Stellar contents of two young open clusters: NGC 663 and 654

UBVRI CCD photometry in a wide field around two young open clusters, NGC 663 and 654, has been carried out. Hα and polarimetric observations for the cluster NGC 654 have also been obtained. We use the photometric data to construct colour–colour and colour–magnitude diagrams, from which we can investigate the reddening, age, mass and evolutionary states of the stellar contents of the these clusters. The reddening across the cluster regions is found to be variable. There is evidence for anomalous reddening law in both clusters; however, more infrared and polarimetric data are needed to conclude about the reddening law. Both clusters are situated at about a distance of 2.4 kpc. Star formation in both clusters is found to be a continuous process. In the case of NGC 663, star formation seems to have taken place sequentially, in the sense that formation of low-mass stars precedes the formation of most massive stars. Whereas, in the case of NGC 654, formation of low-mass stars did not cease after the formation of most massive stars in the cluster.     

Nearby Protoclusters as Laboratories for Understanding Star Formation on Galactic Scales

Detailed studies of nearby cluster-forming molecular clouds can help us understand the physical processes by which most stars form in galaxies. I review recent advances made on this subject. Submillimeter observations of nearby protoclusters suggest that stars are generally built from finite, detached reservoirs of mass inside molecular cloud cores, and point to a cloud fragmentation origin for the IMF. Much progress in this field will come from future large submillimeter instruments such as Herschel and ALMA. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

AGB Phase Transition in Globular Clusters: A Tool for Dating Starbursts

A new method to detect and study young star clusters is presented. This is based on the knowledge that the light of stellar populations with ages between ∼ 200 Myr and ∼ 1/2 Gyr is dominated by very red, bright AGB stars. Star clusters undergoing this so-called ‘AGB phase transition’ are featured by very red V-K colours, like those of Magellanic Clouds clusters, while optical colours like B-V remain blue typical for young populations. The best channel for detecting star clusters in this age range is therefore the near IR. From the theoretical side, SSP models including properly the contribution of the bright AGB are required (Maraston, 1998). Using this strategy, we succesfully detected the AGB phase transition among the clusters of the merger remnant galaxy NGC 7252 (see Maraston etal., 2001). This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

银河系厚盘的本地空间密度

本文利用北银极天区的现代恒星计数资料，采用标准的银河系模型，通过恒星统计积分方程对参数值组合模型的亮度函数进行计数分析，证明了银河系厚盘恒星成份存在的必要性，并进一步得出太阳附近厚盘成份的空间密度的最佳期望值为薄盘密度的０．０４１．     

Testing a new combined (U,Th)–He and U/Th dating approach on Plio-Pleistocene calcite speleothems

The geochronology of cave deposits in the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Africa provides a timeframe essential for the interpretation of its fossils. The uranium-lead (U–Pb) and uranium-thorium disequilibrium (U/Th) dating of speleothems, mostly flowstones that underlie and blanket the fossil-bearing sediments, have been effective in this sense, but U–Pb is limited by the requirement of ∼1 ppm U concentrations and low common Pb contents, and U/Th has a c. 500 ka limit of applicability. Here we report age results for calcite-aragonite speleothems obtained using a new combined uranium-thorium-helium ((U,Th)–He) and U/Th dating routine. We reproduced within analytical uncertainty, the published U–Pb or U/Th ages for (a) flowstone in three drill core samples in the range 2000–3000 ka, (b) a flowstone hand sample taken at surface with an age of 1800 ka, and (c) five underground flowstone samples in the range 100–800 ka. Calcite retentivity for He under cave conditions is thus demonstrated. In the few cases where helium loss was observed in speleothems, only some of the subsamples were affected, and to varying degrees, suggesting loss by lattice damage not related to diagenetic processes, rather than volume diffusion. In the 100 to 800 ka range, the combined U/Th disequilibrium and (U,Th)–He method also yielded reliable values for initial (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) and (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) activity ratios. Importantly, most subsamples had high initial (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) values, ranging from 1.0 to 19.7, although having low Th/U ratios. This is probably due to incorporation of Fe–Mn oxides-hydroxides dust, on which ²³⁰Th was previously adsorbed. Such samples are mostly not dateable by U/Th without the additional input from the He analysis. If not detected and corrected for, such high initial (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) values can lead to inaccurate U/Th and U–Pb ages. Our study shows that the incorporation of He analysis in U/Th dating has broad potential application, with four methods for calculating the ages, in carbonates from different environments where U-Pb or U/Th dating would not work.     

