Modelling the time variation of the surface differential rotation in AB Doradus and LQ Hydrae

Sequences of Doppler images of the young, rapidly rotating late-type stars AB Dor and LQ Hya show that their equatorial angular velocity and the amplitude of their surface differential rotation vary versus time. Such variations can be modelled to obtain information on the intensity of the azimuthal magnetic stresses within stellar convection zones. We introduce a simple model in the framework of the mean-field theory and discuss briefly the results of its application to those solar-like stars. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Differential rotation in F stars

Differential rotation can be detected in single line profiles of stars rotating more rapidly than about v sin i = 10km s-1 with the Fourier transform technique. This allows to search for differential rotation in large samples to look for correlations between differential rotation and other stellar parameters. I analyze the fraction of differentially rotating stars as a function of color, rotation, and activity in a large sample of F-type stars. Color and rotation exhibit a correlation with differential rotation in the sense that more stars are rotating differentially in the cooler, less rapidly rotating stars. Effects of rotation and color, however, cannot be disentangled in the underlying sample. No trend with activity is found. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Important Role Played by Atmospheric Angular Momentum in the Non-linear Prediction of the Variations in the Length of Day

The variation in the length of day has complicated time-varying characteristics and the traditional method for linear time series analysis is always difficult to obtain good effect of prediction. If the non-linear artificial neural network technique is adopted to predict the variation in the length of day, the topological structure of the network model is determined by the least square error method. By taking into account the close relation between the variation in the length of day and the general circulation of atmosphere, the axial sequence of atmospheric angular momentum is introduced into the forecasting model of neural network. The results show that the forecast accuracy is significantly improved by taking advantage of the combination of the length of day and the atmospheric angular momentum sequence in comparison with the individual adoption of the data of the length of day.     

Fast rotation of neutron stars and equation of state of dense matter

Fast rotation of compact stars (at sub-millisecond period) and, in particular, their stability, are sensitive to the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter. Recent observations of XTE J1739-285 suggest that it contains a neutron star rotating at 1122 Hz. At such rotational frequency the effects of rotation on star’s structure are significant. We study the interplay of fast rotation, EOS, and gravitational mass of a sub-millisecond pulsar. We discuss the EOS dependence of spin-up to a sub-millisecond period, via mass accretion from a disk in a low-mass X-ray binary.     

RR Pic (1925): a Chandra X-ray view

We present the Chandra ACIS-S3 data of the old classical nova RR Pic (1925). The source has a count rate of 0.067 ± 0.002 count s⁻¹ in the 0.3–5.0 keV energy range. We detect the orbital period of the underlying binary system in the X-ray wavelengths. We also find that the neutral hydrogen column density differs for orbital minimum and orbital maximum spectra with values  0.25^+0.23_−0.18× 10²²  and  0.64^+0.13_−0.14× 10²² cm⁻²  at 3σ confidence level. The X-ray spectrum of RR Pic can be represented by a composite model of bremsstrahlung with a photoelectric absorption, two absorption lines centered around 1.1–1.4 keV and five Gaussian lines centered at emission lines around 0.3–1.1 keV corresponding to various transitions of S, N, O, C, Ne and Fe. The bremsstrahlung temperature derived from the fits ranges from 0.99 to 1.60 keV and the unabsorbed X-ray flux is found to be  2.5^+0.4_−1.2× 10⁻¹³ erg  cm⁻² s⁻¹  in the 0.3–5.0 keV range with a luminosity of 1.1 ± 0.2  10³¹ erg s⁻¹  at 600 pc. We also detect excess emission in the spectrum possibly originating from the reverse shock in the ejecta. A fit with a cooling flow plasma emission model shows enhanced abundances of He, C, N, O and Ne in the X-ray emitting region indicating existence of diffusive mixing.     

阿尔金断裂东端破裂生长点的最新构造变形*

阿尔金断裂与祁连山北缘断裂的交汇部位是阿尔金断裂向东扩展的新破裂生长点,两断裂构造与新生的红柳峡断裂构成似三联点构造。破裂生长点附近的最新构造变形表现为:阿尔金断裂的旋转隆升和向北扩展;祁连山北缘断裂的逆冲推覆兼右旋走滑;红柳峡断裂的挤压拖曳弯曲,它们共同受制于青藏高原的强烈隆升和向外扩张作用。推测阿尔金断裂自西而东的破裂扩展就是似三联点构造逐一形成而又被切割贯通的过程。阿尔金断裂以蠕滑活动为主,2002年玉门地震与祁连山北缘逆冲断裂及其伴生的调节断层的活动相关。     

Influence of the intermediate principal stress and principal stress direction on the mechanical behavior of cohesionless soils using the discrete element method

In this paper, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is employed to numerically explore the response of hollow cylinder specimens of granular soils under complex stress paths. Two series of numerical tests are conducted to clarify the effects of the principal stress direction α and the intermediate principal stress through the b-value on the mechanical response of granular materials. The effects of α and b-value on the non-coaxiality of the principal stress and the principal plastic strain increment directions are investigated. It is observed that b-value and α significantly affect the non-coaxial behavior of granular materials. Finally, the results are discussed and compared with those obtained from physical laboratory tests.     

裂纹端部的力学研究

本文计算并讨论了忽视旋转的传统理论所不能给出的裂纹端部场与场源的相互作用，首先利用弹性力学方法计算了共线裂纹组端部的应力场及位移场，然后应用旋转理论给出共线裂纹组端部的扭转力通解，对单裂纹和双裂纹情形做了重点讨论．