On the aging of comets

This study is based primarily on the calculations of comet orbits over ~ 10⁶ years for 160 short-period comets by Harold F. Levison and Martin J. Duncan from which there are calculated “ablation AGES”. There are positive statistical correlations (having many deviations) with radial nongravitational forces, comet activity measures, and dust-to-gas ratios in the spectra, in the sense that comets of greater “AGES” tend to be less active and to show less dust in their spectra than comets of lesser “AGES”.     

第22太阳周活动区M级以上X射线耀斑指数的统计

本文对第２２太阳周（１９８７年１月至１９９２年１２月）中发生过Ｍ级以上的Ｘ射线耀斑（Ｈα耀斑级别≥Ｍ级，并伴有Ｘ射线的耀斑）对应的３９５个活动区资料进行了耀斑指数的统计，得到的结果：１．２２太阳周Ｍ级以上Ｘ射线耀斑级别综合指数表，２．２２太阳周Ｍ级以上Ｘ射线耀斑总指数表，３．第２２太阳周Ｍ级以上Ｘ射线耀斑总指数随时间的变化曲线，４．第２２太阳周Ｍ级以上Ｘ射线濯斑总指数直方图，该图表明第２２太阳周活动的极大年分别是１９８９和１９９１年，为第２３周太阳活动预报提供了可用参数。     

Wooden Panel Deterioration by Tropical Marine Wood Borers

Wood destruction in test panels ofShorea leprosulawas related to the percentage of fouling, types of wood borers and the number of wood borers. The natural durability ofShorea leprosulapanels was estimated to be 4–5 months in Malaysian marine waters. A higher fouling cover resulted in lower rates of wooden panel deterioration. Larger numbers of wood borers brought about greater panel deterioration. Primary wood destruction was caused by bivalve wood borers, mainlyMartesia striata, Lyrodus pedicellatus, Bankia campanellata, Teredo furciferaandTeredo bartschi. Martesia striatawas the important wood destroying agent in the intertidal zone and, together with the shipworms, was also responsible for panel destruction in the subtidal zone.     

Simulations of a giant hybrid air shower detector

We have used Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the capabilities of a giant air shower observatory designed to detect showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies exceeding 10¹⁹ eV. The observatory is to consist of an array of detectors that will characterise the air shower at ground level, and optical detectors to measure the fluorescence light emitted by the shower in the atmosphere. Using these detectors together in a ‘hybrid’ configuration, we find that precise geometrical reconstruction of the shower axis is possible, leading to excellent resolution in energy. The technique is also shown to provide very good reconstruction below 10¹⁹ eV, at energies where the ground array is not fully efficient.     

Derivation of frequency-dependentX- andY-functions for a non-coherent scattering problem

The equation of transfer for the case of non-coherent scattering (Hummer, 1968; Ivanov, 1973; McCormick and Siewert, 1970) has been considered. The correspondingX- andY-functions have been derived by a combination of eigenfunction method developed by Case, and from the principle of invariance as developed by Chandrasekhar (1960).     

A stepwise method for determining the number of component distributions in a mixture

This paper considers the problem of estimatingm, the number of components in a finite mixture of distributions from a parametric family. A step-up procedure using the bootstrap method is proposed. Some properties of the procedure are illustrated with simulation studies. An example of the method, applied to orientation of beach clasts, is given.