Dark energy and the anthropic principle

The Hubble constant is split into two terms H = H₁ + H₂ , where H₁ is a decreasing function due to the Big Bang and the subsequent gravitational interaction that slows the expansion of the Universe and H₂ is an increasing function that corresponds to dark energy which accelerates this expansion. For T = 13.7 Gyr we prove that H₂(T) > 5 m/(yr AU). This is a quite large number and thus the impact of dark energy, which is spread almost everywhere uniformly, should be observable not only on large scales, but also in our Solar system. In particular, we show that Earth, Mars and other planets were closer to the Sun 4.5 Gyr ago. The recession speed ≈5.3 m/yr of the Earth from the Sun seems to be just right for an almost constant influx of solar energy from the origin of life on Earth up to the present over which time the Sun’s luminosity has increased approximately linearly. This presents further support for the Anthropic Principle. Namely, the existence of dark energy guarantees very stable conditions for the development of intelligent life on Earth over a period of 3.5 Gyr.     

Photometric observations and orbital period variations of HS 0705 + 6700 and NY Vir

We present photometric observations of two post-common-envelope stars, NY Vir (=PG 1336-018) and HS 0705 + 6700. The V band CCD observation of NY Vir was performed by a 40 cm telescope at Ege University Observatory and the R band observations of HS 0705 + 6700 were performed by 100 cm telescope at TÜB?TAK National Observatory. The new light curves were analyzed by the WD code and the physical parameters of stars were determined. We obtained new mid-eclipse timings for HS 0705 + 6700 and combined them with those previously published data. The analysis of the O-C residuals yields a period of about 8.06 ± 0.28 yr and an amplitude of 98.5 s for the system HS 0705 + 6700, which is attributed to the third star physically bounded to the evolved eclipsing pair. A mass function of 1.2 × 10⁻⁴ M_⊙ for the third star is obtained. The existence of a third star is also confirmed by the light curve analysis, indicating light contribution of about 0.043 at phase 0.25 in R-bandpass of the eclipsing pair. Using mass-luminosity relationship of the low mass stars we estimate a mass of 0.12 M_⊙ with an orbital inclination of about 20°. The O-C residuals obtained for the system NY Vir were represented by a downward parabola which indicates orbital period decrease in the system. Using the coefficient of quadratic term we calculate a rate of orbital period decrease of about dP/dt = −4.09 × 10⁻⁸days yr⁻¹. The period decrease we have measured in NY Vir may be explained by angular momentum loss from the binary system.     

Investigation of the correlation between morphology and luminosity for two classes of main galaxies

Using an apparent-magnitude limited Main galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7(SDSS DR7), we investigate the correlation between morphologies and luminosity for the Main galaxy sample. Our Main galaxy sample is divided into two classes: Main galaxies only with TARGET_GALAXY flag (bestPrimtarget = 64), and ones also with other flags. It is found that for the second class Main galaxies, the early-type proportion monotonously increases with increasing luminosity nearly in the whole luminosity region. But for the first class Main galaxies, the early-type proportion increases with increasing luminosity only within a certain luminosity region (−22.2 < M _r  < −19.8). In the high luminosity region (M _r  < −22.2), the early-type proportion of the first class Main galaxies even decreases dramatically with increasing luminosity. We also analyze the correlation between morphologies and luminosity of galaxies around the peak of the redshift distribution ( 0.07 ≤ z ≤ 0.08 ). In such a narrow redshift region, we still observe strong correlation between morphologies and luminosity, which shows that this correlation is fundamental.     

Heliospheric Observations of STEREO-Directed Coronal Mass Ejections in 2008?–?2010: Lessons for Future Observations of Earth-Directed CMEs

We present a study of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which impacted one of the STEREO spacecraft between January 2008 and early 2010. We focus our study on 20 CMEs which were observed remotely by the Heliospheric Imagers (HIs) onboard the other STEREO spacecraft up to large heliocentric distances. We compare the predictions of the Fixed-?? and Harmonic Mean (HM) fitting methods, which only differ by the assumed geometry of the CME. It is possible to use these techniques to determine from remote-sensing observations the CME direction of propagation, arrival time and final speed which are compared to in-situ measurements. We find evidence that for large viewing angles, the HM fitting method predicts the CME direction better. However, this may be due to the fact that only wide CMEs can be successfully observed when the CME propagates more than 100^° from the observing spacecraft. Overall eight CMEs, originating from behind the limb as seen by one of the STEREO spacecraft can be tracked and their arrival time at the other STEREO spacecraft can be successfully predicted. This includes CMEs, such as the events on 4 December 2009 and 9 April 2010, which were viewed 130^° away from their direction of propagation. Therefore, we predict that some Earth-directed CMEs will be observed by the HIs until early 2013, when the separation between Earth and one of the STEREO spacecraft will be similar to the separation of the two STEREO spacecraft in 2009??C?2010.     

