The X‐ray‐infrared/submillimetre connection and the legacy era of cosmology

We review some recent results on the identification and characterisation of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) obtained by cross correlating X‐ray surveys with infrared and submillimetre surveys. We also look toward the scientific gains that could be achieved from an XMM‐Newton survey of the medium‐deep legacy fields that are being observed at ≈ 1–850 μm. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Unresolved emission and ionized gas in the bulge of M31

We study the origin of unresolved X-ray emission from the bulge of M31 based on archival Chandra and XMM–Newton observations. We demonstrate that three different components are present. (i) Broad-band emission from a large number of faint sources – mainly accreting white dwarfs and active binaries, associated with the old stellar population, similar to the Galactic ridge X-ray emission of the Milky Way. The X-ray to K -band luminosity ratios are compatible with those for the Milky Way and for M32; in the 2–10 keV band, the ratio is  (3.6 ± 0.2) × 10²⁷ erg s⁻¹ L⁻¹_⊙  . (ii) Soft emission from ionized gas with a temperature of about ∼300 eV and a mass of  ∼2 × 10⁶ M_⊙  . The gas distribution is significantly extended along the minor axis of the galaxy, suggesting that it may be outflowing in the direction perpendicular to the galactic disc. The mass and energy supply from evolved stars and Type Ia supernovae is sufficient to sustain the outflow. We also detect a shadow cast on the gas emission by spiral arms and the 10-kpc star-forming ring, confirming significant extent of the gas in the 'vertical' direction. (iii) Hard extended emission from spiral arms, most likely associated with young stellar objects and young stars located in the star-forming regions. The   L _X/SFR  (star formation rate) ratio equals  ∼9 × 10³⁸ (erg s⁻¹)(M_⊙ yr⁻¹)⁻¹  , which is about ∼1/3 of the high-mass X-ray binary contribution, determined earlier from Chandra observations of other nearby galaxies.     

论核工程选址中的弥散地震

弥散地震评价是核工程选址中地震安全性评价的重要内容之一。文中在分析弥散地震涵义的基础上,论述了弥散地震评价中地震构造区划分的原则和依据、弥散地震确定的方法和技术途径等关键性技术内容     

现代海底热液场低温弥散流区微生物生态的研究进展

现代海底低温热液弥散流区微生物生态的发育情况已经成为当前热液系统研究关注的热点之一。大量的分析表明在低温热液弥散流区赋存着丰富的化能自养微生物,以硫、铁等元素的氧化还原反应获取新陈代谢能量,这些微生物的分布与低温热液流体的物理化学条件有着密切的联系。这些发现极大地丰富了我们对低温弥散流区微生物生态、关键地球化学过程与微生物新陈代谢耦合关系的认识。此外,低温热液流体是研究洋壳深部生物圈的窗口,通过这个窗口可以了解地壳内部生命的新陈代谢方式,进而理解地球内部微生物与洋壳内部流体、岩石之间的相互作用机制。     

Environmental influences on soil CO2 degassing at Furnas and Fogo volcanoes (São Miguel Island,Azores archipelago)

Since October 2001, four soil CO₂ flux stations were installed in the island of São Miguel (Azores archipelago), at Fogo and Furnas quiescent central volcanoes. These stations perform measurements by the accumulation chamber method and, as the gas flux may be influenced by external variables, the stations are equipped with several meteorological sensors. Multivariate regression analysis applied to the large datasets obtained allowed observing that the meteorological variables may influence the soil CO₂ flux oscillations from 18% to 50.5% at the different monitoring sites. Additionally, it was observed that meteorological variables (mainly soil water content, barometric pressure, wind speed and rainfall) play a different role in the control of the gas flux, depending on the selected monitoring site and may cause significant short-term (spike-like) fluctuations. These divergences may be potentially explained by the porosity and hydraulic conductivity of the soils, topographic effects, drainage area and different exposure of the monitoring sites to the weather conditions. Seasonal effects are responsible for long-term oscillations on the gas flux.     

散射辐射对西藏高原高寒草甸净生态系统CO2交换的影响

2003~2006年在当雄草原站用涡度相关法对西藏高原广泛分布的高寒草甸生态系统的碳通量和常规气象数据进行了连续观测。基于这些数据,根据净生态系统CO₂交换量(NEE)对晴朗指数(k)和土壤温度的响应特征,分析了净生态系统CO₂交换量与散射辐射之间的关系。依据地面接受的散射辐射量把天气划分为云隙天、晴天和多云天。结果表明,散射辐射不能提高西藏高原高寒草甸生态系统的碳吸收水平。该生态系统的碳收支过程主要受光合有效辐射控制,碳排放过程主要受土壤温度控制;且NEE随k的变化趋势受散射辐射的影响较小,生态系统碳收支更多地受太阳辐射对土壤强烈加温的影响。三种散射辐射天气条件下,NEE随k的变化趋势基本一致,先增加后减小;NEE达最大值时的土壤温度皆为15℃左右,k值皆为0.7~0.8。     

The BeppoSAX High Energy Large Area Survey (HELLAS) – III. Testing synthesis models for the X-ray background

The BeppoSAX High Energy Large Area Survey (HELLAS) has surveyed several tens of deg² of the sky in the     band down to a flux of about     . The source surface density of     at the survey limit corresponds to a resolved fraction of the     X-ray background (XRB) of the order of     per cent. The extrapolation of the HELLAS     towards fainter fluxes with a Euclidean slope is consistent with the first XMM–Newton measurements, in the same energy band, which are a factor of 20 times more sensitive. The source counts in the hardest band so far surveyed by X-ray satellites are used to constrain XRB models. It is shown that in order to reproduce the     counts over the range of fluxes covered by BeppoSAX and XMM–Newton a large fraction of highly absorbed     , luminous     active galactic nuclei is needed. A sizeable number of more heavily obscured, Compton-thick, objects cannot be ruled out but they are not required by the present data. The model predicts an absorption distribution consistent with that found from the hardness ratios analysis of the so far identified HELLAS sources. Interestingly enough, there is evidence of a decoupling between X-ray absorption and optical reddening indicators, especially at high redshifts/luminosities where several broad-line quasars show hardness ratios typical of absorbed power-law models with     .