Simultaneous optical polarimetry and X-ray observations of the magnetic CV CP Tuc (AX J2315−592)

CP Tuc (AX J2315–592) shows a dip in X-rays which lasts for approximately half the binary orbit and is deeper in soft X-rays compared with hard X-rays. It has been proposed that this dip is due to the accretion stream obscuring the accretion region from view. If CP Tuc were a polar, as has been suggested, then the length of such a dip would make it unique amongst polars since in those polars in which a dip is seen in hard X-rays the dip lasts for only 0.1 of the orbit. We present optical polarimetry and RXTE observations of CP Tuc which show circular polarization levels of ∼10 per cent and find evidence for only one photometric period. These data confirm CP Tuc as a polar. Our modelling of the polarization data implies that the X-ray dip is due to the bulk of the primary accretion region being self-eclipsed by the white dwarf. The energy dependence of the dip is due to a combination of this self-eclipse and also the presence of an X-ray temperature gradient over the primary accretion region.     

A study of the new X-ray transient RXTE J2123−058 during its post-outburst state

We carried out I , R , V and B photometric observations of the neutron star X-ray binary RXTE J2123−058 shortly after the end of the X-ray outburst in mid-1998. We adopt the low-mass binary model to interpret our observations. After folding our data on the 0.24 821‐d orbital period, and correcting for the steady brightness decline following the outburst, we observed sinusoidal oscillations with hints of ellipsoidal modulations which became progressively more evident. Our data also show that the decline in brightness was faster in the V band than in the R and I bands. This suggests both the cooling of an irradiation-heated secondary star and the fading of an accretion disc over the nights of our observations.     

A deep search for pulsar wind nebulae using pulsar gating

Using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) we have imaged the fields around five promising pulsar candidates to search for radio pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). We have used the ATCA in its pulsar-gating mode; this enables an image to be formed containing only off-pulse visibilities, thereby dramatically improving the sensitivity to any underlying PWN. Data from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope were also used to provide sensitivity on larger spatial scales. This survey found a faint new PWN around PSR B0906−49; here we report on non-detections of PWNe towards PSRs B1046−58, B1055−52, B1610−50 and J1105−6107. Our radio observations of the field around PSR B1055−52 argue against previous claims of an extended X-ray and radio PWN associated with the pulsar. If these pulsars power unseen, compact radio PWNe, upper limits on the radio flux indicate that a fraction of less than 10⁻⁶ of their spin-down energy is used to power this emission. Alternatively, PSRs B1046−58 and B1610−50 may have relativistic winds similar to other young pulsars and the unseen PWN may be resolved and fainter than our surface brightness sensitivity threshold. We can then determine upper limits on the local interstellar medium (ISM) density of 2.2×10⁻³ and 1×10⁻² cm⁻³, respectively. Furthermore, we derive the spatial velocities of these pulsars to be ∼450 km s⁻¹ and thus rule out the association of PSR B1610−50 with supernova remnant (SNR) G332.4+00.1 (Kes 32). Strong limits on the ratio of unpulsed to pulsed emission are also determined for three pulsars.     

Are modern metaheuristics successful in calibrating simple conceptual rainfall–runoff models?

In recent years sampling approaches have been used more widely than optimization algorithms to find parameters of conceptual rainfall–runoff models, but the difficulty of calibration of such models remains in dispute. The problem of finding a set of optimal parameters for conceptual rainfall–runoff models is interpreted differently in various studies, ranging from simple to relatively complex and difficult. In many papers, it is claimed that novel calibration approaches, so-called metaheuristics, outperform the older ones when applied to this task, but contradictory opinions are also plentiful. The present study aims at calibration of two simple lumped conceptual hydrological models, HBV and GR4J, by means of a large number of metaheuristic algorithms. The tests are performed on four catchments located in regions with relatively similar climatic conditions, but on different continents. The comparison shows that, although parameters found may somehow differ, the performance criteria achieved with simple lumped models calibrated by various metaheuristics are very similar and differences are insignificant from the hydrological point of view. However, occasionally some algorithms find slightly better solutions than those found by the vast majority of methods. This means that the problem of calibration of simple lumped HBV or GR4J models may be deceptive from the optimization perspective, as the vast majority of algorithms that follow a common evolutionary principle of survival of the fittest lead to sub-optimal solutions.     

李四光和卡尔宾斯基金质奖章

中国地质学家李四光与当时苏联地学界来往交流紧密,他对地质学的贡献得到了苏联地质学家的高度评价。1958年,苏联科学院全体大会选举李四光为苏联科学院院士,并授予卡尔宾斯基金质奖章;该奖章是1947年由当时的苏联科学院和俄罗斯科学院共同发起的、对地质科学有突出贡献的科学家最高单人奖励,李四光是第六位获奖人,也是至2017年止唯一获此殊荣的外籍地质学家,他的获奖理由是:在地质、古生物、地层和矿产研究工作的综合贡献。李四光有两部著作在苏联被译成俄文出版,分别是1952年的《中国地质学》和1958年的《中国西北部的旋卷构造》,这两部译作对当时的苏联地质界产生了很大影响,极大地推动了李四光学术思想的广泛认知;"地质无国界",中国地调百年的发展历程也有着俄罗斯地学理论、规范、方法实践的烙印,在新的"一带一路"合作倡议和李四光学术精神传承下,中俄、中国与中亚在地学领域的交流合作将不断深化,硕果累累。      

