The rapid variability of blazars at optical wavelengths

We monitored five active galactic nuclei in the R optical band with a CCD mounted on the 1-m Zeiss-1000 telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory from April 2001 to August 2003. Three sources displayed intraday variability on several nights. Stronger variability was detected on time scales from two days to a week. The two-year light curves are presented for four of the observed objects.     

The pattern of supergranular in a solar active region and the formation of filaments

The formation of filaments in solar bipolar active regions is investigated, giving particular attention to the relationship between this process and the pattern of supergranular convection. SOHO MDI and Kitt Peak magnetograms and Hα filtergrams are used. The large decaying active region NOAA 8525 is considered over the period May 4–7, 1999. The boundaries of supergranules are identified as concentrations of the line-of-sight photospheric field in magnetograms. Filaments in the central part of the active region are studied; as a whole, they are aligned with the supergranule boundaries. Variations in the magnetic field in this period were manifest primarily in the form of “cancellations” and spatial-redistribution processes consistent with the pattern of developing supergranules. These factors created the conditions necessary for the formation of a filament stretched across the entire active region; i.e., the straightening of the polarity-inversion line and reduction of the horizontal gradients of the magnetic field. One possible explanation of the results is that the magnetic-field component along the filament axis is associated with the vortical structure of horizontal flows in the supergranulation cells.     

The magnetic-field geometry in polar ray structures of the solar corona

Variations in the positions of the intersection points of tangents to ray structures in the polar corona of the Sun during the solar cycle are considered. At first glance, the decrease in the distance q between the tangent intersection point and the center of the solar disk during activity maximum contradicts harmonic analyses that indicate that the relative weight of higher harmonics in the global field increases during this period. Indeed, the higher the harmonic number in an axisymmetric field, the closer the intersection point of the field-line tangents (the magnetic focus) to the solar surface. It is shown that q for a field composed of two harmonics with opposite polarities at the poles can be smaller than q for either of them taken alone. A simple model representing the global field using the third and seventh harmonics is analyzed; this model can reproduce quite satisfactorily the observed dynamics of magnetic foci of the polar field.     

Observed features of a two-phase stellar wind from WR 136 in the vicinity of NGC 6888

A number of features are detected outside the nebula NGC 6888, within 1.2° (30 pc) of the star WR 136, which can be explained in a two-phase stellar-wind model. These include regions with fine filamentary gas structure that do not contain sources of stellar wind, extended radial “streams,” ultra-compact HII regions with high-velocity gas motions, and high-velocity gas motions outside the envelope of NGC 6888. The two-phase wind consists of a rarefied component and dense compact condensations, or “bullets.” The bullets generate cylindrical shocks in the interstellar gas, resulting in the presence of high-velocity gas up 20–30 pc from the star, outside the cavity formed by the rarified component of the wind.     

A model for superoutbursts in SU UMa-type binaries

We suggest a new mechanism for the superoutbursts in SU UMa binaries, in which the increase in the accretion rate resulting in a superoutburst is associated with the formation of a spiral “precessional” wave in the inner parts of the disk, where gas-dynamical perturbations are negligible. The existence of such waves was suggested by us previously. The results of three-dimensional gas-dynamical simulations have shown that a considerable increase in the accretion rate (by up to an order of magnitude) is associated with the formation of the precessional wave. The features of the precessional spiral wave can explain both the energy release in the superoutburst and all its observational manifestations. One distinguishing feature of superoutbursts in SU UMa-type stars is the formation of a “superhump” in the light curve. Our model reproduces well both the formation of a superhump and its observational features, including its period, which is up to 3–7% longer than the orbital period, and the detectability of the superhump independent of the orbital inclination of the binary.     

Near-polar starspots and polar dynamo waves

A possible mechanism for the formation of near-polar magnetic spots on some stars with convective envelopes is proposed. The mechanism is based on the idea that the maximum of the dynamo waves that are excited in thin convective shells by the dynamo mechanism is shifted appreciably from the maximum of the magnetic-field sources in the direction of motion of the dynamo wave. If there is no region of super-rotation near the equator for some reason (as a consequence of disruption due to tidal interaction with a companion in a binary system, for example) and the wave of stellar activity propagates toward the poles rather than toward the equator, this maximum will be in the near-polar regions.     

Topological model for the large solar flare of July 14, 2000

Using observational data obtained with the Yohkoh, SOHO, and TRACE satellites, it is shown that the three-dimensional structure of the large solar flare of July 14, 2000 was determined by the topology of the large-scale magnetic field of the active region giving rise to the flare. The locations and shapes of chromospheric ribbons and brightness centers on these ribbons are explained. The observed behavior of the flare is attributed to rapid magnetic reconnection in the corona. The electric field accelerating particles in the reconnecting current sheets is estimated.     

Massive close binary stars and gamma-ray bursts

We analyze the observed parameters of massive extremely close binaries containing Wolf-Rayet stars and black holes, and identify those systems whose supernova outbursts lead to the formation of rapidly rotating Kerr black holes. It is proposed that the formation of such a black hole is accompanied by a strong gamma-ray burst. Several types of observed systems satisfy the conditions necessary for the formation of a Kerr black hole: BH+WR, BH+OB, WR+O, and BH+K,M.     

History of the Formation of the Tsentral'noe Titanium–Zirconium Sand Deposit in the European Part of Russia

Based on the study of the Tsentral'noe deposit, specific features of the formation of mineral assemblages of complex titanium–zirconium placers are considered. The placers formed during the multiple redeposition of clastogenic minerals from source rocks and younger sedimentary rocks (intermediate collectors of titanium–zirconium minerals). The location of erosion and sedimentation zones significantly varied in the Phanerozoic in the adjacent region, resulting in the development of intricate relationships between different-aged terrigenous rocks (possible intermediate collectors) that provided the formation of new mineral assemblages of clastogenic ore minerals. In addition, erosional processes during the continental evolution of the study region could promote the exposure of more ancient rock complexes, the local washout of crystalline basement rocks, and the delivery of ore minerals from the latter rocks to the coastal zone of sedimentary basins. The aim of this communication is to attract the attention of researchers to the issue of the formation of mineral assemblages of complex placers of heavy minerals with similar hydraulic grain dimension and migration capacity for concentration in a rather narrow grain size range. Such mineral assemblages only slightly inherit the primary compositional features of provenances and primarily reflect changes in the sedimentation environment.     

The Influence of Geodynamic Factors on the Postsedimentary Lithogenesis of Jurassic Terrigenous Complexes of the Caucasus (Southern Dagestan)

The influence of geodynamic factors on the postsedimentary lithogenesis of terrigenous sequences during the replacement of the passive continental-margin regime to the active regime is considered with the Toarcian–Aalenian complexes of southern Dagestan as an example. It has been established that clayey rocks were lithified under conditions of subsidence lithogenesis, whereas the orogenic catagenesis of sandy rocks was related to stress initiated by the initial (amagmatic) subduction phase. The Kübler index has been used to reveal the postsedimentary zonality that is consistent with the intensity of folding and cleavage. The metagenesis zone fits the cleavage zone. The Rb–Sr and K–Ar datings of clayey rocks from the metagenesis zone yielded 180–190 Ma that can be interpreted as the timing of the maximal manifestation of postsedimentary lithogenesis.