On viscosity, conduction and sound waves in the intracluster medium

Recent X-ray and optical observations of the Perseus cluster indicate that a combination of weak shocks at small radii  (≳20  kpc)  and viscous and conductive dissipation of sound waves at larger radii is responsible for heating the intracluster medium and can balance radiative cooling of cluster cores. We discuss this mechanism more generally and show how the specific heating and cooling rates vary with temperature and radius. It appears that this heating mechanism is most effective above  10⁷  K  , which allows for radiative cooling to proceed within normal galaxy formation but stifles the growth of very massive galaxies. The scaling of the wavelength of sound waves with cluster temperature and feedback in the system are investigated.     

Flows in clumpy planetary nebulae

The dynamics of clumps observed in planetary nebulae are considered. The possibility that SiO maser spots in evolved stars and the planetary nebula clumps are formed by the Parker instability behind shocks in pulsating stars' atmospheres is raised. Molecular observations of the clumps are suggested. The effects of the ablation of clumps on the global flow structure of a more tenuous plasma in which they are embedded are reviewed.     

Mass constraints from multiphase cooling flow models

I review the multiphase cooling flow equations that reduce to a relatively simple form for a wide class of self-similar density distributions described by the single parameter, k , first introduced by Nulsen. It is shown that steady-state cooling flows are not consistent with all possible emissivity profiles, which can therefore be used as a test of the theory. In combination, they provide strong constraints on the temperature profile and mass distribution within the cooling radius. The model is applied to ROSAT HRI data for three rich clusters. At one extreme ( K  ∼ 1) these show evidence for cores in the mass distribution of size 110–140 h ⁻¹₅₀ kpc and have temperatures that decline towards the flow centre. At the other ( k ∈ ∞), the mass density and gas temperature both rise sharply towards the flow centre. The former are more consistent with observations which usually show a lower emission-weighted temperature within the cooling flow than from the cluster as a whole. The requirement that the solutions have a temperature gradient that is non-increasing towards the cluster centre limits the matter density gradient to be shallower than ρ_grav ∝∼  r ^−1.2 in the cluster core.     

X-ray observations of distant Abell clusters

We present results from a ROSAT HRI study of 11 distant ( z  ∼ 0.2–0.3) Abell clusters. We have performed a morphological analysis to search for and quantify substructure in the clusters. About 70 per cent of the sample shows significant evidence of substructure in the form of centroid shift or obvious X-ray clumps. We examine the clusters for the presence of cooling flows, and determine the physical properties of the ICM by deprojecting the HRI data. Nine of the clusters have central cooling times less than the age of the system, in agreement with fractions determined from nearby, X-ray-bright samples. Additional PSPC results are presented for four clusters in the sample, and ASCA results for six clusters. The temperatures and metallicities for these distant clusters appear to be consistent with nearby clusters of similar richness.     

ADAFs, accretion discs and outbursts in compact binaries

I discuss the status of the soft X-ray transient model. First, I discuss and then compare with observations the assumption that the geometrically thin disc evaporates into an ADAF. Second, I address the problems created by the recent determinations of the distance to SS Cyg, according to which the disc instability model does not apply to this famous dwarf-nova, thus casting doubt on the application of this model to any system at all.     

震后都汶公路沿线泥石流沟堵江危险性评估

震后泥石流松散物质显著增多,临界雨量降低,导致泥石流暴发频率增加、规模增大,从而使震后灾区泥石流堵江事件频繁发生,给灾区带来严重的二次灾害。为了评价震后泥石流堵江概率大小,本文在野外考察基础上,获得研究区泥石流沟基础数据,并根据水文模型计算不同频率下的泥石流规模; 在此基础上利用泥石流堵江公式,获取研究区域泥石流堵江危险程度(数值),并结合研究区域已发生的泥石流堵江事件,界定了泥石流堵江公式的临界值,使之能够更加准确用来判定泥石流堵江概率,并对 5·12 地震极震区都汶公路沿线的7条泥石流在不同频率下的泥石流堵江概率进行评价。评价结果显示:牛眠沟和关山沟在暴发50a及其以上泥石流时,会发生堵江; 烧房沟、红椿沟和磨子沟在暴发10a及其以上泥石流时,会发生堵江事件; 洱沟和太平沟在暴发5a及其以上泥石流时便可能发生堵江; 上述泥石流沟一旦发生堵江,便会给映秀镇和都汶公路带来严重灾难。通过本文获取的堵江临界值可以作为判定泥石流堵江的参考标准,为泥石流防治、预报提供参考,同时可以为灾后重建和预防二次灾害提供科学借鉴。     

Effects of commercial timber harvesting on streamflow regimes in the Plynlimon catchments,mid‐Wales

This paper presents the first large‐scale British study of the impacts of commercial forest cutting on stream‐flow regimes. The 70% forested headwaters of the River Severn are part of the intensively instrumented long‐term Plynlimon catchment study into the impact of land use on stream flow. The forest area, comprising predominantly Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), was planted mainly in the 1930s and 1940s. Harvesting commenced in the mid‐1980s and over the study period about half the forest has been felled. Changes in annual water yield and extreme flows were studied in four nested catchments ranging in area from about 1 to 10 km² and compared with an adjacent benchmark grassland catchment. As expected from earlier process studies the cutting of the forest increased total annual flows. Less expected was the clear evidence that the felling augmented low flows. This informs a long‐standing debate whether upland forestry increases or reduces baseflows. A particularly notable result was the lack of impact of the harvesting on storm peak flows. This may result from the application of forest management guidelines designed to reduce soil damage and erosion during the harvesting, and indicates that the forest itself has a limited impact on flooding. These findings are timely because British forest expansion peaked in the 30 years following the Second World War, and large areas of these woodlands are now approaching economic maturity and will be harvested in the next two decades. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.