EM Cygni: A study of its eclipse timings

EM Cygni is a Z Cam‐subtype eclipsing dwarf nova. Its orbital period variations were reported in the past but the results were in conflict to each other while other studies allowed the possibility of no period variation. In this study we report accurate new times of minima of this eclipsing binary and update itsO –C diagram.We also estimate the mass transfer rate in EM Cygni system and conclude that the mass transfer is far from the critical value. The mass transfer rate determined from the eclipse timings is in agreement with the spectroscopically determined value. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Molecular lines from protoplanetary nebulae: observations with ALMA

Planetary nebulae (PNe) are formed in a very fast process. In just about 1000 years, the nebula evolves from a spherical and slowly expanding AGB envelope to a PN, with usually axial symmetry and high axial velocities. Molecular lines are known to probe most of the nebular material in young PNe and protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe), and are therefore very useful to study such an impressive evolution. Many quantitative results on these objects have been so obtained, including general structure, total mass and density distribution, kinetic temperatures, velocity fields, etc. Existing observations probe both the gas accelerated by post-AGB shocks and the quiescent components. But the study of crucial regions to understand PN formation (recently shocked shells, regions heated by the stellar UV and inner rotating disks) requires observations at higher frequency and with better spatial resolution.      

Gravity and effective temperature distribution on the surface of contact binary systems

The aim of this work is to study the gravity and the effective temperature distribution on the outer equipotential surface of a contact binary. In particular, the lines of constant g, (the iso‐g curves), are computed and plotted on the outer surface C_s of contact configurations. Since the gravity distribution would also specify the effective temperature distribution on the binary's common photosphere through the gravity darkening effect, these lines correspond to isothermals too. Applications have been made to two contact binaries; namely, to AW UMa and OO Aql, two systems with very different mass ratios. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigation on piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate detector bombarded obliquely with hypervelocity iron particles

A cosmic dust detector for use onboard a satellite is currently being constructed from piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT). The characteristics of the PZT detector were studied by bombarding it with hypervelocity iron particles, which were supplied by a Van de Graaff accelerator. There was a linear relationship between the rise time of the signal observed from the detector and the particle's velocity, which was above 10 km/s on impact. It was also found that the rise time was almost independent of the collisional angle between the particles and the PZT surface within the limits of the particle's parameters used in this experiment.     

The Norma cluster (ACO 3627) – I. A dynamical analysis of the most massive cluster in the Great Attractor

A detailed dynamical analysis of the nearby rich Norma cluster (ACO 3627) is presented. From radial velocities of 296 cluster members, we find a mean velocity of 4871 ± 54 km s⁻¹ and a velocity dispersion of 925 km s⁻¹. The mean velocity of the E/S0 population (4979 ± 85 km s⁻¹) is offset with respect to that of the S/Irr population (4812 ± 70 km s⁻¹) by  Δ v = 164 km s⁻¹  in the cluster rest frame. This offset increases towards the core of the cluster. The E/S0 population is free of any detectable substructure and appears relaxed. Its shape is clearly elongated with a position angle that is aligned along the dominant large-scale structures in this region, the so-called Norma wall. The central cD galaxy has a very large peculiar velocity of 561 km s⁻¹ which is most probably related to an ongoing merger at the core of the cluster. The spiral/irregular galaxies reveal a large amount of substructure; two dynamically distinct subgroups within the overall spiral population have been identified, located along the Norma wall elongation. The dynamical mass of the Norma cluster within its Abell radius is  1–1.1 × 10¹⁵  h ⁻¹₇₃ M_⊙  . One of the cluster members, the spiral galaxy WKK 6176 which recently was observed to have a 70 kpc X-ray tail, reveals numerous striking low-brightness filaments pointing away from the cluster centre suggesting strong interaction with the intracluster medium.     

The old metal-poor open cluster ESO 92-SC05: accreted from a dwarf galaxy?

