Linear Magnetoconvection in Rotating Fluid Spheres Permeated by a Uniform Axial Magnetic Field

A linear analysis of thermally driven magnetoconvection is carried out with emphasis on its application to convection in the Earth's core. We consider a rotating and self-gravitating fluid sphere (or spherical shell) permeated by a uniform magnetic field parallel to the spin axis. In rapidly rotating cases, we find that five different convective modes appear as the uniform field is increased; namely, geostrophic, polar convective, magneto-geostrophic, fast magnetostrophic and slow magnetostrophic modes. The polar convective (P) and magneto-geostrophic (E) modes seem to be of geophysical interest. The P mode is characterized by such an axisymmetric meridional circulation that the fluid penetrates the equatorial plane, suggesting that generation of quadrapole from dipole fields could be explained by a linear process. The E mode is characterized by a few axially aligned columnar rolls which are almost two-dimensional due to a modified Proudman-Taylor theorem.     

Equilibrium shapes of rubble-pile binaries: The Darwin ellipsoids for gravitationally held granular aggregates

Binaries are in vogue; many minor-planets like asteroids are being found to be binary or contact-binary systems. Even ternaries like 87 Sylvia have been discovered. The densities of these binaries are often estimated to be very low, and this, along with suspected accretionary origins, hints at a rubble interior. As in the case of fluid objects, a rubble-pile is unable to sustain all manners of spin, self-gravitation, and tidal interactions. This motivates the present study of the possible ellipsoidal shapes and mutual separations that members of a rubble-pile binary system may achieve. Conversely, knowledge of a granular binary’s shape and separation will constrain its internal structure - the ability of the binary’s members to sustain elongated shapes and/or maintain contact will hint at appreciable internal frictional strength. Because the binary’s members are allowed to be of comparable mass, the present investigation constitutes an extension of the second classical Darwin problem to granular aggregates.General equations defining the ellipsoidal rubble-pile binary system’s equilibrium are developed. These are then specialized to a pair of spin-locked, possibly unequal, prolate ellipsoidal granular aggregates aligned along their long axes. We observe that contact rubble-pile binaries can indeed exist. Further, depending on the binary’s geometry, an equilibrium contact binary’s members may, in fact, disrupt if separated. These results are applied to four suspected or known binaries: 216 Kleopatra, 25143 Itokawa, 624 Hektor and 90 Antiope. This exercise helps to bound the shapes and/or provide information about the interiors of these binaries.The binary’s interior will be modeled as a rigid-plastic, cohesionless material with a Drucker-Prager yield criterion. This rheology is a reasonable first model for rubble piles. We employ an approximate volume-averaging procedure that is based on the classical method of moments, and is an extension of the virial method (Chandrasekhar, S., 1969. Ellipsoidal Figures of Equilibrium. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT) to granular solid bodies. The present approach also helps us present an incrementally consistent approach to investigate the equilibrium shapes of fluid binaries, while highlighting the inconsistencies and errors inherent in the popular “Roche binary approximation”.     

Determining asteroid spin states using radar speckles

Knowing the shapes and spin states of near-Earth asteroids is essential to understanding their dynamical evolution because of the Yarkovsky and YORP effects. Delay-Doppler radar imaging is the most powerful ground-based technique for imaging near-Earth asteroids and can obtain spatial resolution of <10 m, but frequently produces ambiguous pole direction solutions. A radar echo from an asteroid consists of a pattern of speckles caused by the interference of reflections from different parts of the surface. It is possible to determine an asteroid’s pole direction by tracking the motion of the radar speckle pattern. Speckle tracking can potentially measure the poles of at least several radar targets each year, rapidly increasing the available sample of NEA pole directions. We observed the near-Earth asteroid 2008 EV5 with the Arecibo planetary radar and the Very Long Baseline Array in December 2008. By tracking the speckles moving from the Pie Town to Los Alamos VLBA stations, we have shown that EV5 rotates retrograde. This is the first speckle detection of a near-Earth asteroid.     

Lightcurves and poles of seven asteroids

The Asteroids 5 Astraea, 19 Fortuna, 51 Nemausa, 68 Leto, 138 Tolosa, 196 Philomela and 409 Aspasia have been studied using Strömgren photometry observations made in 1997. Simultaneous lightcurves in the uvby Strömgren filters of synodic periods of 0.70004±0.00020, 0.31013±0.00003, 0.32400±0.00020, 0.61910±0.00100, 0.42087±0.00009, 0.34750±0.00020 and 0.37576±0.00060 days, and amplitudes, in the y filter, of 0.^m16±0.^m05, 0.^m30±0.^m02, 0.^m15±0.^m04, 0.^m29±0.^m02, 0.^m43±0.^m03, 0.^m30±0.^m04 and 0.^m15±0.^m06 have been found for 5 Astraea, 19 Fortuna, 51 Nemausa, 68 Leto, 138 Tolosa, 196 Philomela and 409 Aspasia, respectively. Additional observations of 138 Tolosa and 196 Philomela during February 2000, show lightcurve amplitudes equal or greater than 0.^m15 for 138 Tolosa and of 0.^m45 for 196 Philomela in 2000 opposition.Solutions for the sense of rotation, sidereal period, pole orientation and shape properties have been proposed for the first time for 138 Tolosa and improved solutions have been obtained for 5 Astraea, 19 Fortuna, 51 Nemausa, 196 Philomela and 409 Aspasia.     

