Chemical composition of 15 photometric analogues of the Sun

The results of a spectroscopic analysis of 15 stars that are photometric analogues of the Sun are reported. The effective temperatures and surface gravities in the stellar atmospheres are derived from published photometric indices and the HIPPARCOS parallaxes. The abundances of 33 elements ranging from lithium to europium are analyzed based on high-dispersion spectra taken with the new Coudé echelle spectrometer of the Terskol Observatory in the northern Caucasus. The main parameters of most of the stars agree with the data of an [Fe/H] catalog published in 2001. Our study of the chemical compositions of the sample stars indicates that photometric analogues of the Sun can be divided into three groups according to their elemental abundances: six stars have solar chemical composition, four have abundance excesses, and five have some abundance deficiencies. The sample contains two metal-deficient subgiants (HD 133002 and HD 225239). Our results demonstrate that photometric similarity is not a sufficient criterion to consider a star as solar analogue. When several criteria, including chemical composition, are simultaneously taken into account, only four stars from the sample can be considered true solar analogues: HD 10307, HD 34411, HD 146233 (18 Sco), and HD 186427 (16 Cyg B). These results confirm the previously published suggestion that 18 Sco is the most probable twin of the Sun: essentially all the parameters of the two stars coincide within the errors.     

High-Ti type N-MORB parentage of basalts from the south Andaman ophiolite suite,India

A complete dismembered sequence of ophiolite is well exposed in the south Andaman region that mainly comprises ultramafic cumulates, serpentinite mafic plutonic and dyke rocks, pillow lava, radiolarian chert, and plagiogranite. Pillow lavas of basaltic composition occupy a major part of the Andaman ophiolite suite (AOS). These basalts are well exposed all along the east coast of southern part of the south AOS. Although these basalts are altered due to low-grade metamorphism and late hydrothermal processes, their igneous textures are still preserved. These basalts are mostly either aphyric or phyric in nature. Aphyric type exhibits intersertal or variolitic textures, whereas phyric variety shows porphyritic or sub-ophitic textures. The content of alkalies and silica classify these basalts as sub-alkaline basalts and alkaline basalts. A few samples show basaltic andesite, trachy-basalt, or basanitic chemical composition. High-field strength element (HFSE) geochemistry suggests that studied basalt samples are probably derived from similar parental magmas. Al₂O₃/TiO₂ and CaO/TiO₂ ratios classify these basalts as high-Ti type basalt. On the basis of these ratios and many discriminant functions and diagrams, it is suggested that the studied basalts, associated with Andaman ophiolite suite, were derived from magma similar to N-MORB and emplaced in the mid-oceanic ridge tectonic setting.     

The rapid variability of blazars at optical wavelengths

We monitored five active galactic nuclei in the R optical band with a CCD mounted on the 1-m Zeiss-1000 telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory from April 2001 to August 2003. Three sources displayed intraday variability on several nights. Stronger variability was detected on time scales from two days to a week. The two-year light curves are presented for four of the observed objects.     

The pattern of supergranular in a solar active region and the formation of filaments

The formation of filaments in solar bipolar active regions is investigated, giving particular attention to the relationship between this process and the pattern of supergranular convection. SOHO MDI and Kitt Peak magnetograms and Hα filtergrams are used. The large decaying active region NOAA 8525 is considered over the period May 4–7, 1999. The boundaries of supergranules are identified as concentrations of the line-of-sight photospheric field in magnetograms. Filaments in the central part of the active region are studied; as a whole, they are aligned with the supergranule boundaries. Variations in the magnetic field in this period were manifest primarily in the form of “cancellations” and spatial-redistribution processes consistent with the pattern of developing supergranules. These factors created the conditions necessary for the formation of a filament stretched across the entire active region; i.e., the straightening of the polarity-inversion line and reduction of the horizontal gradients of the magnetic field. One possible explanation of the results is that the magnetic-field component along the filament axis is associated with the vortical structure of horizontal flows in the supergranulation cells.     

