Uranium Concentration in Altered Brown Coals Located under Burnt Rocks from the Kansk-Achinsk Basin, West Siberia

West Siberian brown coals from the Kansk-Achinsk basin and their combustion products are generally characterized by a low uranium content. In some places where brown coal has been altered (losing density, becoming cracked or friable), the uranium content has increased by concentrations ranging from 1001000 μg g⁻¹. At these locations distinct signs of underground fires are visible. The uranium distribution patterns suggest that the burnt organic matter was a source of uranium and altered varieties of coal serve as a geochemical barrier to uranium transport.     

The intermediate-age brown dwarf LP 944-20

Observations are presented which show that Li  I  λ 6708 is detected with an equivalent width of 0.53 ± 0.05Å in the proper-motion object LP 944-20 (which is also known as BRI 0337-3535). Hα is detected in emission at an equivalent width of 1.2 ± 0.5Å. The detection of Li implies a mass less than 0.065 M⊙, making this object a brown dwarf. Moreover, the relative weakness of this Li detection (compared to the equivalent widths of 1–2Å seen in objects of similar spectral type in the Pleiades) implies that Li has been somewhat depleted. This, together with the precisely determined luminosity of LP 944-20, implies a mass between 0.056 and 0.064 M⊙, and age between 475 and 650 Myr. This makes it the first brown dwarf to have a well-constrained mass and age determined.     

Accretion and dynamical interactions in small-N star-forming clusters: N= 5

We present results from high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations that explore the effects of small-scale clustering in star-forming regions. A large ensemble of small- N clusters with five stellar seeds have been modelled and the resulting properties of stars and brown dwarfs statistically derived and compared with observational data.
Close dynamical interactions between the protostars and competitive accretion driven by the cloud collapse are shown to produce a distribution of final masses that is bimodal, with most of the mass residing in the binary components. When convolved with a suitable core mass function, the final distribution of masses resembles the observed initial mass function, in both the stellar and substellar regimes. Binaries and single stars are found to constitute two kinematically distinct populations, with about half of the singles attaining velocities ≥2 km s⁻¹, which might deprive low-mass star-forming regions of their lightest members in a few crossing times. The eccentricity distribution of binaries and multiples is found to follow a distribution similar to that of observed long-period (uncircularized) binaries.
The results obtained support a mechanism in which a significant fraction of brown dwarfs form under similar circumstances as those of normal stars but are ejected from the common envelope of unstable multiple systems before their masses exceed the hydrogen burning limit. We predict that many close binary stars should have wide brown dwarf companions. Brown dwarfs, and, in general, very low-mass stars, would be rare as pure binary companions. The binary fraction should be a decreasing function of primary mass, with low-mass or substellar primaries being scarce. Where such binaries exist, they are expected either to be close enough (semimajor axis ∼10 au) to survive strong interactions with more massive binaries or to be born in very small molecular cloud cores.     

Noble metal mineralization in carbonaceous rocks: A synthesis of data on the Russian Far East

The relationship between noble metal mineralization and carbonaceous rocks (black shales and brown coals) is considered. We have confirmed the previous conclusions of multistage syn- and epimetamorphic formation of gold-bearing deposits in black shales and syn- and epigenetic accumulation of noble metals in brown coals. The gold and PGE in the brown coals of the Verkhnii Amur region and Primorye were presumably derived by disintegration of adjacent ore sources in the Cenozoic. Addition studies and sampling are required at the coal and graphite objects of the Russian Far East to solve this problem.     

Multisite observations of surface structures on AB Doradus in 1994 November

We present time-resolved optical spectroscopy and broad-band photometry of the rapidly rotating southern K0 dwarf star AB Doradus, obtained during 1994 November. The data were obtained as part of a collaboration dedicated to MUlti-SIte COntinuous Spectroscopy (MUSICOS), and entailed coordinated observations on three continents to obtain the fullest phase coverage possible subject to limitations of local weather conditions. The Doppler images from the three consecutive nights of the run show excellent mutual agreement, with a dark polar cap and numerous intermediate- and low-latitude features. Simultaneous optical photometry showed numerous short-duration U -band flares, and two longer duration optical flares with durations of the order of hours. The latter produced broad-band continuum enhancements throughout the optical spectrum. Where simultaneous spectroscopy was available, both types of flare were seen to have counterparts in H and the Ca  ii H line. Simultaneous time-resolved ultraviolet spectroscopy from the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope , reported elsewhere, shows that at least one of the short-duration U -band flares was also observed in C  iv with the GHRS. Time-series H spectra showed significant evolution of the circumstellar prominence system over five consecutive stellar rotations. One prominence underwent a dramatic increase in distance from the stellar rotation axis. We speculate that this event may have been associated with one of the long-duration flares.     

大气气溶胶成分遥感研究进展

大气气溶胶成分的复杂变化导致其在气候变化评估中具有很高的不确定性。气溶胶成分遥感利用遥感观测的气溶胶光学—微物理参数,定量估计整层大气气溶胶主要成分含量,具有实时快速、空间覆盖、保持气溶胶自然状态等特点。本文介绍了近年来气溶胶成分遥感在理论基础和观测研究方面的进展情况。首先,在简要回顾反演算法发展的基础上,以目前较先进的成分遥感分类模型(包括黑碳、棕色碳、沙尘、非吸光有机物、细粒子无机盐、海盐和水)为例,详细分析了气溶胶成分遥感反演的思路。据此提出了基于气溶胶综合光学—微物理特性(包括光学吸收/散射、粒径尺度、形状等敏感性特征参数)的气溶胶成分遥感识别方法。之后,结合气溶胶混合方式,讨论了复折射指数计算方法及其对成分反演的影响,并给出了利用同步化学采样观测验证气溶胶成分遥感的一些结果示例。最后,结合观测手段拓展、成分模型优化、反演精度提升、应用能力推广等4个方向,展望了大气气溶胶成分遥感的发展趋势,及其在全球气候变化评估等领域的应用。