Integrated study of the thermoluminescence,noble gases,tracks, and radionuclides in the fresh-fallen Ash Creek L6 and Tamdakht H5 chondrites

Thermoluminescence, noble gases, and the tracks of iron-group elements and cosmogenic radionuclides of various half-lives were examined in the fresh-fallen Ash Creek (L6) and Tamdakht (H5) chondrites. The experimental information thus obtained and theoretical simulations were used to study the shock-thermal and exposure histories of the chondrites, to evaluate their preatmospheric sizes and masses, values of ablation, the sizes of their orbits, and to monitor the distribution and variations in cosmic radiation in the heliosphere during the transitional period of minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24.     

On the instability of weakly radially anisotropic star clusters

We discuss contradictions existing in the literature in the problem on the stability of collisionless spherical stellar systems, which are the simplest anisotropic generalization of the well-known polytropic models. On the one hand, calculations of the growth rates within the framework of a linear stability theory and N-body simulations suggest that these systems should become stable when the parameter s characterizing the degree of anisotropy of the stellar velocity distribution becomes lower than some critical value s _crit > 0. On the other hand, according to Palmer and Papaloizou, the growth rate should be nonzero up to the isotropic limit s = 0. Using our method of determining the eigenmodes of stellar systems, we show that even though the mode growth rates in weakly radially anisotropic systems of this type are nonzero, they are exponentially small, i.e., decrease as γ ∝ exp(−a/s) when s → 0. For slightly radially anisotropic systems with a finite lifetime, this actually implies stability.     

Sedimentological constraints on hydrometeor-enhanced particle deposition: 1992 Eruptions of Crater Peak, Alaska

Water is a dominant component of volcanic clouds and has fundamental control on very fine particle deposition. Particle size characteristics of distal tephra-fall (100s km from source volcano) have a higher proportion of very fine particles compared to predictions based on single particle settling rates. In this study, sedimentological analyses of fallout from for the 18 August and 16–17 September 1992 eruptions of Crater Peak, Alaska, are combined with satellite observations, and cloud trajectory and microphysics modeling to investigate meteorological influences on particle sedimentation. Total grain size distributions of tephra fallout were reconstructed for both Crater Peak eruptions and indicate a predominance of fine particles < 125 μm. Polymodal analysis of the deposits has identified a particle subpopulation with mode ~ 15–18 μm involved in particle aggregation. Accounting for the magmatic water source only, calculated ice water content of the 3.7 hour old September 1992 Spurr cloud was ~ 4.5 × 10^− 2 g m^− 3 (based on an estimated cloud thickness of ~ 1000 m from trajectory modeling). Hydrometeor formation on particles in the volcanic cloud and subsequent sublimation may induce a cloud base instability that leads to rapid bulk (en masse) sedimentation of very fine particles through a mammatus-like mechanism.     

Spectral-temporal structure of variations in the atmospheric total ozone in central Eurasia

The results of long-term (1980–2003) systematic measurements of the total ozone content at the Issyk Kul station (42.6° N, 77.0° E; 1650 m above sea level) are presented. The statistical characteristics and spectral structure of variations in the total ozone and the main tendencies of its temporal variability are determined. It is found that the total ozone content decreased in 1980–2003 at an average rate of (?1.29±0.08) DU/yr. The results of Fourier and wavelet analyses have shown that only oscillations with periods of 12, 27–29, and 102–105 months are rather stable and can be represented as harmonic oscillations. Oscillations with periods shorter than six months have the character of periodically arising pulsations. Among these, oscillations with periods of 27–29 and 34–37 days can be distinguished. It is noted that the spectral-temporal structure of variations in the total ozone content obtained from ground-based measurements at the Issyk Kul station is in good agreement with the corresponding structure obtained from TOMS satellite measurements.     

