Elemental composition and its environmental significance for the varicolored hills in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, China

The varicolored hills in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains of northern China, in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province's Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, have given this region a unique geomor...     

石灰土中秸秆还田降解率及其对土壤肥力的影响

石灰土具有高的有机碳的积累,但营养成分的供给速率偏低,导致土壤贫瘠。本文通过室内模拟实验,研究相同来源玉米秸秆在岩溶土与非岩溶土中的降解情况,对秸秆降解率、土壤理化性质、土壤肥力等进行动态检测,结果表明：（1）总体上岩溶土秸秆降解速率比非岩溶土快。秸秆降解速度最快主要集中在最初60天,之后呈缓慢上升趋势,到98天基本达到平衡。非岩溶土降解峰值出现时间为第42天,岩溶土为第28天,峰值出现时间前者比后者滞后14天。总降解时间持续160天,岩溶土降解率为77%,非岩溶土为75%。（2）秸秆降解期间,土壤pH值前期有下降的趋势,后期慢慢回升,这与秸秆降解过程中不同时期降解产物变化规律相吻合。秸秆还田可以提高土壤肥力,其中速效氮和速效钾含量增加非常明显。（3）与岩溶土相比,全量检测结果显示各肥力指标在非岩溶土含量低,但升幅百分比高;有效态检测结果显示非岩溶土速效磷和速效钾含量高。说明秸秆还田一些营养元素有效态在非岩溶土中更易于释放,而岩溶土由于其土壤质地的特殊性,许多养分被土壤粘土矿物牢固结合,营养元素供给速率慢,但因此也易于养分全量的累积。     

Radial and rotational velocities of young brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars in the Upper Scorpius OB association and the ρ Ophiuchi cloud core

We present the results of a radial velocity (RV) survey of 14 brown dwarfs (BDs) and very low-mass (VLM) stars in the Upper Scorpius OB association (UScoOB) and three BD candidates in the ρ Ophiuchi dark cloud core. We obtained high-resolution echelle spectra at the Very Large Telescope using the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) at two different epochs for each object, and measured the shifts in their RVs to identify candidates for binary/multiple systems in the sample. The average time separation of the RV measurements is 21.6 d, and our survey is sensitive to the binaries with separation <0.1 au. We found that four out of 17 objects (or 24⁺¹⁶₋₁₃ per cent by fraction) show a significant RV change in 4–33 d time-scale, and are considered as binary/multiple 'candidates'. We found no double-lined spectroscopic binaries in our sample, based on the shape of cross-correlation curves. The RV dispersion of the objects in UScoOB is found to be very similar to that of the BD and VLM stars in Chamaeleon I (Cha I). We also found the distribution of the mean rotational velocities ( v   sin   i ) of the UScoOB objects is similar to that of the Cha I, but the dispersion of v   sin   i is much larger than that of the Cha I objects.     

Photometry of the magnetic white dwarf SDSS 121209.31+013627.7

The results of 27 h of time series photometry of SDSS 121209.31+013627.7 are presented. The binary period established from spectroscopy is confirmed and refined to 0.061 412 d (88.43 min). The photometric variations are dominated by a brightening of about 16 mmag, lasting a little less than half a binary cycle. The amplitude is approximately the same in V ,  R and white light. A secondary small brightness increase during each cycle may also be present. We speculate that SDSS 121209.31+013627.7 may be a polar in a low state.     

Collisional hardening of compact binaries in globular clusters

We consider essential mechanisms for orbit shrinkage or 'hardening' of compact binaries in globular clusters (GCs) to the point of Roche lobe contact and X-ray emission phase, focusing on the process of collisional hardening due to encounters between binaries and single stars in the cluster core. The interplay between this kind of hardening and that due to emission of gravitational radiation produces a characteristic scaling of the orbit-shrinkage time with the single-star binary encounter rate γ in the cluster which we introduce, clarify and explore. We investigate possible effects of this scaling on populations of X-ray binaries in GCs within the framework of a simple 'toy' scheme for describing the evolution of pre-X-ray binaries in GCs. We find the expected qualitative trends sufficiently supported by data on X-ray binaries in Galactic GCs to encourage us towards a more quantitative study.     

Counts of Faint Blue Objects and the Anomalous Red Shift

The hypothesis that the spectra of young objects contain an anomalous red shift which decreases and disappears as they evolve is considered. The possibility of detecting features of this anomalous red shift in the spectra of postquasar objects is considered under the assumption that a large fraction of the quasars are local objects ejected from galactic nuclei. It is argued that the anomalous red shift has a significant effect on the form of the observed luminosity function for the local population of galaxies, depleting it at faint magnitudes. This approach is used to examine the problem of excess blue galaxies.     

Low-mass binary-induced outflows from asymptotic giant branch stars

A significant fraction of planetary nebulae (PNe) and protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe) exhibit aspherical, axisymmetric structures, many of which are highly collimated. The origin of these structures is not entirely understood, however, recent evidence suggests that many observed PNe harbour binary systems, which may play a role in their shaping. In an effort to understand how binaries may produce such asymmetries, we study the effect of low-mass  (<0.3 M_⊙)  companions (planets, brown dwarfs and low-mass main-sequence stars) embedded into the envelope of a  3.0-M_⊙  star during three epochs of its evolution [red giant branch, asymptotic giant branch (AGB), interpulse AGB]. We find that common envelope evolution can lead to three qualitatively different consequences: (i) direct ejection of envelope material resulting in a predominately equatorial outflow, (ii) spin-up of the envelope resulting in the possibility of powering an explosive dynamo-driven jet and (iii) tidal shredding of the companion into a disc which facilitates a disc-driven jet. We study how these features depend on the secondary's mass and discuss observational consequences.     

Three new species of Batrachospermum Roth (Batrachosper-maceae,Rhodophyta) in China

1 INTRODUCTION The first published records of genus Batra-chospermum Roth in China are from Jao (1941), when eleven taxa were reported. Since then, Shi, Hu and Kumano (1993), Shi (1994a, 1994b), Hua and Shi (1996), Xie et al. (1999, 2003), Xie and Shi (2003) have described in more detail the species from China. To date, 23 taxa of Batrachospermum Roth in China have been reported, of which, B. yunnanense, B. nothocladoideum and B. transito-rium are new species of this genus, and are…     

Herbig-Haro objects—tracers of the formation of low-mass stars and sub-stellar objects

Herbig-Haro objects (HHOs) are caused by outflows from young objects. Since the outflow relies on mass accretion from a circumstellar disk, it indicates ongoing growth. Recent results of infrared observations yielded evidence for disks around brown dwarfs. This suggests that at least a certain fraction of brown dwarfs forms like stars. Thus, young sub-stellar objects might cause HHOs as well. We present selected results of a general survey for HHOs based on DSS-II plates and CCD images taken with the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope. Numerous young objects could be identified due to their association with newly detected HHOs. In some cases the luminosity is consistent with very low-mass stars or close to sub-stellar values. This holds for L1415-IRS and a few infrared sources embedded in other dark clouds (e.g., GF9, BHR111). The question on the minimum mass for outflow activity is addressed.