (UHP) metamorphic assemblages. The original magmatic paragenesis consisted of quartz, plagioclase, K‐feldspar, biotite and minor phases. During UHP metamorphism, the plagioclase (site P) was replaced by zoisite, jadeite, quartz, K‐feldspar and kyanite, and coronitic reactions developed between biotite and adjacent minerals. At the original igneous biotite–quartz contact (site A), a single corona of poorly zoned garnet is developed, whereas at the biotite–K‐feldspar (site B) and biotite–plagioclase (site C) contacts, composite coronas are formed. Integration of results from petrographic observations, calculations of mineral stoichiometry and thermodynamic calculations of mineral stability has allowed the determination of the metamorphic reactions involved and the estimation of the metamorphic conditions, which reached as high as 24 kbar and 650 °C. Accurate microanalysis by energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and statistical analysis of the data allowed us to identify, for the first time in a natural Na‐pyroxene of metagranitoid rocks, the end‐member Ca‐Eskola.     

Investigation of insured earthquake damage

The assessment of the loss potential caused by natural perils is a very important task for all insurance companies working in hazard-prone markets. It has to be based on two crucial items: the frequency of events and the investigation of their effects on the insured portfolio.This article deals with the second aspect, i.e. an evaluation of the insured damage caused by two earthquakes, namely those occurring near Albstadt, Germany, on 3 September 1978, and in central Chile on 3 March 1985. The results of the analysis of the earthquake in central Chile enable the mean damage ratio (damage in relation to the value) to be related to the height and the type of construction of the buildings affected. The Albstadt earthquake data permit an illustration of the effects of the type of subsoil on the mean damage ratio. The damage to individual buildings can be described by a lognormal distribution. Possible applications of these results are mentioned.     

PbSrNd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: new evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

A PbSrNd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other.The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the “central Indian Ocean” islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Réunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportions over time.