Geophysical results in Austria with special regard to telluric measurements

Summary The paper treats the results of telluric measurements in the Austrian Molasse-Zone and in the Vienna Basin, supplemented with data of other geophysical methods and deep-wells. The analysis of the results shows that the telluric method supplies not only a picture with good reconnaissance proceeding from which further, especially seismic research can be planned more expediently, but can render good services in solving detailed problems too. The hypothesis concerning the anisotropy of sediments resp. its effect is verified by the results of modelexperiments too.

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Zusammenfassung Die Arbeit behandelt die Ergebnisse der Tellurischen Forschungen in der österreichischen Molasse-Zone und im Wiener Becken unter Einbeziehung von Angaben anderer geophysikalischen Messungen und Tiefbohrungen. Die Analyse der Ergebnisse zeigt, dass die tellurische Methode nicht bloss eine gute geophysikalische Übersichtskarte ergibt, von der ausgehend weitere — in der Hauptsache seismische — Forschungen zweckentsprechender geplant werden können, sondern sie leistet auch recht gute Dienste bei der Lösung von Detaiproblemen. Die Hypothese über die Anisotropie der Sedimente bzw. ihr Effekt wurde auch durch die Ergebnisse von Modellversuchen bestätigt.

     

The integral equation approach to the study of interplanetary dust

Some considerations about the zodiacal light brightness integral from the stand point of the theory of integral equations are made. It is shown that for observation directions confined to a plane perpendicular to the ecliptic and passing through the Sun, the Z.L. brightness integral can be formally considered as a first kind integral equation of Volterra type (V.I.E.). In a second step, this equation is transformed into a V.I.E. of the second kind, from which, and under certain assumptions, the spatial distribution of dust out of the ecliptic is obtained.     

Voids in the tolman-bondi universe

In the paper the void is modeled as a spherical underdense region surrounded by shells changing into the Friedmannian exterior. This model is in fact a single Tolman-Bondi metric, where at the edge of the void the density need not be continuous. In principle, there may exist 72 variations. These models contain also the cases, when in the void itself there is a Minkowskian vacuum; the shell crossing is not excluded, too. Some technical results are obtained for the Tolman-Bondi metric. Using them, the questions of stability and other theoretical problems are investigated. Some observational facts concerning the voids are also used. As the key result a truncation of the possible models is obtained; only 14 models are physically reasonable. This means that the universe is either hyperbolically expanding (this possibility strengthens the proposition of Bonnor and Chamorro, (1990); (1991)), or there is a shell crossing. Thus the discovery of voids is an observational support either for the open universe or for the shell crossing scenario of galaxy formation (Mészáros, 1991), where no anisotropy of microwave background radiation is needed in a baryon dominated universe.     

Slow convection of a magnetized plasma and the earth plasma sheet

Stationary convection of an isotropic, infinitely conducting plasma in a magnetic field with non-trivial geometry is discussed under the assumption that the inertial term in the equation of motion may be ignored. The energy gained or lost by a volume element of plasma per unit time does not vary along the field-lines. Simple relations between the components of the current density, depending on the field-line geometry, exist. Similar relations hold for the components of the plasma velocity.The theoretical analysis is applied to the geomagnetically-quiet plasma sheet and a qualitative physical picture of the sheet is suggested. The observed structure of the sheet is compatible with Axford-Hines type of convection perhaps combined with a low-speed flow from a distant neutral point. The magnetic-field-aligned currents are driven by the deformations of the closed field-lines which are enforced by the solar wind.     

The system of the Milky Way, LMC and SMC

A simple sticky-particle numerical model has been developed in order to check whether extended structures of gas created due to the dynamical evolution of the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds system can be explained as remnants of a tidal interaction. Influence of dissipative nature of gaseous medium has been taken into account. The most remarkable features are: the Magellanic Stream, the common HI envelope surrounding both the LMC and SMC and the bridge extended between the Clouds. In contrast to previous works of Murai and Fujimoto (1980), Gardiner et al. (1994) and H and Rohlfs (1994) no presumptions were done on the actual galactocentric velocities of the Magellanic Clouds. The mean values of the LMC and SMC velocity vectors obtained from the Hipparcos proper motion measurements (Kroupa and Bastian, 1997) were used in order to verify whether they allow to reproduce the observed HI distribution. Numerical simulations showed that tidal forces are really significant for the evolution of extended structures such as the Magellanic Stream but this approach becomes unsufficient for the internal regions of galaxies where self-gravity and dissipative properties of the gas cannot be neglected. More precise proper motion measurements are urgently needed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solar rotation in the subphotospheric layers

The solar rotation rate at latitudes 0°, 15° and 30° has been inferred by averaging the results of 120 regions of 15°×15°, which have been studied over a total area of about 75° in latitude and 360° in longitude. A local helioseismology technique, the ring diagram analysis method, has been used to analyse the horizontal velocity vectors from about 0.95 R up to the surface. Our results are in very good agreement with those of other authors over most of the depth range. However, near the surface we find sharp local features which are not reported in other studies. The independent measurements of the rotation rate in the north and south hemispheres show asymmetries below 0.975 R . The data used are full-disc dopplergrams taken by Solar Oscillation Investigation/Michelson Doppler Imager (SOI/MDI) on board of the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) during its first Dynamic Program, between 1996 May and June.