一种亮星识别算法及其在天文定向中的应用

基于全站仪对任意亮星的观测采样,提出了一种利用高度角序列和水平角速率进行联合匹配的任意亮星识别算法。通过引入天体地平坐标计算程序,算法可正确辨别行星和恒星。本文分析了任意亮星高度角和水平角速率的观测误差和计算误差,以此给出了匹配阈值条件的设定依据,并在此基础上制定了有效的匹配策略。仿真计算及实际观测试验均表明,该算法具有100%的识别成功率,远优于现有算法。将此算法应用于任意亮星天文定向,定向结果的内符合精度达到2″,外部检核精度达到1.6″。采用多颗任意亮星进行定向,可有效减弱由测站位置误差引入的定向系统误差,提高绝对定向精度。本文提出的天文定向适用于多云及雾霾天气。     

星点亚像元细分定位精度分析

星点的精确定位为后续的导航解算提供数据支撑。基于高斯分布原理进行星点模拟,为星点定位提供图像数据。分别介绍了质心法和高斯曲面拟合法的亚像元细分定位原理,并研究系统误差、随机噪声、分割阈值、星等和星点坐标分布5个因素对星点定位精度的影响,分析两种方法的异同点。对模拟的星点进行定位分析发现,星点距离参考点越远定位误差越大,定位精度随噪声增大而降低。实验表明,相比高斯曲面拟合方法,质心法具有更好的实用性,其定位精度对星点的像元信息依赖性较小。     

Radio emission at 1.4 GHz from luminous compact galaxies

We analyse the properties of the 1.4 GHz continuum emission in 52 star‐forming compact luminous galaxies (LCGs). The fluxes of the 1.4 GHz thermal (free‐free) component are derived from the extinction‐ and aperture‐corrected fluxes of the Hα emission line. The fraction of the thermal 1.4 GHz emission is shown tobe in the range of 2–52 % with a median value of about 15–17 %, and its distribution is close to a log‐normal one. Both the thermal and non‐thermal radio continuum luminosities are shown to be proportional to the masses of the young stellar population of the LCGs. We discuss the approximation of the ratio of the 1.4 GHz luminosity‐to‐the mass of the young stellar population as a function of starburst age. The derived approximation is shown to be similar but less clearly defined compared to ones obtained previously for LCGs from their Hα and UV continuum luminosities. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

GRB 130427A/SN 2013cq与伽玛射线暴-超新星成协

从1998年4月初步确认GRB 980425/SN 1998bw成协,至2013年9月确认GRB130831A/SN 2013fu成协,共有11对伽玛暴与超新星成协事件通过光谱学方法得到确认。对伽玛暴-超新星成协的详细研究大大深化了人们对伽玛暴与Ic型超新星的认识,并推进了人们对大质量恒星演化、死亡以及爆发机制的研究:对它们的多波段余辉的性质以及超新星光谱的观测与分析间接地揭示出伽玛暴-超新星中心引擎的性质。这些事件中,GRB 130427A/SN 2013cq具有特殊的重要性:它是近距离宇宙中唯一的高能、高亮度的伽玛暴,它的GeV辐射挑战了当前的伽玛暴辐射机制,伴随它的明亮光学闪提供了爆炸本性的有用线索,伴随它的SN 2013cq是伽玛暴成协的超新星中动能最大的超新星之一,对伴随它的中微子探测的零结果也对伽玛暴的瞬时辐射模型给出了有用的限制。总结了GRB 130427A/SN 2013cq的重要观测结果,这对于探索伽玛暴-超新星成协的本质及伽玛暴瞬时辐射和余辉的细节性质有非常重要的研究价值。