Which are the dwarfs in the Solar System?

The International Astronomical Union recently adopted a new definition of planets in our Solar System. A new category of objects was introduced: a “dwarf planet.” This is “a celestial body that has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape and has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” In a footnote, the resolution says: “An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either “dwarf planet” and other categories." In order to contribute to the establishment of this classification procedure, we analyze the problem of the minimum mass required to become a “dwarf planet,” either from the theoretical and the observational perspective. We propose classification criteria for “dwarf planets” based on the available information on the shape and size of asteroids and TNOs, principally the direct or indirect estimates of the diameter and the estimate of the shapes from the lightcurves. We compile the available observational data on large asteroids and TNOs. According to our classification scheme there is only one rocky “dwarf planet” and 12 icy “dwarf planets” among the already discovered objects.     

Laboratory simulations of sulfur depletion at Eros

The X-ray spectrometer of the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission discovered a low abundance of sulfur on the surface of asteroid Eros, which is seemingly inconsistent with the match of the overall surface composition to that of ordinary chondrites. Since troilite, FeS, is the primary sulfur-bearing mineral in ordinary chondrites, we investigated the hypothesis that sulfur loss from surface FeS could result from ‘space weathering’ by impact of solar wind ions and micrometeorites. We performed laboratory studies on the chemical alteration of FeS by 4 keV ions simulating exposure to the solar wind and by nanosecond laser pulses simulating pulsed heating by micrometeorite impact. We found that the combination of laser irradiation followed by ion impact lowers the S:Fe atomic ratio on the surface by a factor of up to 2.5, which is consistent with the value of at least 1.5 deduced from the NEAR measurements. Thus, our results support the hypothesis that the low abundance of sulfur at the surface of Eros is caused by space weathering.     

The orbit and size distribution of small Solar System objects orbiting the Sun interior to the Earth's orbit

We present the first observational measurement of the orbit and size distribution of small Solar System objects whose orbits are wholly interior to the Earth's (Inner Earth Objects, IEOs, with aphelion <0.983 AU). We show that we are able to model the detections of near-Earth objects (NEO) by the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) using a detailed parameterization of the CSS survey cadence and detection efficiencies as implemented within the Jedicke et al. [Jedicke, R., Morbidelli, A., Spahr, T., Petit, J.M., Bottke, W.F., 2003. Icarus 161, 17-33] survey simulator and utilizing the Bottke et al. [Bottke, W.F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.-M., Levison, H.F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T.S., 2002. Icarus 156, 399-433] model of the NEO population's size and orbit distribution. We then show that the CSS detections of 4 IEOs are consistent with the Bottke et al. [Bottke, W.F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.-M., Levison, H.F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T.S., 2002. Icarus 156, 399-433] IEO model. Observational selection effects for the IEOs discovered by the CSS were then determined using the survey simulator in order to calculate the corrected number and H distribution of the IEOs. The actual number of IEOs with H<18 (21) is 36±26 (530±240) and the slope of the H magnitude distribution (∝¹⁰αH) for the IEOs is . The slope is consistent with previous measurements for the NEO population of αNEO=0.35±0.02 [Bottke, W.F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.-M., Levison, H.F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T.S., 2002. Icarus 156, 399-433] and αNEO=0.39±0.013 [Stuart, J.S., Binzel, R.P., 2004. Icarus 170, 295-311]. Based on the agreement between the predicted and observed IEO orbit and absolute magnitude distributions there is no indication of any non-gravitational effects (e.g. Yarkovsky, tidal disruption) affecting the known IEO population.     

天坛天区的近红外天体

本课题的研究目的是利用R(红)-l(近红外)两色照相测光方法,搜寻银道带天区的红外超天体,并证认IRAS点源的近红外光学对应体。本文是一组文章的第二篇。在天坛天区发现了225个红外超天体,并证认出其中27个为IRAS点源的对应体。     

Evolution of Wide Star Pairs Owing to Irregular Forces

The dynamic evolution of wide star pairs (separated by 10⁴ AU for typical galactic conditions) under the influence of random interactions with background stars during transits is studied theoretically. Transits which form a roughly equilateral triangle at some time are considered. The combined effect of many transits can be separated into systematic heating of the pair plus random diffusion over the Kepler elements a and e. The corresponding Fokker-Planck equation is derived and its range of validity indicated. A steady state distribution over a and e is obtained.     

The candidate protoplanetary object IRAS 22223+4327 is a pulsating variable star

We present our photoelectric U BV observations of the candidate protoplanetary object IRAS 22223+4327 during four visibility seasons. The star exhibited periodic brightness variations with the maximum amplitudes \(\Delta U = 0\mathop .\limits^m 23, \Delta B = 0\mathop .\limits^m 18, and \Delta V = 0\mathop .\limits^m 12\) and a time scale of about 90 days, which is equal to the period derived by other authors from radial velocities. During these brightness variations, a correlation is observed between the (B-V) color index and brightness, which is characteristic of pulsations. We estimated the star’s spectral type from our photometric data to be F8 I. We detected a “deficit” of light in the U band. The star’s mean brightness and its spectral type appear to have not changed in the past half a century.     

A spectral approach to estimation and smoothing of continuous spatial processes

This paper is concerned with developing computational methods and approximations for maximum likelihood estimation and minimum mean square error smoothing of irregularly observed two-dimensional stationary spatial processes. The approximations are based on various Fourier expansions of the covariance function of the spatial process, expressed in terms of the inverse discrete Fourier transform of the spectral density function of the underlying spatial process. We assume that the underlying spatial process is governed by elliptic stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE's) driven by a Gaussian white noise process. SPDE's have often been used to model the underlying physical phenomenon and the elliptic SPDE's are generally associated with steady-state problems.A central problem in estimation of underlying model parameters is to identify the covariance function of the process. The cumbersome exact analytical calculation of the covariance function by inverting the spectral density function of the process, has commonly been used in the literature. The present work develops various Fourier approximations for the covariance function of the underlying process which are in easily computable form and allow easy application of Newton-type algorithms for maximum likelihood estimation of the model parameters. This work also develops an iterative search algorithm which combines the Gauss-Newton algorithm and a type of generalized expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, namely expectation-conditional maximization (ECM) algorithm, for maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters.We analyze the accuracy of the covariance function approximations for the spatial autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) models analyzed in Vecchia (1988) and illustrate the performance of our iterative search algorithm in obtaining the maximum likelihood estimation of the model parameters on simulated and actual data.     

不规则三角网(TIN)在流域坡面汇流分析中的应用

数字高积模型（DEM）的地形解析能力在提取地貌特征中的应用已经十分广泛，流域的坡面汇流分析及径流的数字模拟工作也随之展开。但是目前分析中常用的方格网络模型、等高线网络模型和不规则三角网络模型在应用中都存在着很大的缺陷，因此本文提出了一种融合方格网络和等高线网络的DEM－TIN网络模型，该模型具有上述三种模型的优点。同时以DEM数据和数字线划图（DLG）为基础，设计了这种模型的简易生成算法。     

GIS支持下的不规则单元划分及地质信息提取

在矿产资源定量预测中，单元是预测模型与地质信息联系的桥梁，是统计分析的基础。传统的规则网格单元划分方法虽然给矿产预测的计算机化带来了方便，但也存在许多问题。作者在本文中初步论述了在地理信息系统的支持下不规则地质体单元的划分方法，以及利用GIS的空间数据分析功能提取出不规则单元中的地质信息。