基于ITRF2000的全球板块运动模型

利用最新国际地球自转服务 (IERS)发表的国际地球参考架ITRF2 0 0 0速度场 ,建立一个完全基于现代空间大地测量实测结果的现今全球板块运动模型ITRF2 0 0 0VEL。板块的总角动量 |L| =0 .12 7sr M·a-1,即ITRF2 0 0 0不满足无整体旋转的要求 ,与协议地球参考架CTRF定义不符 ,存在整体性旋转     

CSAO和VSNIIFTRI等高仪合作观测纲要和试观测初步结果

ＣＳＡＯ和ＶＳＮＩＩＦＴＲＩ１９９３年秋正式签订了将陕台ＰＨＡＩ搬去伊尔库次克进行国际合作观测、研究的协议．为了执行此项合作协议，首先对仪器进行了改造，使其能工作在Ｚ＝４５°的等高圈上；同时编制了适合于伊尔库次克纬度和新天顶距的观测纲要，全纲要共包括１２个星组，含６６８星次。其中ＦＫＳ基本星为３２４星次；ＦＫＳ扩展星和补编星为３４４星次；两次过等高圈的有２０３颗星，一次过等高圈的有２６２颗星，极限星等为９．５ｍ．恒星的赤纬分布在＋８．９°～＋７４．４°之间，赤纬跨度达６５．５°，在此赤纬带内可以消除赤其测定中的盲区．     

用中国卫星激光测距资料解算地球定向参数

利用我国SLR网卫星Lageosl的激光测距资料独立测定地球定向参数EOP的可能性和可达到的精度,选取了2001年4月19日—5月30日,2001年9月1日—10月30日这两时段国内SLR网对Lageosl卫星激光测距资料,用SHORDE软件估算地球定向参数,并在同样的时间段内用全球的Lageosl卫星的激光测距资料也测定地球定向参数,分别将两序列的地球定向参数与IERS的EOPc04序列进行比较,其外符精度分别为：X_p、Y_p4—5mas、D_r-0．32ms(用目内资料解算的),X_p、Y_p1—0．35mas、D_(r1)-0．03ms(用全球的激光资料解算的)．     

Convection in rotating annular channels heated from below. Part 3: Experimental boundary conditions

Results are presented from both linear stability analysis and numerical simulations of three-dimensional nonlinear convection in a Boussinesq fluid in an annular channel, under experimental boundary conditions, rotating about a vertical axis uniformly heated from below. The focus is placed on the Prandtl number Pr = 7.0, representing liquid water at room temperature. The linear analysis shows that, when the aspect ratio is sufficiently small, there exists only one stationary mode that occupies the whole fluid container. When the aspect ratio is moderate or large, however, there exist three different linear solutions: (i) the outer sidewall-localized traveling wave propagating against the sense of rotation; (ii) the inner sidewall-localized traveling wave propagating in the same sense as rotation; and (iii) both the counter-traveling waves occurring simultaneously. Guided by the result of the linear stability analysis, fully three-dimensional simulations are then performed for a channel with a moderate aspect ratio. It is found that neither the prograde nor the retrograde mode is physically realizable near threshold and beyond. The dynamics of nonlinear convection in a rotating channel are chiefly characterized by the interaction between the sidewall-localized waves and the interior convection cells/rolls, producing an interesting and unusual nonlinear phenomenon. In order to compare with the classical Rayleigh–Bénard problem without vertical sidewalls, we also study linear and nonlinear convection at exactly the same parameters but in an infinitely extended layer with periodic horizontal conditions. This reveals that both the linear instability and nonlinear convection in a rotating channel are characteristically different from those in a rotating layer with periodic horizontal conditions.     

中国东北及邻区白垩纪古地磁分析与块体旋转运动动力学背景

内容提要：为了更好地理解中国东北及邻区白垩纪各块体的旋转运动模式及其运动量,本文根据最新的地层学进展分早白垩世中期、早白垩世晚期与晚白垩世三个阶段对该区古地磁数据进行了精细分析。通过与华北-华南地块（不包括朝鲜半岛、辽东及胶东半岛）相应时期的古地磁极对比,说明朝鲜半岛及辽东早白垩世中、晚期相对华北-华南地块分别顺时针旋转约11º,晚白垩世以来没有明显的旋转运动。辽西地区则出现了小幅度的逆时针旋转运动。以上旋转运动与太平洋板块俯冲引起的中国东北及邻区强烈岩石圈减薄和伸展作用具有密切联系。     

Subsurface Zonal Flows

We study the zonal flow in solar subsurface layers, analyzing about six years of GONG++ high-resolution Doppler data with ring-diagram analysis. We focus on the variation of zonal flow with magnetic activity over a range of depths from the surface to about 16 Mm. There is a positive correlation between unsigned magnetic flux and zonal flow at most depths. We calculate the average zonal flow for a quiet- and an active-region subset defined as dense-pack locations with an unsigned magnetic flux less than 3.4 G and locations with greater than 65.0 G, respectively. The average zonal flow of active regions is about 4 m s⁻¹ larger than the average flow of quiet regions. This difference increases slightly with increasing depth, which might be explained by a nonradial inclination of the flux tubes or a different extent in depth of different magnetic features. The difference shows no apparent pattern in time and latitude, which makes it unlikely that it is simply a manifestation of the torsional-oscillation pattern. As a byproduct, we find that the size of the North – South asymmetry of the rotation rate decreases during the same epoch.