A GRB Follow-up System at the Xinglong Observatory and Detection of the High-Redshift GRB 060927

A gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical photometric follow-up system at the Xinglong Observatory of National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) has been constructed. It uses the 0.8-m Tsinghua-NAOC Telescope (TNT) and the 1-m EST telescope, and can au-tomatically respond to GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) alerts. Both telescopes slew rela-tively fast, being able to point to a new target field within ～ 1 min upon a request. Whenever available, the 2.16-m NAOC telescope is also used. In 2006 the system responded to 15 GRBs and detected seven early afterglows. In 2007 six GRBs have been detected among 18 follow-up observations. TNT observations of the second most distant GRB 060927 (z = 5.5) are shown, which started as early as 91 s after the GRB trigger. The afterglow was detected in the combined image of the first 19 × 20 s unfiltered exposures. This GRB follow-up system has joined the East-Asia GRB Follow-up Observation Network (EAFON).     

The long-term stability of a possible aqueous ammonium sulfate ocean inside Titan

We model the thermal evolution of a subsurface ocean of aqueous ammonium sulfate inside Titan using a parameterized convection scheme. The cooling and crystallization of such an ocean depends on its heat flux balance, and is governed by the pressure-dependent melting temperatures at the top and bottom of the ocean. Using recent observations and previous experimental data, we present a nominal model which predicts the thickness of the ocean throughout the evolution of Titan; after 4.5 Ga we expect an aqueous ammonium sulfate ocean 56 km thick, overlain by a thick (176 km) heterogeneous crust of methane clathrate, ice I and ammonium sulfate. Underplating of the crust by ice I will give rise to compositional diapirs that are capable of rising through the crust and providing a mechanism for cryovolcanism at the surface. We have conducted a parameter space survey to account for possible variations in the nominal model, and find that for a wide range of plausible conditions, an ocean of aqueous ammonium sulfate can survive to the present day, which is consistent with the recent observations of Titan's spin state from Cassini radar data [Lorenz, R.D., Stiles, B.W., Kirk, R.L., Allison, M.D., del Marmo, P.P., Iess, L., Lunine, J.I., Ostro, S.J., Hensley, S., 2008. Science 319, 1649-1651].     

甘肃北山钨矿床时空分布、矿床类型及成矿动力学背景

甘肃北山造山带经历漫长而复杂的增生造山作用并于二叠纪发生碰撞造山,引发广泛的花岗质岩浆活动及相应的钨成矿作用。前人已对这些矿床的地质地球化学特征进行大量的研究,但在成矿动力学背景、成矿时代等方面仍存在着争议。基于此,本文在前人对甘肃北山钨矿床研究的基础上,通过详细的野外调研和室内综合研究,对该区钨矿床时空分布及地质、地球化学特征进行总结,并提出成矿动力学模型。甘肃北山钨矿床集中分布于星星峡—明水古微陆块周缘及双鹰山—花牛山岛弧,可以进一步厘定为两期成矿作用,即早期早志留世—中石炭世（439～362 Ma,322～314 Ma）岛弧碰撞拼贴引发古陆壳重熔,形成携带大量钨锡成矿元素的花岗质岩浆流体,最终上升至构造有利位置成矿,是北山钨锡多金属成矿的主成矿期,矿化类型多为石英脉型黑钨矿;晚期为早二叠世—中三叠世（286～226 Ma）后碰撞伸展诱发中酸性岩浆的大规模上侵及相关的钨钼矿化,矿化类型为矽卡岩型白钨矿及斑岩型钼（钨）矿,其中钨作为钼的伴生矿种出现。     

中天山基底与塔里木克拉通的构造亲缘性

中天山基底与塔里木克拉通的构造亲缘性问题涉及中亚大地构造单元的划分,倍受学术界关注.在诸多学者的研究基础上,特别是塔里木北缘物质成分和年代学成果基础上,通过区域地质调查,对托克逊县干沟与和静县阿拉沟两地的前南华纪地层序列及其岩石组合进行了专门研究,并筛选出4件浅变质砂岩样品做碎屑锆石U-Pb测年研究,获得165组年龄数据.结果表明,发育在中天山地区的前南华纪地层序列、岩石组合、地层接触关系、沉积环境与塔里木北缘的基本一致,可比性好,揭示了二者之间密切的构造亲缘性.其Th/U比值密集分布在0.4～4.0,表明岩浆锆石占绝大多数.锆石U-Pb测年产生了4个年龄峰值,分别为950Ma、1 550Ma、1 920Ma和2 480Ma,表明中天山较好地保存了元古代的4次重大构造-岩浆活动信息.这些年龄峰值在塔里木陆块均有对应岩浆体的发育,也与塔里木周缘的前寒武纪年龄谱吻合,进一步佐证了中天山基底与塔里木克拉通曾经是一个统一块体的认识.结合区域构造分析,认为中天山陆块是在南华纪以来,逐渐从塔里木克拉通拉张裂离出来的;伴随早古生代天山洋的俯冲,一个奥陶纪-志留纪火山弧发育在这个裂离的中天山陆块之上.     

Sedimentological/Palaeogeographic Data as Fundamental Building Blocks of the DDE Project:Critical Underpinning of Reconstructing Deep-time Earth Systems

正1 Introduction Sedimentary rocks archive important information for understanding how the earth system operates and how life and environments have evolved through earth history.Properly identifying characteristics of sedimentary rocks,along with the subsequent interpretation of depositional processes and sedimentary environments in a basin or locality,are fundamental to inter-basinal correlation of sedimentary successions as well as to understanding and deconvolving regional and global processes