Spectrum of cosmic fireballs

A progress report on cosmic fireballs is presented. The main new results are: (a) the phenomenon should be almost universal, and most explosive -ray sources should show the characteristic fireball spectrum; (b) even if the radiation density is insufficient, pair production in electron-proton or electron-electron scattering might start the fireball; (c) some computed fireball spectra are shown. They all have in common a 1/E low-energy behaviour, a 100 keV flattening, and a 0.5 MeV cut-off.Paper presented at the Symposium on Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts, held at Toulouse, France, 26–29 November, 1979.     

Examples of predominantly two-body orbits in the Sun-Jupiter asteroid system

Accurate numerical continuation of families of plane symmetric direct periodic orbits around the large primary in the Sun-Jupiter case of the restricted problem of three bodies allows the determination of the vertical branching points where families of three-dimensional symmetric periodic orbits bifurcate from the planar ones. Three families of plane periodic orbits, and the initial segments of ten bifurcating families of three-dimensional ones are determined. The stability of these families is examined and examples of their orbits are illustrated.     

Analysis of stellar occultation data: Effects of photon noise and initial conditions

A new inversion technique for obtaining temperature, pressure, and number density profiles of a planetary atmosphere from an occultation light curve is described. This technique employs an improved boundary condition to begin the numerical inversion and permits the computation of errors in the profiles caused by photon noise in the light curve. We present our assumptions about the atmosphere, optics, and noise and develop the equations for temperature, pressure, and number density and their associated errors. By inverting in equal increments of altitude, Δh, rather than in equal increments of time, Δt, the inversion need not be halted at the first negative point on the light curve as required by previous methods. The importance of the boundary condition is stressed, and a new initial condition is given. Numerical results are presented for the special case of inversion of a noisy isothermal light curve. From these results, simple relations are developed which can be used to predict the noise quality of an occultation. It is found that fractional errors in temperature profiles are comparable to those of pressure and number density profiles. An example of the inversion method is shown. Finally, we discuss the validity of our assumptions. In an appendix we demonstrate that minimum fractional errors in scale height determined from the inversion are comparable to those from an isothermal fit to a noisy isothermal light curve.     

The development and structure of bright active regions at 2.8 cm

The development of three intense active centers during their appearance on the solar disk is examined using high resolution observations at 2.8 cm. Each region shows a very bright component with brightness temperature > 10⁶ K and size smaller than 20.The development of the bright components have been investigated on different time scales. Intensity fluctuations on a time scale of minutes are within the instrumental accuracy while the evolution over periods of days shows a variation of the flux density up to 30–40% per day.The problem of the bright cores height is discussed. Heights within 10 × 10³ and 40 × 10³ km are found using their apparent displacement on the disk.     

Interhemispheric flow of thermal plasma in a closed magnetic flux tube at mid-latitudes under sunspot minimum conditions

The coupled H⁺ and O⁺ time-dependent continuity and momentum equations are solved within a region of the L = 3 magnetic flux tube lying between (and including) the F2-layers of conjugate hemispheres. The method of solution is an extended and modified version of the Murphy et al. (1976) method. The model is used to study the coupling between the F2-layers of conjugate hemispheres during magnetically quiet periods.The results of the calculations strongly indicate that the protonosphere acts as a reservoir, with variable H⁺ content, which prevents direct coupling between the F2-layers of conjugate hemispheres. However there is generally a significant interhemispheric flow of plasma. This flow is caused by conditions in the summer and winter topside ionospheres and it maintains continuity in the plasma concentration within the protonosphere. There are times when the direction of flow is from the winter hemisphere to the summer hemisphere. It is suggested that maintenance of the winter F2-layer at night is not assisted directly by the F2-layer of the conjugate summer hemisphere.It is shown that during the first few days of protonosphere replenishment after a magnetic storm there is an upflow of H⁺ in the topside ionosphere at all times in the summer hemisphere. There is also an upflow of H⁺ during the daytime in both hemispheres. A comparison with the results obtained when the interhemispheric H⁺ flux is held permanently at zero shows that both F2-layers are little affected by the interhemispheric H⁺ flux. Nevertheless both F2-layers are affected by the H⁺ tube content of the protonosphere. When the H⁺ flux at 1000 km in one hemisphere is much greater than the H⁺ flux at 1000 km in the conjugate hemisphere, there is a corresponding signature in the interhemispheric H⁺ flux.The results suggest that there is insufficient time between magnetic storms for complete replenishment of the protonosphere to occur.     

