Spectroscopic studies of three novae

We present our spectroscopic observations of the novae V1425, V1493, and V1494 Aql carried out with the 125-cm telescope at the Crimean Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in the wavelength range 4000–11000 Å. We measured the emission-line intensities, determined the nova shell expansion velocities from the line profile FWHMs and components, and estimated the interstellar reddening from the first members of the Balmer series. The chemical composition of the nova shells is analyzed. Nitrogen and oxygen were found to be overabundant in V1425 and V1494 Aql; the helium abundance turned out to be normal in the two stars.     

Pulsar magnetic field for an infinitely conductive accretion disk

The magnetic-field distribution outside a flat, infinitely conductive unbounded disk in the field of a point magnetic dipole is determined. A relationship is established between the problem of magnetic-field determination and the problem of the flow of an ideal incompressible fluid around an infinitely thin disk.     

青藏高原隆升的非线性动态有限元仿真研究

根据青藏高原的地质特征建立分析模型，采用3维动态有限元方法，在计算仿真板块速度场的基础上，计算在青藏高原的隆升过程中该地区地壳岩石的等效应力和位移随时间的变化，计算仿真得到的速度场与1998年GPS观测的速度场吻合良好；与过去一贯的假设相反，计算结果反映出地壳应力场不是静态的，而是此起彼伏，不断变化的，应力值最大且变化最剧烈的地区在克什米尔地区、鄂尔多斯地区和鲜水河－小江断裂带，与地震多发区域吻合。     

Gamma-Hadron Separation using Čerenkov Photon Density Fluctuations

In the atmospheric Čerenkov technique γ-rays are detected against the abundant background produced by hadronic showers. In order to improve the signal to noise ratio of theexperiment, it is necessary to reject a significant fraction of hadronic showers. Traditional background rejection methods based on image shape parameters have been extensively used for the data from imaging telescopes. However, non-imaging Čerenkov telescopes have to develop very different means of statistically identifying and removing cosmic ray events. Some of the parameters, which could be potentially important for non-imaging arrays, are the temporal and spectral differences, the lateral distributions and density fluctuations of Čerenkov photons generated by γ-ray and hadron primaries. Here we study the differences in fluctuations of Čerenkov photon density in the light pool at the observation level from showers initiated by photons and those initiated by protons or heavier nuclei. The database of simulated events for the PACT array has been used to evaluate the efficiency of the new technique. Various types of density fluctuations like the short range and medium range fluctuations as well as flatness parameter are studied. The estimated quality factors reflect the efficiencies with which the hadrons can be rejected from the data. Since some of these parameters are independent, the cuts may be applied in tandem and we demonstrate that the proton rejection efficiency of ∼90% can be achieved. Use of density fluctuations is particularly suited for wavefront sampling observations and it seems to be a good technique to improve the signal to noise ratio. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Planar deformation features and impact glass in inclusions from the Vredefort Granophyre,South Africa

Abstract— The Vredefort Granophyre represents impact melt that was injected downward into fractures in the floor of the Vredefort impact structure, South Africa. This unit contains inclusions of country rock that were derived from different locations within the impact structure and are predominantly composed of quartzite, feldspathic quartzite, arkose, and granitic material with minor proportions of shale and epidiorite. Two of the least recrystallized inclusions contain quartz with single or multiple sets of planar deformation features. Quartz grains in other inclusions display a vermicular texture, which is reminiscent of checkerboard feldspar. Feldspars range from large, twinned crystals in some inclusions to fine‐grained aggregates that apparently are the product of decomposition of larger primary crystals. In rare inclusions, a mafic mineral, probably biotite or amphibole, has been transformed to very fine‐grained aggregates of secondary phases that include small euhedral crystals of Fe‐rich spinel. These data indicate that inclusions within the Vredefort Granophyre were exposed to shock pressures ranging from <5 to 8–30 GPa. Many of these inclusions contain small, rounded melt pockets composed of a groundmass of devitrified or metamorphosed glass containing microlites of a variety of minerals, including K‐feldspar, quartz, augite, low‐Ca pyroxene, and magnetite. The composition of this devitrified glass varies from inclusion to inclusion, but is generally consistent with a mixture of quartz and feldspar with minor proportions of mafic minerals. In the case of granitoid inclusions, melt pockets commonly occur at the boundaries between feldspar and quartz grains. In metasedimentary inclusions, some of these melt pockets contain remnants of partially melted feldspar grains. These melt pockets may have formed by eutectic melting caused by inclusion of these fragments in the hot (650 to 1610 °C) impact melt that crystallized to form the Vredefort Granophyre.