Constraining the orbits of small solar system bodies using spectroscopic Doppler shift measurements – a preliminary study

In this short paper we examine whether the measurement of Doppler shifts in the solar light reflected off an asteroid surface may improve the accuracy of the determined orbit. Our results suggest it will be worthwhile to use high‐resolution spectrographs, of the exoplanet‐hunting type, to measure those Doppler shifts. Spectroscopic Doppler shifts might improve the accuracy of Earth‐impact predictions, help to recover “lost” near‐Earth objects, and may also significantly enhance the knowledge about dynamics of the Kuiper belt. Future high‐resolution spectrographs on the VLT and the E‐ELT may thus have an important role in studies of Solar‐System dynamics and kinematics. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Structure and kinematics of the interstellar medium around WR 142a: Searching for traces of the action of stellar wind

Based on our Hα interferometric observations and CO data, we analyze the structure and kinematics of the gas in an extended region of the Cygnus arm around the recently discovered star WR 142a. We have established that WR 142a and the ionized hydrogen in its immediate neighborhood are associated with the complex of molecular clouds observed in a region with l ～ 78°–80°30′, b ～ 2°–3°20′, and V _LSR ～ 4–16 km s^?1. Traces of the action of the stellar wind from WR 142a on the ambient gas have been found to the northeast of the star in a region devoid of dense absorbing foreground clouds. These include very weak thin gas and dust filaments as well as high-velocity components of the Hα profile, which can be interpreted as a possible expansion of the shell swept up by the wind with a velocity as high as 50–80 km s^?1. Giant regions of reduced CO emission dominated by high-velocity motions of ionized hydrogen have been detected. Stars of the Cyg OB2 association and the cluster NGC 6910 can be responsible for these motions.     

exofit: orbital parameters of extrasolar planets from radial velocities

Retrieval of orbital parameters of extrasolar planets poses considerable statistical challenges. Due to sparse sampling, measurement errors, parameters degeneracy and modelling limitations, there are no unique values of basic parameters, such as period and eccentricity. Here, we estimate the orbital parameters from radial velocity data in a Bayesian framework by utilizing Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations with the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. We follow a methodology recently proposed by Gregory and Ford. Our implementation of MCMC is based on the object-oriented approach outlined by Graves. We make our resulting code, exofit , publicly available with this paper. It can search for either one or two planets as illustrated on mock data. As an example we re-analysed the orbital solution of companions to HD 187085 and HD 159868 from the published radial velocity data. We confirm the degeneracy reported for orbital parameters of the companion to HD 187085, and show that a low-eccentricity orbit is more probable for this planet. For HD 159868, we obtained slightly different orbital solution and a relatively high 'noise' factor indicating the presence of an unaccounted signal in the radial velocity data. exofit is designed in such a way that it can be extended for a variety of probability models, including different Bayesian priors.     

Search for companions of nearby isolated galaxies

The radial velocities are measured for 45 galaxies located in the neighborhoods of 29 likely isolated galaxies in a new catalog. We find that about 85% of these galaxies actually are well isolated objects. 4% of nearby galaxies with V _LG < 3500 km/s are this kind of cosmic "orphan" Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 203–210 (May 2009).     

The enhanced spectrum of the symbiotic variable star CH Cygni on November 2, 2006

The symbiotic variable star CH Cygni went on the deepest minimum phase in December 2006. A high-resolution spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) on November 2, 2006, is reported. The spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the BOAO was calibrated on a scale of an absolute-flux density. Emission lines of H I, [O III], [N II], and [S II] were strong, with several components, and Ca II, H, and K lines had P-Cygni profiles. Removal of the spectrum of the underlying M-type star from the CH Cygni spectrum was completed to obtain the true emission profiles. The radial velocities of all emission and absorption lines were measured. Some of the observed lines were also deconvoluted using multi-Gaussian functions to find the relationship between line shapes and the corresponding sources of these lines. The results obtained are discussed in terms of an accretion disk around the hot star, and in non-spherically extended nebular regions.     

岩石非均匀性对超声衰减的影响及其修正

在充分考虑了岩石的非均匀性引起的Rayleigh散射对衰减测量值的影响后，通过有关理论和计算，将岩石的本征衰减和散射加以区分，对原先以均匀介质为基本假定的频谱比法进行了修正，改进后的频谱比法可在较宽的频率范围内进行Q值计算，避免了传统频谱比法在不同频段上得出不同的Q值的不确定性问题，同时，我们还引进并改进了频率移动法，我们将传统和改进的频谱比法，以及频率移动法应用于同一套实验数据，计算结果符合较好。     

超声波测定盐湖卤水的密度

叙述了超声波在与盐湖卤水组成相关的 Mg Cl2 溶液、Na Cl溶液、Mg Cl2 和 Na Cl的混合溶液中的声时与溶液浓度、溶液温度等之间的关系 ,测定了察尔汗不同蒸发阶段的盐湖卤水密度、声时和温度值 ,并针对察尔汗盐湖卤水组成 ,将获得的实验值采用拟合及插值的方法编制成计算机程序储存在单片机中 ,从而实现了察尔汗盐湖卤水蒸发过程中密度的自动监测