Hubble Space Telescope-WFPC2/Hα Observations of the Ejected Nebula M1-67

We present HST-WFPC2/Hα deep images of the ejected nebula M1-67. Our data suggest that M1-67 is the imprint of a previous, slow LBV wind ejected from the central star WR124, now a WN8 star. We find evidence that the LBV wind is highly variableand anisotropic. Some dense, persisting clumps have possibly been ejected directly from the stellar surface. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Ca ii H&K survey of γ Doradus candidates

In an investigation of the starspot hypothesis as it applies to the 'slowly variable' F-type dwarfs, we spectroscopically observed eight promising γ Doradus candidates to search for Ca  ii H&K emission. We found that there are no significant emission reversals in the cores of these resonance lines. Based on the ceiling flux calculations of the Ca  ii K line and on calculations of the Rossby number, we conclude that there is no support for the presence of strong magnetic activity and the starspot hypothesis in these objects.     

A clinoenstatite-bearing cumulate Olivine Pyroxenite from Howqua,Victoria

The Howqua Olivine Pyroxenite of eastern Victoria, Australia, intrudes a metamorphosed sequence of Cambrian high-Mg lavas. It crystallized an unusual mineral assemblage: Cr-rich magnesiochromite, olivine (Fo₉₄), and protoenstatite (now inverted to polysynthetically-twinned clinoenstatite). Residual liquid crystallized strongly-zoned interstitial pyroxenes followed by pargasite. Pargasite, often showing quench habit, crystallized in interstitial glass which is now altered to serpentine.The extremely refractory nature of the cumulus phases indicates a very high temperature of crystallization for liquidus olivine and chromite from a high-MgO, low-Al₂O₃ parent liquid similar in some respects to Archaean peridotitic komatiites. The suggested origin by hydrous melting of depleted mantle peridotite, plus other compositional and mineralogical similarities (especially the olivine-liquid reaction producing protoenstatite) indicate that the parent magma of the Howqua Olivine Pyroxenite had many features in common with the high-SiO₂, high-MgO clinoenstatite-bearing boninitic lavas of the Western Pacific. It is interpreted as a more extreme melt with affinities to boninite and it demonstrates that ultramafic magmas existed in the Cambrian.     

Subsolidus and melting relationships for calcite,magnesite and the join CaCO3-MgCO3 36 kb

Subsolidus and melting relations for the CaCO₃-MgCO₃ join at 30 kb have been determined using piston-cylinder apparatus. Data are also presented for the melting curve of CaCO₃ to 30 kb, the decomposition and melting curves of MgCO₃ to 36 kb, and the calcite-aragonite transition at 800°C, 950°C and 1100°C. At 30kb, the melting loop for the CaCO₃-MgCO₃ join extends from 1610°C (CaCO₃) to 1585°C (MgCO₃) through a liquidus minimum at 1290°C (near 42 mole% MgCO₃). The dolomite-magnesite solvus barely intersects the 30 kb melting loop to produce a peritectic reaction at 1385°C. Integration of the new experimental data with other published data permits construction of a complete P-T projection and a sequence of isobars for the CaCO₃-MgCO₃ join for pressures between 5 and 30 kb. The phase relations for this join provide part of the essential framework of the model peridotite system CaO-MgO-SiO₈-CO₂-H₂O, which has particular application to the origin of carbonatitic and kimberlitic magmas. In light of the accumulating evidence for CO₂ in various forms within the upper mantle and of its effect on magmatic processes, analysis of the melting relations in this system is of considerable importance.     

Effect of freezing and thawing on the permeability and structure of soils

The permeability and structure of four fine-grained soils were observed to be changed by freezing and thawing. In all cases freezing and thawing caused a reduction in void ratio and an increase in vertical permeability. The increase in permeability is attributed to the formation of polygonal shrinkage cracks and/or to the reduction of the volume of fines in the pores of the coarse fraction, the mechanism controlling the process depending on material type. No definite relationships are established; however, it appears that the largest increase in permeability occurs for the soil of highest plasticity.     

Characterization of the chemical structures of natural and synthetic aluminosilicate gels and sols by infrared spectroscopy

Infrared spectra in the 300–1400 cm^?1 region indicate that the non-crystalline products of interaction between hydroxyaluminium species and orthosilicic acid in dilute aqueous solutions of pH < 5 differ markedly in structure from those formed in near-neutral and alkaline solutions of pH > 6. The compound formed in acid solution has an infrared spectrum similar to imogolite, and is termed proto-imogolite; like imogolite, it contains orthosilicate groups and 6-coordinated aluminium, and has an ideal Si:Al ratio of around 0.5, but it can incorporate some excess alumina or silica and it does not have the regular tubular structure of imogolite. Compounds formed in alkaline solutions that are not too dilute have infrared spectra resembling the feldspathoid group of minerals and are termed hydrous feldspathoids. They incorporate a condensed tetrahedral framework with an Si:Al ratio greater than one, but can also contain 6-coordinated aluminium.Natural allophanes of the proto-imogolite and hydrous feldspathoid types exist. The allophane of weathered pumice, however, contains a condensed silicate anion that incorporates little tetrahedral aluminium. Proto-imogolite forms stable sols at pH < 5 and must play an important role in the transport of aluminium in acidic natural waters containing dissolved silica.     

Second order elasticity theory: An improved formulation of the Grüneisen parameter at high pressure

The second order theory of elasticity, in which terms to second order in strain are retained in calculating atomic bond length changes and elastic moduli, is extended to describe thermal vibration of a face-centred cubic crystal. Coupled with equations relating the pressure dependences of elastic constants, this yields a new formulation of the thermal Grüneisen parameter γ in terms of pressure P, incompressibility K and rigidity, μ

$\text{λ}\text{1}\text{2}\text{d}\text{K}\text{d}\text{P}\text{?}\text{1}\text{2}\text{+}\text{1}\text{9}\text{P}\text{K}\text{?}\text{1}\text{3}\text{?}\text{1}\text{9}\text{P}\text{K}\text{f}\text{1?}\text{2}\text{3}\text{P}\text{K}\text{?}\text{2}\text{3}\text{P}\text{K}\text{f}$

where f = 24 (3 K ? 2 P)/(3 K + 115 μ + 90 P). The factor f arises from bond interactions and the case f = 1, representing independent bonds (no interactions), yields the free-volume γ- Since we have shown earlier that the second order elasticity theory provides a convincing explanation of the elasticity of the inner core, we believe that the new formula is appropriate for the inner core. It is, however, inadequate to describe the lower mantle γ, in which atomic bond angle rigidity, not considered here, may be appreciable.     

Lamellar structures in low-calcium orthopyroxenes

Clinoenstatite lamellae are found to be distributed in three distinct patterns that define three microstructural types. There are regions of the crystal devoid of lamellae and these correspond to ordered or O-orthopyroxene. When the lamellae are present but not in any periodic arrangement, disordered or D-orthopyroxene is identified. In some areas, the lamellae are spaced periodically and these are regions of “superlattice” orthopyroxene. These microstructural types explain all previous X-ray results on orthopyroxenes. Microstructural differences between low and high calcium orthopyroxenes are discussed.