The study of old open clusters outside the solar circle can bring constraints on formation scenarios of the outer disc. In particular, accretion of dwarf galaxies has been proposed as a likely mechanism in the area. We use BVI photometry for determining fundamental parameters of the faint open cluster ESO 92-SC05. Colour–magnitude diagrams are compared with Padova isochrones, in order to derive age, reddening and distance. We derive a reddening   E ( B − V ) = 0.17  , and an old age of ∼6.0 Gyr. It is one of the rare open clusters known to be older than 5 Gyr. A metallicity of   Z ∼ 0.004  or  [M/H]∼−0.7  is found. The rather low metallicity suggests that this cluster might be the result of an accretion episode of a dwarf galaxy.     

公共电话交换网时间认证系统的研制

研制了一种通过公共电话交换网进行时间认证的系统设备,利用电话网为数字时间戳服务机构提供标准时间服务.经实测,时间同步精度可以在±0.3 ms范围内,能满足数字时间戳服务机构为银行、证券、股票和期货交易等电子商务以及电子政务活动提供时间认证服务方面的要求.     

Circumnuclear Star Forming Activity in NGC 3982

We present a study of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 3982 using optical,infrared and X-ray data acquired by SDSS,Spitzer and Chandra.Our main results are as follows:(1) A simple stellar population synthesis on the nuclear and circumnuclear SDSS spectra gives unambiguous evidence of young stellar components in both the nuclear and circumnuclear regions.(2) The Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectrum of the central region (～3") shows a power-law continuum,a silicate emission feature at 9.7 μm,and significant PAH emission features at 7.7,8.6,11.3 and 12.7/zm,suggesting the coexistence of AGN and starburst activities in the central region of NGC 3982.(3) We estimate the star formation rate (SFR) of the circumnuclear (～5"-20") region from the Ha luminosity to be for the active nucleus of NGC 3982 from radio to X-ray,and obtain a bolometric luminosity of Lbol=4.5×1042 erg s-1,corresponding to an Eddington ratio (Lbol/LEdd) of 0.014.The HST image of NGC 3982 shows a nuclear mini-spiral between the circumnuclear starforming region and the nucleus,which could be the channel through which gas is transported to the supermassive black hole from the circumnuclear star-forming region.     

Formation of Transient Coronal Holes during the Eruption of a Quiescent Filament and its Overlying Sigmoid

By using Hα, He I 10830, EUV and soft X-ray (SXR) data, we examined a filament eruption that occurred on a quiet-sun region near the center of the solar disk on 2006 January 12, which disturbed a sigmoid overlying the filament channel observed by the GOES-12 SXR Imager (SXI), and led to the eruption of the sigmoid. The event was associated with a partial halo coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraphs (LASCO) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and resulted in the formation of two flare-like ribbons, post-eruption coronal loops, and two transient coronal holes (TCHs), but there were no significantly recorded GOES or Hα flares corresponding to the eruption. The two TCHs were dominated by opposite magnetic polarities and were located on the two ends of the eruptive sigmoid. They showed similar locations and shapes in He Ⅰ 10830, EUV and SXR observations. During the early eruption phase, brightenings first appeared on the locations of the two subsequent TCHs, which could be clearly identified on He Ⅰ 10830, EUV and SXR images. This eruption could be explained by the magnetic flux rope model, and the two TCHs were likely to be the feet of the flux rope.     

Relationship between pulse width and energy in GRB 060124: from X-ray to γ-ray bands

GRB 060124 is the first event that both prompt and afterglow emission were observed simultaneously by the three Swift instruments. Its main peak also triggered Konus-Wind and HETE-II. Therefore, investigation on both the temporal and spectral properties of the prompt emission can be extended to X-ray bands. We perform a detailed analysis on the two well identified pulses of this burst, and find that the pulses are narrower at higher energies, and both X-rays and γ-rays follow the same w–E relation for an individual pulse. However, there is no a universal power-law index of the w–E relation among pulses. We find also that the rise-to-decay ratio r/d seems not to evolve with E and the r/d values are well consistent with that observed in typical GRBs. The broadband spectral energy distribution also suggests that the X-rays are consistent with the spectral behavior of the γ-rays. These results indicate that the X-ray emission tracks the γ-ray emission and the emissions in the two energy bands are likely to be originated from the same physical mechanism.