Reversals of the geomagnetic field,magnetostratigraphy, and relative magnitude of paleosecular variation in the phanerozoic

The percentage of normal and reversed magnetization in land-based paleomagnetic studies of Phanerozoic rocks (0 to ? 570 m.y.) have been compiled in order to determine the long-term variation in polarity bias of the geomagnetic field. Where possible the results are compared with the record from marine magnetic anomalies. Only rarely is there an even balance between normal and reversed polarity. During the past 350 m.y. two quiet intervals can be recognized when few reversals occurred, the Cretaceous (KN about ? 81 to ? 110 m.y.) and Permo-Carboniferous (PCR about ? 227 to ? 313 m.y.). Less firmly established are two other quiet intervals, one in the Jurassic (JN about ? 145 to ? 165 m.y.), and one in the Triassic (TRN about ? 205 to ? 220 m.y.). Between these quiet intervals there are disturbed intervals when reversals were comparatively frequent. From ? 680 to ? 350 m.y. the paleomagnetic record is inadequate to delineate a succession of quiet and disturbed intervals although one is probably present. Maximum entropy spectral analysis reveals three periodicities, a dominant one at about 300 m.y. and others, less well-defined, at 113 and 57 m.y. The variations in polarity bias are compared with the paleosecular variation, and it is shown that the magnitude of the paleosecular variation is greater in disturbed than in quiet intervals. This indicates that the magnitude of paleosecular variation and polarity bias are governed by variations in the balance between non-dipole and dipole components of the field, and that these variations probably had their origin in processes near the core—mantle interface. The correspondence between the dominant periods of 300 m.y. and plate tectonics is noted and a causal relationship suggested.     

Lunar microwave brightness temperature observations reevaluated in the light of Apollo program findings

Remote observations of the lunar radiowave emission are reexamined in the light of physical property data accumulated through the Apollo program. It is found that thermal and electrical properties determined for a number of different landing sites yield theoretical results in good agreement with remote observations for millimeter and short centimeter wavelengths. Theoretical models incorporating reflecting layers of rock and physical property data from the Apollo program are compared to the longer wavelength (5–500 cm) observational data to estimate a disk average steady state heat flow and a mean depth of the lunar regolith. It is found that a high heat flow, comparable to the heat flows measured at the Apollo 15 and 17 sites, is required to fit the available 5–20 cm wavelength remote data, and that a lunar surface layer relatively free of large boulders within the upper 10–30 m best fits the observations of a decreasing brightness temperature with wavelength for wavelengths greater than ～ 50 cm.     

The T Tauri star RU Lupi and its circumstellar surrounding

From simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric observations of the T Tauri star RU Lup, which was followed for nine consecutive nights, it was found that most if not all of the light variations observed on this star were caused by variable circumstellar extinction. The character and the time-scale of the variations imply that the variations are due to dust concentrations of stellar dimension crossing the line of sight to the star. The implications of this interpretation and its possible bearing on problems of protoplanetary systems are discussed.     

The thermal radiation of Saturn and its rings

Infrared observations of Saturn from 5 to 40 μm are described. There is intense limb brightening at 12.35 μm over the southern polar cap. The C ring is anomalously bright at 10 and 20 μm and has bluer (hotter) colours than the A and B rings. The ring spectra have been extrapolated beyond 40 μm and subtracted from low-resolution far-infrared measurements to show that the far-infrared spectrum of the disk of Saturn is qualitatively similar to that of Jupiter and that Saturn radiates 2.5 ± 0.6 times the energy it absorbs from the Sun.