Probing the wind–wind collision in γ2 Velorum with high-resolution Chandra X-ray spectroscopy: evidence for sudden radiative braking and non-equilibrium ionization

We present a new analysis of an archived Chandra HETGS X-ray spectrum of the WR+O colliding wind binary γ² Velorum. The spectrum is dominated by emission lines from astrophysically abundant elements: Ne, Mg, Si, S and Fe. From a combination of broad-band spectral analysis and an analysis of line flux ratios we infer a wide range of temperatures in the X-ray-emitting plasma (∼4–40 MK). As in the previously published analysis, we find the X-ray emission lines are essentially unshifted, with a mean FWHM of  1240 ± 30 km s⁻¹  . Calculations of line profiles based on hydrodynamical simulations of the wind–wind collision predict lines that are blueshifted by a few hundred  km s⁻¹  . The lack of any observed shift in the lines may be evidence of a large shock-cone opening half-angle (>85°), and we suggest this may be evidence of sudden radiative braking. From the R and G ratios measured from He-like forbidden-intercombination-resonance triplets we find evidence that the Mg  xi emission originates from hotter gas closer to the O star than the Si  xiii emission, which suggests that non-equilibrium ionization may be present.     

Intrinsic variational equations for conservative dynamical systems withN degrees of freedom

For a conservative dynamical system withn deg. of freedom we show that the equations of variation along an orbit may be written with respect to an orthonormal moving frame (a generalized Frenet frame) in which the tangential variation is given by a quadrature and the normal andn-2 binormal variations are solutions ofn-1 coupled second order equations of the form of Hill's equation.     

57-second oscillations in Nova Centauri 1986 (V842 Cen)

High-speed photometry in 2008 shows that the light curve of V842 Cen possesses a coherent modulation at 56.825 s, with sidebands at 56.598 and 57.054 s. These have appeared since this nova remnant was observed in 2000 and 2002. We deduce that the dominant signal is the rotation period of the white dwarf primary and the sidebands are caused by reprocessing from a surface moving with an orbital period of 3.94 h. Thus, V842 Cen is an intermediate polar (IP) of the DQ Herculis subclass, is the fastest rotating white dwarf among the IPs and is the third fastest known in a cataclysmic variable. As in other IPs, we see no dwarf nova oscillations, but there are often quasi-periodic oscillations in the range 350–1500 s. There is a strong brightness modulation with a period of 3.78 h, which we attribute to negative superhumps, and there is an even stronger signal at 2.886 h which is of unknown origin but is probably a further example of that seen in GW Lib and some other systems. We used the Swift satellite to observe V842 Cen in the ultraviolet and in X-rays, although no periodic modulation was detected in the short observations. The X-ray luminosity of this object appears to be much lower than that of other IPs in which the accretion region is directly visible.     

Anthropogenic relief changes in a long-lasting lignite mining area (‘Ville’, Germany) derived from historic maps and digital elevation models

Humans constitute one of the main geomorphological agents in modern times. As an example, post-mining regions represent a typical landscape of the Anthropocene. Strong relief modifications are particularly obvious with open pit mining. However, many existing mining areas are lacking detailed pre-mining information for the quantification of anthropogenic relief changes, which is a considerable challenge in regions with historic mining activities. Here, the Ville (Rhenish lignite district, Germany) is used to quantify surface mining induced relief changes in one of the oldest and currently largest lignite districts in Europe. Historical maps from first geodetic mapping in 1893 enabled construction of a historic digital elevation model to quantify the relief changes in comparison to elevation data from 2000 and 2015. The vertical accuracy of the historic data is remarkably high, with relief differences < 2 m in areas not affected by mining. In total, 49.2% of the investigated area (184 km²) shows a relief deficit and 14.5% has positive relief differences. Absolute changes account for more than 80 m heightening (dumpsites of overburden) and lowering of the natural relief (pits). Besides these altitudinal changes, overall steeper slopes are significant for the new topography, but levelling exists likewise. The spatial variabilities are discussed in the context of the regional geology and the mining techniques. Undoubtedly, such large-scale anthropogenic relief changes persist for a very long time and will last as a human legacy far into the future. Only the detailed reconstruction of the pre-mining relief offers the ability to clarify the dimension of humans as geomorphological agents and to understand landscape perception. Due to the fact that the impact of open pit mining has such a large vertical and horizontal extension, their consideration as part of anthropogeomorphology can significantly contribute to support future Critical Zone research in the Anthropocene.     

