The Fault Block''s Framework in Boli Basin and its Control Over the Deposition

Boli basin, between Yishu fracture belt and Dunmi fracture belt, is the biggest Mesozoic coal basin in the east of Heilongjiang Province. Now it is a fault - fold remnant basin. The basin' s shape is generally consistent with the whole distribution of the cover folds, an arc protruding southwards. The basement of the basin can be divided into three fault blocks or structural units. The formation and evoluation of the basin in Mesozoic was determined by the basement fault blocks' displacement features rusulted from by the movement of the edge faults and the main basement faults.     

Celestial-mechanical peculiarities of Uranus’s satellite system

We consider the structural peculiarities of Uranus’s satellite system associated with its separation into two groups: inner equatorial satellites moving in nearly circular orbits and distant irregular satellites with retrograde motion in highly elliptical orbits. The intermediate region is free from satellites in a wide range of semimajor axes. By analyzing the evolution of satellite orbits under the combined effect of solar attraction and Uranus’s oblateness, we offer a celestial-mechanical explanation for the absence of equatorial satellites in this region. M.L. Lidov’s studies during 1961–1963 have served as a basis for our analysis.     

Final tidal evolution of orbit-orbit resonances

In this paper we describe a model for the tidal evolution of an orbit-orbit resonance between two satellites of the same planet. We let the system evolve till infinity or until the resonance is destroyed. We find that there are asymptotic values for the eccentricities and inclinations. We list the possible final stages that a resonance can achieve, we give a few examples, and finally we discuss the limitations of the model and its possible applications to real systems.     

Chemo-spectrophotometric evolution of spiral galaxies – IV. Star formation efficiency and effective ages of spirals

We study the star formation history of normal spirals by using a large and homogeneous data sample of local galaxies. For our analysis we utilize detailed models of chemical and spectrophotometric galactic evolution, calibrated on the Milky Way disc. We find that star formation efficiency is independent of galactic mass, while massive discs have, on average, lower gas fractions and are redder than their low-mass counterparts; put together, these findings convincingly suggest that massive spirals are older than low-mass ones. We evaluate the effective ages of the galaxies of our sample and we find that massive spirals must be several Gyr older than low-mass ones. We also show that these galaxies (having rotational velocities in the 80–400 km s⁻¹ range) cannot have suffered extensive mass losses, i.e. they cannot have lost during their lifetime an amount of mass much larger than their current content of gas+stars.     

The minimum orbital period in thermal time-scale mass transfer

We show that the usual picture of supersoft X-ray binary evolution as driven by conservative thermal time-scale mass transfer cannot explain the short orbital periods of RX J0537.7–7034 (3.5 h) and 1E 0035.4–7230 (4.1 h). Non-conservative evolution may produce such periods, but requires very significant mass loss, and is highly constrained.     

Effective collision strengths with inclusion of resonance for hyperfine-structure transitions in H- and Li-like ions

Calculations are made of the resonance contribution to electron-impact excitation of H-like ¹³C and Li-like ²³Na, ²⁵Mg, ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si to the upper hyperfine levels that produce millimetre (mm) lines of likely astrophysical interest. The resonance contribution is found to be very important for these Li-like ions, considerably more important than for Li-like ⁵⁷Fe considered previously. However, resonances are found to be rather unimportant for H-like ¹³C. The effect of radiative decay on the resonance contribution is found to be insignificant in all of the present calculations.     

On water ice formation in interstellar clouds

A model is proposed for the formation of water ice mantles on grains in interstellar clouds. This occurs by direct accretion of monomers from the gas, be they formed by gas or surface reactions. The formation of the first monolayer requires a minimum extinction of interstellar radiation, sufficient to lower the grain temperature to the point where thermal evaporation of monomers is just offset by monomer accretion from the gas. This threshold is mainly determined by the adsorption energy of water molecules on the grain material; for hydrocarbon material, chemical simulation places this energy between 0.5 and 2 kcal mol⁻¹, which sets the (true) visible extinction threshold at a few magnitudes. However, realistic distributions of matter in a cloud will usually add to this an unrelated amount of cloud core extinction, which can explain the large dispersion of observed (apparent) thresholds. Once the threshold is crossed, all available water molecules in the gas are quickly adsorbed, because the grain cools down and the adsorption energy on ice is higher than on bare grain. The relative thickness of the mantle, and, hence, the slope of  τ₃( A _v)  depend only on the available water vapour, which is a small fraction of the oxygen abundance. Chemical simulation was also used to determine the adsorption sites and energies of O and OH on hydrocarbons and study the dynamics of formation of water molecules by surface reactions with gaseous H atoms, as well as their chances to stick in situ.     

The effects of Population III stars on the chemical and photometrical evolution of ellipticals

We have studied the effects of a hypothetical initial generation containing very massive stars [   M > 100 M_⊙  , pair-creation supernovae] on the chemical and photometric evolution of elliptical galaxies. To this purpose, we have computed the evolution of a typical elliptical galaxy with luminous mass of the order of  10¹¹ M_⊙  and adopted chemical evolution models already tested to reproduce the main features of ellipticals. We have tested several sets of yields for very massive zero-metallicity stars: these stars should produce quite different amounts of heavy elements than lower-mass stars. We found that the effects of Population III stars on the chemical enrichment is negligible if only one or two generations of such stars occurred, whereas they produce quite different results from the standard models if they continuously formed for a period not shorter than 0.1 Gyr. In this case, the results are at variance with the main observational constraints of ellipticals such as the average  [〈α/ Fe〉_*]  ratio in stars and the integrated colours. Therefore, we conclude that if Population III stars ever existed they must have been present for a very short period of time and their effects on the following evolution of the parent galaxy must have been negligible. This effect is minimum if a more realistic model with initial infall of gas rather than the classic monolithic model is adopted. Ultimately, we conclude that there is no need to invoke a generation of very massive stars in ellipticals to explain their chemical and photometric properties.     

Evolution of Polytropic Reimann Disks in Halos

The equilibrium of elliptical Riemann disks with a polytropic equation of state and their evolution under the influence of viscosity and gravitational radiation inside spheroidal halos with a relative surface mass density k. The evolutionary trajectory of a disk inside a halo with k<0.5, which is analogous to the evolution of an isolated disk, differs from that of a disk inside a denser halo.