A photometric study of the polar ring galaxy UGC 5600

We analyze our BVR _c photometry for UGC 5600, a candidate polar ring galaxy, obtained with the 6-m telescope. We have confirmed the existence of an inner polar ring and show that the outer ring-shaped structure represents spiral arms; i.e., UGC 5600 belongs to the rare class of gas-rich spiral galaxies with inner polar rings.     

On water ice formation in interstellar clouds

A model is proposed for the formation of water ice mantles on grains in interstellar clouds. This occurs by direct accretion of monomers from the gas, be they formed by gas or surface reactions. The formation of the first monolayer requires a minimum extinction of interstellar radiation, sufficient to lower the grain temperature to the point where thermal evaporation of monomers is just offset by monomer accretion from the gas. This threshold is mainly determined by the adsorption energy of water molecules on the grain material; for hydrocarbon material, chemical simulation places this energy between 0.5 and 2 kcal mol⁻¹, which sets the (true) visible extinction threshold at a few magnitudes. However, realistic distributions of matter in a cloud will usually add to this an unrelated amount of cloud core extinction, which can explain the large dispersion of observed (apparent) thresholds. Once the threshold is crossed, all available water molecules in the gas are quickly adsorbed, because the grain cools down and the adsorption energy on ice is higher than on bare grain. The relative thickness of the mantle, and, hence, the slope of  τ₃( A _v)  depend only on the available water vapour, which is a small fraction of the oxygen abundance. Chemical simulation was also used to determine the adsorption sites and energies of O and OH on hydrocarbons and study the dynamics of formation of water molecules by surface reactions with gaseous H atoms, as well as their chances to stick in situ.     

A Unified Model for Black Hole X-Ray Binary Jets?

We have recently put forward a ‘unified’ semi-empirical model for the coupling between accretion and jet production in galactic black hole X-ray binaries. In this paper, we summarise this model and briefly discuss relevant considerations that have arisen since its publication.     

Partial derivatives of surface wave phase velocities for flat anisotropic models

Summary. Surface wave behaviour in flat anisotropic structures is first illustrated by performing an exact computation on a simple two-layer model. The variational procedure of Smith & Dahlen is then used to compute the partial derivatives of surface wave phase velocities with respect to the elastic parameters in more realistic earth models. Linear relationships between the partial derivatives for a general anisotropic structure and those for a transversely isotropic structure are derived. When considering waves propagating in a fixed direction, there are only four independent derivatives for Rayleigh waves, and two for Love waves. To avoid the lack of resolution in an inverse method, we propose to use physically constrained models. These results are illustrated by using a model with hexagonal symmetry and a symmetry axis oriented either vertically or horizontally. Quasi-Love- and quasi-Rayleigh-wave partial derivatives are computed for both axis orientations. Modes up to the second overtone and periods ranging between 45 and 130 s have been considered. Finally, anomalies of phase velocity are computed in an oceanic model made of 1/6 oriented olivine crystals with horizontal or vertical preferred orientations of the a -axis.     

Report of the International Astronomical Union Division I Working Group on Precession and the Ecliptic

The IAU Working Group on Precession and the Equinox looked at several solutions for replacing the precession part of the IAU 2000A precession–nutation model, which is not consistent with dynamical theory. These comparisons show that the (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) precession theory, P03, is both consistent with dynamical theory and the solution most compatible with the IAU 2000A nutation model. Thus, the working group recommends the adoption of the P03 precession theory for use with the IAU 2000A nutation. The two greatest sources of uncertainty in the precession theory are the rate of change of the Earth’s dynamical flattening, ΔJ₂, and the precession rates (i.e. the constants of integration used in deriving the precession). The combined uncertainties limit the accuracy in the precession theory to approximately 2 mas cent⁻². Given that there are difficulties with the traditional angles used to parameterize the precession, z_A, ζ_A, and θ_A, the working group has decided that the choice of parameters should be left to the user. We provide a consistent set of parameters that may be used with either the traditional rotation matrix, or those rotation matrices described in (Capitaine et al., Astron. Astrophys., 412, 2003a) and (Fukushima Astron. J., 126, 2003). We recommend that the ecliptic pole be explicitly defined by the mean orbital angular momentum vector of the Earth–Moon barycenter in the Barycentric Celestial Reference System (BCRS), and explicitly state that this definition is being used to avoid confusion with previous definitions of the ecliptic. Finally, we recommend that the terms precession of the equator and precession of the ecliptic replace the terms lunisolar precession and planetary precession, respectively.     

Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs

This is the second of a series of papers aimed to look for an explanation on the generation of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in accretion disks around neutron star, black hole, and white dwarf binaries. The model is inspired by the general idea of a resonance mechanism in the accretion disk oscillations as was already pointed out by Abramowicz and Klu’zniak (2001). In a first paper (P'etri, 2005a, paper I), we showed that a rotating misaligned magnetic field of a neutron star gives rise to some resonances close to the inner edge of the accretion disk. In this second paper, we suggest that this process does also exist for an asymmetry in the gravitational potential of the compact object. We prove that the same physics applies, at least in the linear stage of the response to the disturbance in the system. This kind of asymmetry is well suited for neutron stars or white dwarfs possessing an inhomogeneous interior allowing for a deviation from a perfectly spherically symmetric gravitational field. After a discussion on the magnitude of this deformation applied to neutron stars, we show by a linear analysis that the disk initially in a cylindrically symmetric stationary state is subject to {three kinds of resonances: a corotation resonance, a Lindblad resonance due to a driven force and a parametric resonance}. In a second part, we focus on the linear response of a thin accretion disk in the 2D limit. {Waves are launched at the aforementioned resonance positions and propagate in some permitted regions inside the disk, according to the dispersion relation obtained by a WKB analysis}. In a last part, these results are confirmed and extended via non linear hydrodynamical numerical simulations performed with a pseudo-spectral code solving Euler's equations in a 2D cylindrical coordinate frame. {We found that for a weak potential perturbation, the Lindblad resonance is the only effective mechanism producing a significant density fluctuation}. In a last step, we replaced the Newtonian potential by the so called logarithmically modified pseudo-Newtonian potential in order to take into account some general-relativistic effects like the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). The latter potential is better suited to describe the close vicinity of a neutron star or a black hole. However, from a qualitative point of view, the resonance conditions remain the same. The highest kHz QPOs are then interpreted as the orbital frequency of the disk at locations where the response to the resonances are maximal. It is also found that strong gravity is not required to excite the resonances.     

陕西秦巴山区农业自然资源开发利用

农业自然资源据其在农业利用过程中的地位可分为两类:一类是生成农业自然资源的环境,另一类为可资直接利用的自然生成物(即狭义的农业自然资源)。陕西秦巴山区自然环境的主要特点是:复合山体高峻庞大,地跨暖温带和北亚热带,垂直分异明显。区内有:森林、草场、野生生物、林特产与农作物等多种农业自然资源。据此,提出了本区农业自然资源的开发利用途径。