A systematic look at the very high and low/hard state of GX 339−4: constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model

We present a systematic study of GX 339−4 in both its very high and low hard states from simultaneous observations made with XMM–Newton and RXTE in 2002 and 2004. The X-ray spectra of both these extreme states exhibit strong reflection signatures, with a broad, skewed Fe Kα line clearly visible above the continuum. Using a newly developed, self-consistent reflection model which implicitly includes the blackbody radiation of the disc as well as the effect of Comptonization, blurred with a relativistic line function, we were able to infer the spin parameter of GX 339−4 to be  0.935 ± 0.01  (statistical) ±0.01 (systematic) at 90 per cent confidence. We find that both states are consistent with an ionized thin accretion disc extending to the innermost stable circular orbit around the rapidly spinning black hole.     

High spatial resolution Galactic 3D extinction mapping with IPHAS

We present an algorithm (MEAD, for 'Mapping Extinction Against Distance') which will determine intrinsic  ( r '− i ')  colour, extinction, and distance for early-A to K4 stars extracted from the IPHAS   r '/ i '/Hα  photometric data base. These data can be binned up to map extinction in three dimensions across the northern Galactic plane. The large size of the IPHAS data base (∼200 million unique objects), the accuracy of the digital photometry it contains and its faint limiting magnitude  ( r '∼ 20)  allow extinction to be mapped with fine angular (∼10 arcmin) and distance (∼ 0.1 kpc) resolution to distances of up to 10 kpc, outside the solar circle. High reddening within the solar circle on occasion brings this range down to ∼2 kpc. The resolution achieved, both in angle and depth, greatly exceeds that of previous empirical 3D extinction maps, enabling the structure of the Galactic Plane to be studied in increased detail. MEAD accounts for the effect of the survey magnitude limits, photometric errors, unresolved interstellar medium (ISM) substructure and binarity. The impact of metallicity variations, within the range typical of the Galactic disc is small. The accuracy and reliability of MEAD are tested through the use of simulated photometry created with Monte Carlo sampling techniques. The success of this algorithm is demonstrated on a selection of fields and the results are compared to the literature.     

A study of interstellar medium of dwarf galaxies using H i power spectrum analysis

We estimate the power spectrum of H  i intensity fluctuations for a sample of eight galaxies (seven dwarf and one spiral). The power spectrum can be fitted to a power-law     for six of these galaxies, indicating turbulence is operational. The estimated best-fitting value for the slope ranges from  ∼−1.5  (AND IV, NGC 628, UGC 4459 and GR 8) to  ∼−2.6  (DDO 210 and NGC 3741). We interpret this bi-modality as being due to having effectively 2D turbulence on length-scales much larger than the scale-height of the galaxy disc and 3D otherwise. This allows us to use the estimated slope to set bounds on the scale-heights of the face-on galaxies in our sample. We also find that the power-law slope remains constant as we increase the channel thickness for all these galaxies, suggesting that the fluctuations in H  i intensity are due to density fluctuations and not velocity fluctuations, or that the slope of the velocity structure function is ∼0. Finally, for the four galaxies with '2D turbulence' we find that the slope α correlates with the star formation rate (SFR) per unit area, with larger SFRs leading to steeper power laws. Given our small sample size, this result needs to be confirmed with a larger sample.     

单位圆内亚纯函数涉及小函数的唯一性

证明了单位圆内允许亚纯函数在单位圆(或某角域)"IM"(或'IM')分担4个公共小函数,且对第5个公共小函数满足一定条件的唯一性定理.     

有限宽切槽对CCNBD断裂试样应力强度因子的影响

国际岩石力学学会（ISRM）在1995年提出一种新型的岩石断裂韧度试样--人字形切槽巴西圆盘试样（cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc--CCNBD）,对该试样的一个重要力学参数即最小无量纲应力强度因子的标定,以前的分析和计算都没有考虑切槽宽度的影响。然而试样切槽的宽度受切割刀具厚度所限,不能为零。当试样较小时,切槽宽度则相对较大。通过三维边界元计算分析表明,切槽宽度越大,无量纲应力强度因子的标定值就越大;对于ISRM推荐的CCNBD标准试样,得出其最小无量纲因子值为0.954,这比ISRM给出对应值0.84要大13.6 %。同时,小裂纹应力强度因子曲线的变化趋势也发生了质的变化,这可能会导致实验的失败。推荐最小无量纲应力强度因子的标定采用考虑切槽的三维分析。     

断裂韧度试样CCNBD宽范围应力强度因子标定

国际岩石力学学会（ISRM）在1995年提出了一种新型岩石断裂韧度试样--人字形切槽巴西圆盘试样CCNBD,但是,其断裂韧度计算公式中的重要参数（即无量纲应力强度因子的标定）仍存在问题。采用一种新的分片合成方法并结合有限元法,参照ISRM给出的CCNBD试样的尺寸限制,对该范围试样的应力强度因子进行了宽范围的标定,以便在试验中能因地制宜地选用不同几何参数的CCNBD试样。结果表明：分片合成方法的计算值有很高的精度,不但减少了工作量,也使标定的无量纲应力强度因子比现有文献值更加准确、可靠。     

The orbits of open clusters in the Galaxy

We present and analyse the kinematics and orbits for a sample of 488 open clusters (OCs) in the Galaxy. The velocity ellipsoid for our present sample is derived as  (σ _U , σ _V , σ _W ) = (28.7, 15.8, 11.0) km s⁻¹  which represents a young thin-disc population. We also confirm that the velocity dispersions increase with the age of a cluster subsample. The orbits of OCs are calculated with three Galactic gravitational potential models. The errors of orbital parameters are also calculated considering the intrinsic variation of the orbital parameters and the effects of observational uncertainties. The observational uncertainties dominate the errors of derived orbital parameters. The vertical motions of clusters calculated using different Galactic disc models are rather different. The observed radial metallicity gradient of clusters is derived with a slope of   b =−0.070 ± 0.011   dex kpc⁻¹. The radial metallicity gradient of clusters based on their apogalactic distances is also derived with a slope of   b =−0.082 ± 0.014   dex kpc⁻¹. The distribution of derived orbital eccentricities for OCs is very similar to that derived for the field population of dwarfs and giants in the thin disc.