微波等离子体炬质谱技术快速鉴别天然石材与人造石材

天然石材主要有大理石、花岗岩等;人造石材多以不饱和聚酯树脂为基料,添加适量的无机物粉料和添加剂固化制成。由于石材种类繁多,并且各种石材的岩体所含矿物成分也有差异,当前很少应用化学成分分析方法准确、快速鉴别天然和人造石材,仅有的红外光谱法由于对待测物纯度的要求较高而具局限性。本文基于微波等离子体炬源(MPT)同时具有热解吸与强电离能力,能在短时间内离子化待测物的特点,采用微波等离子体炬质谱(MPT-MS)技术,无需样品复杂预处理直接对天然与人造石材进行分析,获得正离子检测模式下在m/z 50~1000之间的石材的指纹谱图,并运用化学计量学的主成分分析(PCA)方法处理所获取的数据,实现了不同建筑石材的区分。结果表明,MPT-MS能够获得石材丰富的指纹谱图,结合PCA方法能够快速鉴别天然石材与人造石材,天然石材中解吸出的物质主要为CO₂和H₂O的团簇分子;而人造石材中解吸出的主要成分为有机物(人为添加的黏合剂等)。本研究采用的MPT-MS技术无需采用喷雾、激光、基质和加热等方法辅助,并且无需对石材进行任何复杂的处理即可进行质谱分析,从而获取石材表面及内部物质的质谱信息,为快速直接鉴定石材样品提供了一种新的质谱分析方法。     

微波消解—冷原子荧光光谱法测定植物样品中的汞

为了简化测量植物中汞含量的方法,提高灵敏度及结果的可信度,实验采用微波消解植物样品的办法,使样品经氯化亚锡还原,再用冷原子荧光测定出植物样品中汞的含量。确定了消解样品的方法和微波消解样品的条件,优化了仪器的最佳工作参数。方法检出限0.30×10-9(稀释因子100倍),精密度(n=12)在2.09%~6.05%,加标回收率94.1%~105.5%,方法经生物国家一级标准物质验证方法准确可靠。     

复杂地形下高密度激电法2.5维有限单元法数值模拟

目前三维有限元模拟计算量大,计算效率低,对计算机要求较高,2.5维模拟是三维问题的简化,较好地克服了上述问题。在高密度激电法模拟中,模拟的点数一般较大,要求程序计算效率高,因此对高密度激电法2.5维模拟研究是必要的。首先给出了2.5维稳定电流场的边值问题及对应的变分问题;为了能更好模拟复杂地形对极化率异常的影响,采用三角形网格,有利于模拟复杂地形又有利于将其应用于反演计算。推导了基于连续电性介质的2.5维稳定电流场的有限元法,利用等效电阻率法,编制了2.5维高密度激电法有限元模拟程序,计算了水平地形及起伏地形下的极化率异常模型,并验证了方法的可行性,分析得出了山谷地形比山脊地形对极化率观测的影响大的结果。     

Bayesian foreground analysis with CMB data

The quality of CMB observations has improved dramatically in the last few years, and will continue to do so in the coming decade. Over a wide range of angular scales, the uncertainty due to instrumental noise is now small compared to the cosmic variance. One may claim with some justification that we have entered the era of precision CMB cosmology. However, some caution is still warranted: The errors due to residual foreground contamination in the CMB power spectrum and cosmological parameters remain largely unquantified, and the effect of these errors on important cosmological parameters such as the optical depth τ and spectral index n_s is not obvious. A major goal for current CMB analysis efforts must therefore be to develop methods that allow us to propagate such uncertainties from the raw data through to the final products. Here we review a recently proposed method that may be a first step towards that goal.     

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics with laser guide stars: performance in the infrared and visible

The assumption of the Gaussianity of primordial perturbations plays an important role in modern cosmology. The most direct test of this hypothesis consists of testing the Gaussianity of cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps. Counting the pixels with the temperatures in given ranges and thus estimating the one-point probability function of the field is the simplest of all the tests. Other usually more complex tests of Gaussianity generally use a great deal of the information already contained in the probability function. However, the most interesting outcome of such a test would be the signal of non-Gaussianity independent of the probability function. It is shown that the independent information has purely morphological character i.e. it depends on the geometry and topology of the level contours only. As an example we discuss in detail the quadratic model   v = u + α ( u ²-1)  ( u is a Gaussian field with   u¯ =0  and  〈 u ²〉=1  , α is a parameter) that may arise in slow-roll or two-field inflation models. We show that in the limit of small amplitude α the full information about the non-Gaussianity is contained in the probability function. If other tests are performed on this model they simply recycle the same information. A simple procedure allowing us to assess the sensitivity of any statistics to the morphological information is suggested. We provide an analytic estimate of the statistical limit for detecting the quadratic non-Gaussianity α _c as a function of the map size in the ideal situation when the scale of the field is resolved. This estimate is in a good agreement with the results of the Monte Carlo simulations of 256² and 1024² maps. The effect of resolution on the detection quadratic non-Gaussianity is also briefly discussed.     

Chandra observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact campaign

We present results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory's extensive campaign studying Comet 9P/Tempel 1 (T1) in support of NASA's Deep Impact (DI) mission. T1 was observed for ∼295 ks between 30th June and 24th July 2005, and continuously for ∼64 ks on July 4th during the impact event. X-ray emission qualitatively similar to that observed for the collisionally thin Comet 2P/Encke system [Lisse, C.M., Christian, D.J., Dennerl, K., Wolk, S.J., Bodewits, D., Hoekstra, R., Combi, M.R., Mäkinen, T., Dryer, M., Fry, C.D., Weaver, H., 2005b. Astrophys. J. 635 (2005) 1329-1347] was found, with emission morphology centered on the nucleus and emission lines due to C, N, O, and Ne solar wind minor ions. The comet was relatively faint on July 4th, and the total increase in X-ray flux due to the Deep Impact event was small, ∼20% of the immediate pre-impact value, consistent with estimates that the total coma neutral gas release due to the impact was 5×¹⁰⁶ kg (∼10 h of normal emission). No obvious prompt X-ray flash due to the impact was seen. Extension of the emission in the direction of outflow of the ejecta was observed, suggesting the presence of continued outgassing of this material. Variable spectral features due to changing solar wind flux densities and charge states were clearly seen. Two peaks, much stronger than the man-made increase due to Deep Impact, were found in the observed X-rays on June 30th and July 8th, 2005, and are coincident with increases in the solar wind flux arriving at the comet. Modeling of the Chandra data using observed gas production rates and ACE solar wind ion fluxes with a CXE mechanism for the emission is consistent, overall, with the temporal and spectral behavior expected for a slow, hot wind typical of low latitude emission from the solar corona interacting with the comet's neutral coma, with intermittent impulsive events due to solar flares and coronal mass ejections.     

Mysteries on universe’s largest observable scales

We review recent findings that the universe on its largest scales shows hints of violations of statistical isotropy, in particular alignment with the geometry and direction of motion of the solar system, and missing power at scales greater than 60°. We present the evidence, attempts to explain it using astrophysical, cosmological or instrumental mechanisms, and prospects for future understanding.