A note on first-order normalizations of perturbed Keplerian systems

Techniques are developed to facilitate the transformation of a perturbed Keplerian system into Deláunay normal form at first order. The implicit dependence of the Hamiltonian on 1, the mean anomaly, through the explicit variable f, the true anomaly, or E, the eccentric anomaly, is removed through first order for terms of the form:

China's population: an alternative perspective

The author presents a selection of cartograms designed to illustrate aspects of the demography of China. Topics covered include population growth, density, regional variations in fertility, and age distribution. A discussion of the advantages of using cartograms (maps drawn proportional to a given variable) as opposed to conventional, area-based maps, is included.     

Optical interferometric observations of a transient event of 1986 March 13 in the coma of Comet Halley

During the recent apparition of Comet Halley in 1985-86 a transient ionic event in the form of a blob of H₂ O⁺ emission was recorded in thecoma at ～ 0^h UT on 1986 March 13. Observations were carried out using a special IHW filter for H₂ O⁺ emission at 7000 å/175 å, a 35 cm telescope, a Fabry-Perot interferometer and an image intensifier camera from Gurushikhar, Mt Abu. (24?39’N,72? 47’E). A Fabry-Perot inter-ferogram in Ha taken a few minutes later at the same location reveals strong hydrogen emission (Hα) associated with the blob. The velocity field in the blob is structured with relative velocities upto ～ 35km s^?1. The event is interpreted as arising due to the sector boundary crossing of the interplanetary magnetic field by the comet     

The University of Durham Southern Hemisphere VHE gamma ray telescope

The design of very high energy (VHE) gamma ray telescopes is discussed and it is shown that a triple-mirror telescope operating in threefold fast coincidence provides an effective instrument. The design, construction and operation of a large VHE gamma ray telescope with an energy threshold of 300 GeV (at the zenith) and incorporating several novel features is described. The use of a coincidence guard ring technique is shown to result in the rejection of about 50% of the off-source (proton) events which form a high background and limit the sensitivity of such telescopes.     

Irish on the move

Trends in emigration from Ireland over time are reviewed. "During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries overseas migration to the United States and seasonal harvest migration to Britain were the main types of movement, but over the past 100 years the Irish have developed a special affinity for settling in British towns. Although the outflow was halted for a time during the 1970s, when return migration took over, the 1980s have seen a renewal of the exodus. This time, however, the character of the flow has changed from predominantly low-skill construction and factory workers to embrace better-educated emigrants, including many graduates. This shift reflects Ireland's changing position in the international market for labour."     

The homologous flare events in solar active regions

This paper consists of two parts. We first discuss recent general results on the study of properties of flare homology, and their relevance to the physical interpretation of the flare phenomenon at large. We devote particular attention to the discovery of homologous flares which occur in rapid succession, within a few minutes of each other in many cases. We name these kind of flares rafales. These flares signal the existence of several episodes of energy release within the same magnetic configuration. We also show the existence of particular sites in the solar atmosphere which have peculiar characteristics in terms of solar rotation, and where recurrent flaring may take place over and over again in different solar rotations. This indicates that the disturbance causing the emergence of activity is deep seated, below the solar photosphere. Finally, in the second part, we discuss an extensive set of observations of two homologous flares of a rafale, stressing the dynamic aspects of the observations, particularly the presence of peaks in the vertical component of the velocity field. These results are shown to be in agreement with studies of filament activations and the surging arches which are observed before the flash phase of solar flares.     

Application of a new evolutionary model for stellar populations to photometric maps of M32

We have developed a new model of evolutionary synthesis of stellar population, from a working cyclical approximation to a general solution for the mass and time dependence of the birth function of stars. The general solution enables us to introduce a functionG(t): the ratio of gas injected into a defined region to that which forms stars in the same time interval, at timet. This function, by relating directly the output of dying stars with the formation of the next generation, allows us to make analytical approximations (in the absence of more accurate numerical information) to the macroscopic evolution of stellar populations in a well-defined zone of a galaxy.The model has been initially applied to 4 zones of the dwarf elliptical M32 (NGC 221) where, usingU, B, V from the literature, and our own photometric maps inJ andK, we obtained the following results: (a) Star formation in the most recent 10⁸ years is lower by a factor 3–4 in a zone 68 arc sec (200 pc) from the nucleus than in the nuclear zone. (b) The metallicity appears to be a little lower in a zone diametrically away from the parent galaxy M31 than in a zone towards M31 at the same galactocentric distance (c) TheM/L ratio is a factor 2 higher at 200 pc from the nucleus towards M31, than in the nuclear zone. (d) A high concentration of mass is evident in the nuclear zone. (e) The estimated age of all the zones is of the same order,1.5×10¹⁰ yr.     

Radiometry of near-earth asteroids

We report 10 micrometers infrared photometry for 22 Aten, Apollo, and Amor asteroids. Thermal models are used to derive the corresponding radiometric albedos and diameters. Several of these asteroids appear to have surfaces of relatively high thermal inertia due to the exposure of bare rock or a coarse regolith. The Apollo asteroid 3103, 1982 BB, is recognized as class E. The Jupiter-crossing Amor asteroid 3552, 1983 SA, is confirmed as class D, but low albedos remain rare for near-Earth asteroids.     

Period distributions in pulsating and binary stars

We analyze the hypothesis of quantization in bands for the angular momenta of binary systems and for the maount of actionA _c in stable and pulsating stars. This parameter isA _c=Mv _eff R _eff, where the effective velocity corresponds to the kinetic energy in the stellar interior and the effective radius corresponds to the potential energyGM ²/R _eff. Analogous parameters can be defined for a pulsating star withm=M where is the rate of the massm participating in the oscillation to the total massM andv _osc,R _osc the effective velocity and oscillation radius.From an elementary dimensional analysis one has thetA _c (energy x time) (period)^1/3 independently ifA _c corresponds to the angular momentum in a binary system, or to the oscillation in a pulsating star or the inner energy and its time-scaleP _eff in a stable star.From evolving stellar models one has that P _effP _eff(solar)1.22 hr a near-invariant for the Main Sequence and for the range of masses 0.6M <M<1.6M .With this one can give scalesn _k=kn ₁ withk integers andn ₁=(P/P ₁)^1/3 withP ₁=P _eff1.22 hr. In these scales proportional toA _c, one sees that the periods in binary and pulsating stars are clustered in discrete unitsn ₁,n ₂,n ₃, etc.This can be seen in pulsating Scuti, Cephei, RR Lyrae, W Virginis, Cephei, semi-regular variables, and Miras and in binary stars as cataclysmic binaries, W Ursa Majoris, Algols, and Lyrae with the corresponding subgroups in all these materials. Phase functions (n _k) in RR Lyrae and Cephei are also associated with discrete levelsn _k.the suggested scenario is that the potential energies and the amounts of actionE _p(t), A_c(t) are indeed time-dependent, but the stars remain more time in determinated most proble states. The Main Sequence itself is an example of this. These most probable states in binary systems, or pulsating or stable stars, must be associated with velocities sub-multiplesc/ _F , given by the velocity of light and the fine structure constant.Additional tests for such a hypothesis are suggested when the sufficient amount of observational data are available. They can made with oscillation velocities in pulsating stars and velocity differences of pairs of galaxies.