Possible Contribution of Mature γ-ray Pulsars to Cosmic-ray Positrons

We restudy the possible contribution of mature gamma-ray pulsars to cosmic ray positrons based on the new version of outer gap model. In this model, the inclination angle and average properties of the outer gap are taken into account, and more mature pulsars can have the outer gap and emit high energy photons. Half of the primary particles in the outer gaps will flow back toward the star surface and emit synchrotron photons, which can produce electron/positron pairs by the cascade of pair production. Some of these pairs will escape from the light cylinder and be accelerated to relativistic energies in the pulsar wind driven by low-frequency electromagnetic waves. Using a Monte Carlo method, we obtain a sample of mature gamma-ray pulsars and then calculate the production of the positrons from these pulsars. The observed excess of cosmic positrons can be well explained by this model.     

2008年俄罗斯天文通讯赛

总则赞助单位莫斯科大学 Sternberg 天文研究院、Lebedev 物理学院科学和教育部、欧亚天文学会、Skymart公司、Phusicon公司。竞赛冠名赞助商 Skymart公司,Celestron 公司俄罗斯总经     

透过棱镜看星星：简易方法拍光谱

我们很多人都看到过上面这句话,把每个单词的头一个字母取出来,就是OBAFGKM,恒星光谱型从早期到晚期的排列顺序。提到光谱,很容易让人想起专业的天文观测和仪器设备。其实,我们自己也可以想办法对恒星的光谱进行拍摄。虽然这些照片的分辨率和质量无法和专业的测量结果相提并论,但从中还是很容易看出一些明显的有趣特征。     

宇宙信息

金星上发现闪电;“勇气”号的新发现;表里不一的白矮星;白矮星家族的特殊成员;比炮弹速度更快的恒星;像火箭一样被加速的白矮星;第一代恒星原来又大又暗;     

比邻星附近有类地行星？

加利福尼亚大学的天文学家Javiera Guedes等人通过计算机模拟发现,半人马座α中的子星B（这个三合星系统中的最大子星,其子星C即为离太阳系最近的恒星——比邻星）应该有一颗岩质行星位于其“可居住带”（即能保持液态水长期存在的区域）内。研究组对这个恒星系统前2亿年的历史进行了多次模拟,他们发现不管采用什么参数,子星B都至少拥有一颗大小与地球相当的行星,而且在多数模拟过程中,这颗行星正好位于恒星的可居住带内。     

关于宇宙的几个误解

不准确!严格说,一天是24小时,而。地球自转一圈则是23小时56分4秒（忽略地球自转长期变慢等因素）,它们并不相等。“地球自转一圈”的时间即为地球的自转周期,等于遥远（因而在天空中的位置保持不变）的恒星两次经过上中天时的时间间隔（在同一地点观测）。而我们平常所用的公历中的一天（即24小时）是基于太阳的视运动而定义的,     

视差：测量邻近恒星的距离

你想知道星星离我们有多远吗？自古以来,人类一直在寻找这答案,直至1838年,人类才首先测定了星的距离。当时所用的就是地面测量常用的视差法。     

新视野400

在过去的400年问,人类能够确认的宇宙年龄增大了1亿倍!与此同时,宇宙的尺度则扩大了1亿的立方倍（10^24倍）!人类从仅仅知道这浩渺空间中的几颗太阳系行星起步,而今已经了解了围绕其他恒星旋转的几百颗系外行星。可以说,今天的我们正处在揭开人类文明最本源问题答案的历史性时刻：我们在宇宙中是孤独的吗？     

Variability Study of the SX Phoenicis Star BL Camelopardalis

New time-series photometric observations of BL Cam in the V band and white light were made during 2005 to 2007 at the Xinglong Station of China. The frequency analysis confirms two closely separated frequencies, 25.181 d-1 and 25.571 d-1, but the frequency of 31-32 d-1 reported in the literature was not detected in the new data. New times of maximum light were determined from both our light curves and those available on Internet, allowing a more comprehensive study of the O - C diagram, together with the times of maximum light in the literature. A new interpretation, including the period increasing before 1988 and decreasing since 1992 of BL Cam and the light-time effect in a binary system, looks plausible.     

The Effect of AGN and SNe Feedback on Star Formation, Reionization and the Near Infrared Background

Feedback from supernovae (SNe) and from active galactic nuclei (AGN) accom-panies the history of star formation and galaxy evolution. We present an analytic model to explain how and when the SNe and AGN exert their feedback effects on the star formation and galaxy evolution processes. By using SNe and AGN kinetic feedback mechanisms based on the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model, we explore how these feedback mecha-nisms affect the star formation history (SFH), the Near-Infrared Background (NIRB) flux and the cosmological reionization. We find the values of the feedback strengths, ∈AGN =1.0+0.50.3and ∈SN=0.04+0.02-0.02, can provide a reasonable explanation of most of the observational re-suits, and that the AGN feedback effect on star formation history is quite different from the SNe feedback at high redshifts. Our conclusions manifest quantitatively that these feedback effects decrease star formation rate density (SFRD) and the NIRB flux (in 1.4 - 4.0μm), and postpone the time of completion of the cosmological reionization.