Gravitational collapse and equilibrium conditions of a toroidal vortex with thermal pressure

We found the equilibrium conditions for a self-gravitating toroidal vortex by taking thermal pressure into account. These conditions are shown to significantly differ from those for a disk or a sphere. The evolution of a thin vortex turns it into a compact vortex that loses mechanical stability for low masses at a polytropic index γ<4/3 but retains stability for sufficiently high masses and densities determined by the velocity circulation in the vortex.     

Radiative association in Li+H revisited: the role of quasi-bound states

The role in radiative association of narrow resonances arising from quasi-bound levels is examined. For the rate coefficient the contribution from such levels is readily calculated in terms of the Einstein A -coefficient from bound rovibrational levels generated using a suitable alternative boundary condition. By locating systematically all the quasi-bound levels, an enhancement by more than an order of magnitude of the rate coefficient for Li(2s) + H(1s) association above about 600 K is obtained. The effect on the LiH abundance in the early Universe is no more than an increase of a factor of 3 for limited ranges of values of the redshift. For the Li(2p) state the effect of narrow resonances appears to have been taken into account in previous calculations.     

用遗传算法解算病态方程

对应用遗传算法解决病态方程问题进行了探讨。利用拟合法而不是通过法方程求解参数，从而避免了法方程系数求逆，使病态方程的解答有了较好的结果。通过模拟计算并和其他方法进行比较，证明该方法是可行的和有效的。     

The Kaidun meteorite: Clasts of alkaline‐rich fractionated materials

Abstract— Clasts of alkaline (the second find in meteorites) and subalkaline rocks were found in the Kaidun meteorite. One of them (#d4A) is a large crystal of albite with inclusions of fluorapatite, arfvedsonite, aenigmatite, and wilkinsonite. The two latter minerals were previously unknown in meteorites. Another clast (#d[3–5]D) has a melt crystallization texture of mainly feldspar (oligoclase) composition and contains relict grains of both high‐Ca and low‐Ca pyroxene and fluorapatite. The mineralogical characteristics of these clasts suggest a genetic relationship and an origin from the same parent body. The textural and mineralogical characteristics of the clasts indicate origin by extensive igneous differentiation. Such processes most likely took place in a rather large differentiated body. The material of clast #d(3–5)D is similar in some mineralogical respects to basaltic shergottites.     

Cepheid Limb Darkening Models for the VLTI

We present a new method to compute wavelength- and phase-dependent limb darkening corrections for classical Cepheids. These corrections are derived from hydrodynamic simulations and radiative transfer modeling with a full set of atomic and molecular opacities. Comparison with hydrostatic models having the same stellar parameters show a larger limb darkening for most phases in our models, and temporal variations related to the hydrodynamics of the stellar pulsation. Weassess the implications of our results with respect to the geometric Baade-Wesselink method, which uses interferometric measurements of Cepheid angular diameters to determine their distances and radii. The relevance of the hydrodynamic effects predicted by our model on the limb darkening of pulsating Cepheids is finally discussed in terms of the predicted capabilities of the VLTI. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A search for the optical and near-infrared counterpart of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar XTE J1751−305

We have obtained optical and near-infrared images of the field of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar XTE J1751−305. There are no stars in the 0.7-arcsec error circle (0.7 arcsec is the overall uncertainty arising from tying the optical and X-ray images and from the intrinsic uncertainty in the Chandra X-ray astrometric solution). We derive limiting magnitudes for the counterpart of   R > 23.1, I > 21.6, Z > 20.6, J > 19.6  and   K > 19.2  . We compare these upper limits with the magnitudes one would expect for simple models for the possible donor stars and the accretion disc subject to the reddening observed in X-rays for XTE J1751−305 and when put at the distance of the Galactic Centre (8.5 kpc). We conclude that our non-detection does not constrain any of the models for the accretion disc or possible donor stars. Deep, near-infrared images obtained during quiescence will, however, constrain possible models for the donor stars in this ultracompact system.     

MS 1603.6+2600: an accretion disc corona source?

We have observed the eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary MS 1603.6+2600 with Chandra for 7 ks. The X-ray spectrum is well fit with a single absorbed power law with an index of ∼2. We find a clear sinusoidal modulation in the X-ray light curve with a period of  1.7 ± 0.2 h  , consistent with the period of 1.85 h found before. However, no (partial) eclipses were found. We argue that if the X-ray flare observed in earlier X-ray observations was a type I X-ray burst, then the source can only be an accretion disc corona source at a distance of ∼11–24 kpc (implying a height above the Galactic disc of ∼8–17 kpc). It has also been proposed in the literature that MS 1603.76+2600 is a dipper at ∼75 kpc. We argue that, in this dipper scenario, the observed optical properties of MS 1603.6+2600 are difficult to reconcile with the optical properties one would expect on the basis of comparisons with other high-inclination, low-mass X-ray binaries, unless the X-ray flare was not a type I X-ray burst. In that case, the source can be a nearby soft X-ray transient accreting at a quiescent rate, as was proposed by Hakala et al., or a high-inclination source at ∼15–20 kpc.     

Isobaric cooling and anti-clockwise P–T paths in the Variscan Odenwald Crystalline Complex, Germany

Mineral assemblages in Al₂O₃‐rich, SiO₂‐ and K₂O‐poor metapelitic rocks from the western Odenwald Crystalline Complex (Variscan Mid‐German Crystalline Rise, southern Germany) include corundum, spinel, cordierite, sillimanite, garnet and staurolite. Quartz is absent from almost all samples. Therefore, the applicability of conventional geothermobarometry is very limited or even impossible. Detailed petrographic investigation on selected samples permits inference of the sequence of appearance and disappearance of several mineral assemblages. The recognition of such partial re‐equilibration stages and their associated mineral assemblages, together with mineral stabilities predicted from KFMASH pseudosections, enables the determination of the pressure‐temperature (P–T) trajectories experienced by these rocks during the Variscan metamorphism. The rocks were metamorphosed under low‐P/high‐T conditions and underwent an anti‐clockwise P–T evolution. A pressure increase from about 2 kbar to 4 ± 0.5 kbar was accompanied by heating. Peak metamorphic conditions were reached at pressures of 4 ± 0.5 kbar and temperatures of at least 640 °C, probably even higher. The retrograde evolution is characterised by near‐isobaric cooling from ≥ 640 °C to approximately 550 °C. The rocks underwent the anti‐clockwise evolution in a subduction‐related magmatic arc setting. The close spatial association of the low‐P/high‐T rocks with recently discovered metabasic eclogites in the eastern part of the Odenwald Crystalline Complex may indicate a fossil paired metamorphic belt in the Central European Variscides.     

The dynamical structure of dwarf elliptical galaxies

Deep imaging and long-slit spectroscopy was obtained for a sample of dwarf ellipticals in the Fornax cluster, NGC 5044 and NGC 5898 groups using the ESO VLT. The observational data extend out to typically 1.5–2 effective radii and indicate a kinematic dichotomy in the family of ellipticals. The observed stellar kinematics indicate a luminosity–velocity dispersion relation largely supporting Supernova-driven stellar mass loss scenarios for the formation of dwarf ellipticals. Stellar dynamical models favour dark matter halos with typical mass-to-light ratios in the range of 3 to 9 solar units. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.