A New Method of Significance Testing for Correlation-Coefficient Fields and Its Application

Correlation-coefficient fields are widely used in short-term climate prediction research. The most frequently used significance test method for the correlation-coefficient field was proposed by Livezey, in which the number of significantcorrelation lattice(station) points on the correlation coherence map is used as the statistic. However, the method is based on two assumptions:(1) the spatial distribution of the lattice(station) points is uniform;and(2) there is no correlation between the physical quantities in the correlation-coefficient field. However, in reality, the above two assumptions are not valid.Therefore, we designed a more reasonable method for significance testing of the correlation-coefficient field. Specifically, a new statistic, the significant-correlation area, is introduced to eliminate the inhomogeneity of the grid(station)-point distribution, and an empirical Monte Carlo method is employed to eliminate the spatial correlation of the matrix.Subsequently, the new significance test was used for simultaneous correlation-coefficient fields between intensities of the atmospheric activity center in the Northern Hemisphere and temperature/precipitation in China. The results show that the new method is more reasonable than the Livezey method.     

International greenhouse gas inventory systems: A comparison between CORINAIR and IPCC methodologies in the EU

There are several different approaches currently taken by the 15 EU countries in compiling their IPCC inventories for the FCCC. Six countries (France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain) use the CORINAIR system and then aggregate and reformat the data into the required IPCC format. Of the remaining countries, two strictly follow the IPCC methodology (Finland and Greece), five (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) estimate emissions using a combination of national and IPCC methodologies, while the final two (Austria and Belgium) use a combination of national and CORINAIR methodologies (transformed to IPCC). Comparison of the national inventories in both the IPCC and CORINAIR formats shos some revealing discrepancies between the two systems at both sector and gas level that by chance cancel out when aggregated at the EU level.     

The extension of the parametrization of the radio source coordinates in geodetic VLBI and its impact on the time series analysis

The radio sources within the most recent celestial reference frame (CRF) catalog ICRF2 are represented by a single, time-invariant coordinate pair. The datum sources were chosen mainly according to certain statistical properties of their position time series. Yet, such statistics are not applicable unconditionally, and also ambiguous. However, ignoring systematics in the source positions of the datum sources inevitably leads to a degradation of the quality of the frame and, therefore, also of the derived quantities such as the Earth orientation parameters. One possible approach to overcome these deficiencies is to extend the parametrization of the source positions, similarly to what is done for the station positions. We decided to use the multivariate adaptive regression splines algorithm to parametrize the source coordinates. It allows a great deal of automation, by combining recursive partitioning and spline fitting in an optimal way. The algorithm finds the ideal knot positions for the splines and, thus, the best number of polynomial pieces to fit the data autonomously. With that we can correct the ICRF2 a priori coordinates for our analysis and eliminate the systematics in the position estimates. This allows us to introduce also special handling sources into the datum definition, leading to on average 30 % more sources in the datum. We find that not only the CPO can be improved by more than 10 % due to the improved geometry, but also the station positions, especially in the early years of VLBI, can benefit greatly.     

A conceptual model of valley incision, planation and terrace formation during cold and arid permafrost conditions of Pleistocene southern England

Staircases of gravelly river terrace deposits in southern England occupy valleys typically underlain by frost-susceptible and brecciated bedrocks. The valleys developed during the Quaternary by alternating episodes of (1) brecciation, incision and planation through the bedrock, forming wide low-relief erosion surfaces; and (2) aggradation in braidplains of gravel a few meters thick that bury the erosion surfaces. A conceptual model to account for some of the terraces proposes that brecciation resulted from ice segregation in the ice-rich layer in the upper meters of Pleistocene permafrost, making them vulnerable to fluvial thermal erosion and therefore predisposing the bedrock to planation. The low gradients of the valleys were adjusted such that rivers transferred fine materials out of the basins but lacked the competence to remove gravel, which therefore accumulated within floodplains. The model challenges the prevailing view of incision during climate transitions. It attributes incision and planation to very cold and arid permafrost conditions, when rivers had limited discharges and hillslopes supplied limited volumes of stony debris into valley bottoms.