Job-related mobility and plant performance in Sweden

This paper uses a Swedish micro-dataset containing 2,696,909 hires during the period 2002–2006 to assess the impact of job-related mobility on plant-level performance. The analysis classifies new recruits according to their work experience and level of formal qualification, as well as by the region of origin and of destination. New hires are divided into graduates and experienced workers and between high- and low-educated. The results point towards the importance of acknowledging both the experience and the skills of new recruits. The greatest benefits are related to hiring new workers from outside the region where the plant is located. The analysis also stresses the importance of geography, with plants in metropolitan regions gaining the most from labour mobility, while the benefits of mobility for plants in smaller, more peripheral regions are more diverse and dependent on both the type and origin of new workers.     

副蝎蛉科化石（昆虫纲长翅目）在中国首次发现

报道了华夏三叠副蝎蛉Triasoparachorista huaxiaensis gen. et sp nov. (T2t)、吐孜沟准噶尔蝎蛉Junggarochorista tuzigouensis Hong. nom. nov. (J1b) 和1个新转移属——冀北直脉蝎蛉属Jibeiorthophlebia Hoing, 1983 (transl. nov.) (J2)及其2个种J. xiaofangzhangziensis Hong,1983 (transl. nov.)、J. internata Hong,1983 (transl. nov.) 在中国首次发现。根据它们的脉序特征,在分类上应当归于Parachoristidae Tillyard, 1937。这个科既具有二叠蝎蛉科(Permochoristidae) MP 带6支脉的特征,又有直脉蝎蛉科(Orthophlebiidae) Rs1至少带3支脉呈扇形排列的特征, 形成二叠蝎蛉科和直脉蝎蛉科之间的一种独特的过渡特征的中间类群,这个类群对它们之间的演变关系的研究有重要意义。副蝎蛉科化石在中国的发现很有意义：①填补了中国中三叠世、早侏罗世、中侏罗世副蝎蛉科的空白;②可以帮助我们追溯副蝎蛉科、直脉蝎蛉科和二叠蝎蛉科之间在不同地质背景中的演变关系;③关于中侏罗世燕辽生物群及其有关问题,笔者曾先后指出,燕辽生物群(Yanliao Biota)（J2）和热河生物群（K1）均起源于华北古陆（North China Paleocontinent）,燕辽地区（覆盖了新增加的内蒙古宁城地区）是它们的起源中心,尔后向外扩散与迁移,并向北覆盖到蒙古东部、俄罗斯外贝加尔等地区,形成东亚古陆（Eastern Asian Paleocontinent）中一个广阔的燕辽生物群和热河生物群的区系;④讨论了宁城地区地层层位的归属问题。     

Dynamique et modélisation des crues dans le bassin du Mono à Nangbéto (Togo/Bénin)

Résumé

Les inondations des dernières années en Afrique de l’Ouest rendent nécessaire la prévision hydrologique pour réduire la vulnérabilité des populations. Nous avons étudié la dynamique des crues dans le bassin du Mono en amont du barrage de Nangbéto (Togo et Bénin) par des méthodes statistiques et déterministes. L’augmentation des précipitations au cours de la décennie 1990 et la mise en eau du barrage de Nangbéto en 1988 ont modifié le régime du Mono, dont les débits d’étiages ont augmenté. Les débits entrants et sortants du barrage sont équivalents, même lors des crues. Les maximums annuels des débits entrants peuvent être modélisés par une distribution des valeurs extrêmes (GEV) de type Fréchet, tandis que ceux des débits sortants, suivent une loi GEV de type Weibull (bornée). Le mécanisme dominant de génération des crues dans le bassin est la montée progressive des eaux associée à l’augmentation de la saturation des sols. L’analyse des débits de crue entre 1988 et 2010 n’a pas montré d’augmentation de la magnitude ou de la fréquence des crues. Le modèle GR4J reproduit bien les débits de crues en période calage, mais ces critères de performance se dégradent lorsque l’on s’en éloigne. Dans ces conditions, l’utilisation de ce modèle pour évaluer les risques futurs de crues serait hasardeuse et il est nécessaire d’envisager d’autres types d’approches.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000855

During the last decades, several integrated studies of Tethyan Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary sections from different countries were published with the objective to indicate problems for the selection of biological, chemical or physical markers suitable for identification of the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary e the only system boundary within the Phanerozoic still not fixed by GSSP. Drawing the boundary between the Jurassic and Cretaceous systems is a matter of global scale discussions. The problem of proposing possible J/K boundary stratotypes results from lack of a global index fossils, global sea level drop, paleogeographic changes causing development of isolated facies areas, as well as from the effect of Late Cimmerian Orogeny. This contribution summarizes and comments data on J/K boundary interval obtained from several important Tethyan sections and shows still existing problems and discrepancies in its determination.