Women’s use of public space and sense of place in the Raval (Barcelona)

This article deals with women's use of public space and sense of place in El Raval, a neighbourhood located in the historical center of Barcelona. Attention will be paid to discover to what degree the existence of a quality public space fosters the creation of socially meaningful places, thus contributing to the construction of womens sense of place and urban identities. A qualitative approach, based on direct observation and in-depth interviews with women living in the neighbourhood, has allowed us to capture the main aspects of the building of a sense of place and belonging, that is the use of public space and facilities, the attitude towards living in the neighbourhood, etc. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A statistical analysis of methanol maser groups

An analysis of the flux densities of the 5₁-6₀ A ⁺ (6.7 GHz) and 2₀-3_?1 E (12.2 GHz) class II methanol maser lines in a large and homogeneous sample of maser sources has been carried out. For convenience, the maser lines were divided into three groups: group I contains spectral features for the lines most prominent in the 5₁-6₀ A ⁺ (6.7 GHz) transition, group II contains spectral features for the lines strongest in the 2₀-3_?1 E (12.2 GHz) transition, group III contains spectral features for which the velocities of the emission maxima of the two lines coincide. The same dependence was found for group II and group III: log S _6.7=(0.79±0.05)×log S _12.2+(0.79±0.05). The spectral features in group I do not obey this relation, and deviations from a linear dependence are considerably greater. It is suggested that methanol class II masers be divided into a subclass IIa, which has special conditions favoring 6.7 GHz masers, and a subclass IIb, which is comprised of the 12.2 GHz masers and those 6.7 GHz masers that necessarily accompany them under the same conditions.     

A brief comparison of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau Flood Basalts: Implications for models of flood basalt emplacement

The nature and style of emplacement of Continental Flood Basalt (CFB) lava flows has been a matter of great interest as well as considerable controversy in the recent past. However, even a cursory review of published literature reveals that the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) and Hawaiian volcanoes provide most of the data relevant to this topic. It is interesting to note, however, that the CRBG lava flows and their palaeotopographic control is atypical of other CFB provinces in the world. In this paper, we first present a short overview of important studies pertaining to the emplacement of flood basalt flows. We then briefly review the morphology of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau flood basalts. The review underscores the existence of significant variations in lava flow morphology between different provinces, and even within the same province. It is quite likely that there were more than one way of emplacing the voluminous and extensive CFB lava flows. We argue that the establishment of general models of emplacement must be based on a comprehensive documentation of lava flow morphology from all CFB provinces.     

Minority women’s microenterprises in rural areas of the United States of America: African American,Hispanic American and Native American case studies

Women in many rural areas of the US often engage in small-scale businesses as one of several avenues for contributing to household incomes. In those geographical areas that contain a significant minority population, many of the women's businesses display the cultural diversity of the regions in which they live. Likewise, women's roles as economic providers as well as wives and mothers are reflected in the manner in which they operate their businesses. Candida Brush suggests that women's strategies for operating their businesses are highly integrative because women's business decisions are intertwined with familial responsibilities, household economic demands and desires to contribute to their communities. Hispanic and Native American women in the Four Corners region of southwestern US and African American women in central Virginia participated in interviews in which they responded to numerous short answer and open-ended questions about their businesses and decision-making strategies. From these interviews an image emerges of rural minority business women who are operating their businesses at the nexus of family obligations, economic necessities, cultural ties and with a commitment for serving their communities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Topological model for the large solar flare of July 14, 2000

Using observational data obtained with the Yohkoh, SOHO, and TRACE satellites, it is shown that the three-dimensional structure of the large solar flare of July 14, 2000 was determined by the topology of the large-scale magnetic field of the active region giving rise to the flare. The locations and shapes of chromospheric ribbons and brightness centers on these ribbons are explained. The observed behavior of the flare is attributed to rapid magnetic reconnection in the corona. The electric field accelerating particles in the reconnecting current sheets is estimated.