The cooling of astrophysical media by HD

The results of recent quantum mechanical calculations of cross-sections for rotational transitions within the vibrational ground state of HD are used to evaluate the rate of radiative energy loss from gas containing HD, in addition to H, He and H₂. The cooling function for HD (i.e. the rate of cooling per HD molecule) is evaluated in steady state on a grid of values of the relevant parameters of the gas, namely the gas density and temperature, the atomic to molecular hydrogen abundance ratio and the ortho:para-H₂ density ratio. The corresponding cooling function for H₂, previously computed by Le Bourlot et al., is slightly revised to take account of transitions induced by collisions with ground-state ortho-H₂ ( J =1). The cooling functions and the data required for their calculation are available from http://ccp7.dur.ac.uk/. We then make a study of the rate of cooling of the primordial gas through collisions with H₂ and HD molecules. In this case, radiative transitions induced by the cosmic background radiation field and, in the case of H₂, collisional transitions induced by H⁺ ions should additionally be included.     

An examination of groundwater within the Hawara Pyramid,Egypt

The Hawara Pyramid is an outstanding monument. However, the mudbrick structure shows signs of erosion, and the passages and chambers are currently submerged. The problem of water ingress has mainly arisen since the 1880s. In this study, an initial assessment of the pyramid structure was made and causes of water ingress were investigated through analysis of water samples. Stable oxygen isotope measurements indicate that the source of water within the pyramid is the Bahr Selah canal. Water within the pyramid is highly saline compared to the Bahr Selah, and evaporation can only partly account for this high salinity. The composition of dissolved ions suggests that dissolution of salts in soils and from bedrock in the vicinity of the pyramid has enhanced the salinity of water percolating into the pyramid structure. Water ingress and salt deposition are at present the main threat to the integrity of the monument. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sputtering of grains in C-type shocks

Sputtering yields are reported for the release of Mg, Fe, Si and O under impact of He, C, O, Si and Fe on grain material composed of Mg- and Fe-bearing silicates. The yields were derived using the trim code, which simulates the results of the transport of ions in matter by means of classical Monte Carlo techniques. The energetics of the sputtering process are a key factor in the sputtering calculations, and so detailed determinations have been made of the energy with which atoms are bound to the lattice, using solid-state simulation programs. The probability of ejection of an atom is computed at a given energy, for a number of angles of incidence, and integrated to obtain the mean yield at that energy. These numerical results are then fitted with a simple function of energy for convenience in subsequent applications.
A grid of C-type shock models has been computed, using our new sputtering yields, for pre-shock densities in the range 10⁴ n _H n (H)+2 n (H₂)10⁶ cm⁻³ and shock speeds 20 v _s45 km s⁻¹. Sputtered fractions can be high, exceeding 50 per cent for shock speeds in excess of approximately 40 km s⁻¹. The column densities of Si and SiO were also computed, for comparison with observations.     

The importance of chemical data for the study of interstellar shocks

Shock waves perturb the chemical state of the interstellar gas. We consider the effects of C-shocks on the composition of molecular clouds, for a range of values of the pre-shock gas density and magnetic induction. The time required to re-establish equilibrium in the post-shock gas depends on the initial conditions and can become very large. The significance of the two known chemical phases of dark clouds and of bistability is considered in this context.     

Mineral phase compositions in silica-undersaturated ‘leucite’ lamproites from the Bucak area, Isparta, SW Turkey

Ultrapotassic rocks in the Bucak area of Isparta Angle, SW Turkey, show unusually low SiO₂ (46.8–49.2 wt.%) and high MgO (10.4–11.6 wt.%) contents, and lamproitic affinity (K/Na, > 2.5; Mg#, 73–75; Al₂O₃, 9.2–11 wt.%, CaO 7.4–10.6 wt.%, Cr, 525–675 ppm; Ni, 442–615 ppm). They are made up by phlogopite (30–40 vol.%), leucite (25–30 vol.%), olivine (5–20 vol.%), which rarely contain Cr-spinel, clinopyroxene (5–10 vol.%), sanidine (5 vol.%) and richterite, with accessory apatite, magnetite and ilmenite. One sample also include negligible sodalite in groundmass, which is unusual mineral in lamproites. Mineral phase variation and textures record discrete phases of pre-eruptive crystallization: (1) early appearance of (Cr-spinel-bearing) olivine, Ti poor phlogopite ± apatite at pressures of ca. 1.0–2.0 GPa, at or close to the lithospheric Mechanical Boundary Layer (MBL), and (2) later appearance of Ti rich phlogopite, clinopyroxene, richterite, leucite, sanidine, and other minor phases, at pressures of ca. 0.1–1.0 GPa, indicating discrete, pressure-specific fractionation events. The Bucak silica poor ‘leucite’ lamproites were probably generated by partial melting of phlogopite-bearing, refractory peridotite at pressures of ca. 1.5–2 GPa, higher than those proposed for SiO₂-saturated ‘phlogopite’ lamproites (ca. 1–1.5 GPa) from Afyon, to the North. The depth (total pressure) of melt segregation probably dominates over volatile partial pressures (e.g. of CO₂, F, H₂O) in determining the SiO₂-undersaturated character of Bucak magmas.     

地中海地区明显反差的岩石圈变形与岩浆活动的共存:陆-陆碰撞过程中地幔流的响应与表现

基于2004年参加意大利举行的第32届国际地质大会以及会后参加的野外地质考察期间学习和了解到的许多新成果,阐述了地中海地区明显反差的岩石圈变形和岩浆作用的共存,及其随时间的同步—同方向迁移,提出了陆 陆碰撞过程中地幔流的初步工作模型。