Magnetic reconnection in high-temperature plasma of solar flares

Quasi-steady high-temperature current sheets are an energy source during the main or hot phase of solar flares. Such sheets are shown to be stabilized with respect to the tearing instability by a small transverse component of magnetic field existing in the sheets.     

Energy interconnection between the plasma cloud ejected from the active region and the shock wave

The relation between the ejected plasma cloud and the shock wave propagating ahead of it is examined for 27 pairs of such events. The flare sprays and the eruptive prominences observed in H line as well as the fast-moving sources of type-IV radio bursts have been considered as such ejected plasma clouds. Propagation of the shock wave in the solar corona has been examined from the observations of type-II radio bursts. Using the Parker model of the propagation of a shock wave, the shock wave velocity has been compared with the plasma cloud velocity. Energy interconnection between these two events has been studied. In the majority of the investigated cases there exists an energetic interconnection between the plasma cloud and the shock wave.     

Use of the population potential model for predicting the growth of cities in a region (with reference to Moscow Oblast)

"A modification of the population potential model is used to analyze the structure of the potential of population for cities of the Moscow region, to develop a relationship between population potential and city size, and to use this procedure to forecast future population change in Moscow Oblast cities." Cities in the region with a population of 50,000 or more at the censuses of 1959, 1970, and 1979 are included.     

Distance estimate of M31 based on the size distribution of Hii regions and dark clouds

The size distribution of dark clouds and of H II regions were used to derive a distance of 440±22 kpc for M31. Some galactic H II regions and dark clouds were combined with the same ingredients in M31 to study the mass spectrum of both phenomena. A gas to dust ratio of 10001 has been derived for M31. Radii of the classical H II regions as derived in this work using distance of 440 kpc agrees with the galactic classical H II region radii.     

Cascade processes in the surface layers of pulsars

The influence of the Landau-Pomeranchuk effect on the development of a shower generated by ultrarelativistic particles bombarding the surface of a pulsar is discussed. Because of this effect, the path length of the shower increases while low-energy photon generation is strongly suppressed. In view of this, the mechanism of pair production suggested by Cheng, Ruderman, and Jones for the pulsar magnetosphere, may be essential only for pulsars whose magnetic field intensity at the surface lies in a relatively narrow range of aroundB 10¹² G.     

Forecasting metropolitan and urban subregional population changes and their resource use implications: methodology and example--Sydney,Australia

This paper is concerned with the methodology of forecasting population change and structures of large cities and their major subregions. "The model isolates quantifiable base populations and their growth, and international, inter-state and city-hinterland migration streams and the national increase attributable to each, and intra-urban mobility, as components of growth and change." The model is applied to data for Sydney, Australia, and its applicability to other urban systems is considered.     

Hydrodynamical models of type II supernovae

A series of hydrodynamical models of type-II supernova outbursts (SNII) has been calculated. Approximate relations connecting the total outburst energy ε, the mass of envelope ejectedM, the presupernova radiusR, and the amount of ionizing quanta radiated by the supernovaeN _H with such values as the duration of the light curve plateau Δt, and absolute magnitude in the wavelength bandV and photospheric velocityU _PH observed near the middle of the plateau have been established. Advantage has been taken of the relations to obtain a preliminary evaluation for the characteristics of the average SN II: ε=7×10⁵⁰ erg,M=6M _⊙,R=500R _⊙,N _H=2×10⁵⁸. The SNIIs with plateau-like light curves seem to be accounted for by thermonuclear explosions of degenerate cores of red giant stars and result in a total disruption of the star without any stellar remnant. To the contrary, SNIIs with linear light curves have substantially different properties (in particular, they throw considerably less massive envelopes off). These SNII must signify the birth of collapsed objects—neutron stars (pulsars) or black holes.     

Geological structure, evolution stages, and petroliferous complexes of the Gulf of Mexico basin

The Gulf of Mexico basin occupies a vast region encompassing the southern continental margin of North America, a considerable part of the Greater Antilles, and the intervening Sigsbee Deep with the oceanic crust. In the north, the basin is contiguous with spurs of the Hercynian Appalachians, the Mississippi Interior and Permian basins. The Mississippi Fan, one of the largest in the world, governs the bottom topography and structure in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The abyssal basin is surrounded in many areas by steep continental slopes passing in places into escarpments: Sigsbee, Campeche, and others. It is only in the Yucatan Peninsula region that the continental slope merges with a wide shelf. The Cuban-North Haiti meganticlinorium frames the basin on the Cuba Island side.     

Structural analysis of the gravity field over the American-Antarctic Ridge

This paper discusses the structure of the American-Antarctic Ridge based on analysis of the gravity field. Analysis of the gravity field in different reductions and its transforms allowed the revelation of zonal, regional, and local specific features in the field’s structure and their correlation with contemporary notions on the tectonic zoning of the American-Antarctic Ridge and adjacent regions. The lineament structures of the field allowed locating the areas of spreading zones and principal transform and fracture zones. Comparison between the location of these structural features and the interpretation results of shipboard magnetic measurements confirmed the reliability of the received data. Results of the performed investigations presented in the form of structural schemes are a basis for constructing a model of the tectonosphere under the American-Antarctic Ridge.