Searching for cluster substructure using APM and ROSAT data

We present a detailed study of the morphological features of 22 rich galaxy clusters. Our sample is constructed from a cross-correlation of optical     data with X-ray (0.1–2.4 keV) ROSAT pointed observations. We systematically compare cluster images and morphological parameters in an attempt to reliably identify possible substructure in both optical and the X-ray images. To this end, we compute various moments of the optical and X-ray surface-brightness distribution such as the ellipticities, centre-of-mass shifts and ellipsoidal orientations. We assess the significance of our results using Monte Carlo simulations. We find significant correlations between the optical and X-ray morphological parameters, indicating that in both parts of the spectrum it is possible to identify correctly the dynamical state of a cluster. Most of our clusters (17/22) have a good one-to-one correspondence between the optical and the X-ray images, and about 10 appear to have strong indications of substructure. This corresponds to a minimum percentage of order ∼45 per cent, which is in very good accordance with other similar analyses. Finally, five out of 22 systems (∼22 per cent) seem to have distinct subclumps in the optical which are not verified in the X-ray images, and thus are suspect of being due to optical projection effects. These results will serve as a useful guide in interpreting subsequent analyses of large optical cluster catalogues.     

Potentials for stationary point-axial stellar system models

Some potentials for a stationary stellar system model with point-axial symmetry and equatorial plane of symmetry that verifies Chandrasekhar's postulates have been obtained.Paper presented at the 12th European Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on European Astronomers Look to the Future, held 8–11 October, 1990, Davos, Switzerland.     

Stars with Discrepant <Emphasis Type="Italic">v</Emphasis> sin <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis> as Derived from the Ca II 3933 and Mg II 4481 Å Lines. VII. HD9531 (SB), HD31592 (SB2), HD129174 (SB?)

In this paper of the series we analyze three stars listed among stars with discrepant v sin i: HD9531 and HD31592, which also show radial velocity variations inherent to spectroscopic binaries, and HD129174 which is an Mn-type star with a possible magnetic field. In HD9531 we confirm the radial velocity derived fromthe hydrogen lines as well as fromthe Ca II line at 3933 Å as variable. The profile of the calcium line also appears variable, and with the estimated magnetic induction B_e = ?630 ± 1340 G, this suggests that the abundance of calcium possibly varies over the surface of the star. We identified the lines of the secondary component in the spectrum of HD31592 revealing thus it is an SB2 binary with B9.5V and A0V components. While the primary star rotates with v sin i = 50 km s^?1, the secondary star is faster with v sin i = 170 km s^?1. We find that only 60% of the Mn lines identified in the spectrum of HD129174 can be fitted with a unique abundance value, whereas the remaining lines are stronger or fainter. We also identified two Xe II lines at 5339.33 Å and 5419.15 Å and estimated their log g f.     

Zonal Model of Starspots. Application to RS CVn Systems

Model results on starspots in 15 chromospherically active type RS CVn binary systems are presented. The dependences of the parameters of the spots on the principal characteristics of the stars (spectral class, luminosity class, rotation, Rossby number) are examined. Latitudinal drift of the spots, cycles in the spot activity, and differential rotation are found in 9 of the stars. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 535–552 (November 2005).     

Formation of the spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays: Effect of extragalactic magnetic fields and expected contribution of individual sources

The effect of the extragalactic magnetic field on the propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is investigated. We use the infrared galaxy catalog IRAS PSCz to reconstruct the magnetic field distribution in the Local Universe. The magnetic field induction is considered as a power function of the galactic infrared luminosity density: B = Kρ^β. In contrast to some earlier studies in which the exponent β = 2/3 corresponded to the freezing-in condition, the parameters K and β are estimated from the field inductions normalized by the expected maximum inductions (strong field) and minimum inductions (weak field) in galaxy clusters and voids, respectively. Maps of angular deflections of UHECRs are presented for these magnetic field models. We found that the protons with energies E > 4 × 10¹⁹ eV are not significantly deflected from their sources in a sphere with a radius of 100 Mpc only in the case of the weak magnetic field model (the deflections are comparable to the errors of modern detectors). The effect of the extragalactic magnetic field on the UHECR spectrum is investigated, with Virgo A and Arp 299 taken as potential sources.