The unusual X-ray light curve of GRB 080307: the onset of the afterglow?

Swift -detected GRB 080307 showed an unusual smooth rise in its X-ray light curve around 100 s after the burst, at the start of which the emission briefly softened. This 'hump' has a longer duration than is normal for a flare at early times and does not demonstrate a typical flare profile. Using a two-component power-law-to-exponential model, the rising emission can be modelled as the onset of the afterglow, something which is very rarely seen in Swift -X-ray light curves. We cannot, however, rule out that the hump is a particularly slow early-time flare, or that it is caused by upscattered reverse shock electrons.     

The sodium tail of the Moon

During the few days centered about new Moon, the lunar surface is optically hidden from Earth-based observers. However, the Moon still offers an observable: an extended sodium tail. The lunar sodium tail is the escaping “hot” component of a coma-like exosphere of sodium generated by photon-stimulated desorption, solar wind sputtering and meteoroid impact. Neutral sodium atoms escaping lunar gravity experience solar radiation pressure that drives them into the anti-solar direction forming a comet-like tail. During new Moon time, the geometry of the Sun, Moon and Earth is such that the anti-sunward sodium flux is perturbed by the terrestrial gravitational field resulting in its focusing into a dense core that extends beyond the Earth. An all-sky camera situated at the El Leoncito Observatory (CASLEO) in Argentina has been successfully imaging this tail through a sodium filter at each lunation since April 2006. This paper reports on the results of the brightness of the lunar sodium tail spanning 31 lunations between April 2006 and September 2008. Brightness variability trends are compared with both sporadic and shower meteor activity, solar wind proton energy flux and solar near ultra violet (NUV) patterns for possible correlations. Results suggest minimal variability in the brightness of the observed lunar sodium tail, generally uncorrelated with any single source, yet consistent with a multi-year period of minimal solar activity and non-intense meteoric fluxes.     

X-ray synchrotron emission from the oblique shock in the jet of the powerful radio galaxy 3C 346

We report the first detection, with Chandra , of X-ray emission from the jet of the powerful narrow-line radio galaxy 3C 346. X-rays are detected from the bright radio and optical knot at which the jet apparently bends by approximately 70°. The Chandra observation also reveals a bright galaxy-scale atmosphere within the previously known cluster and provides a good X-ray spectrum for the bright core of 3C 346. The X-ray emission from the knot is synchrotron radiation, as seen in lower-power sources. In common with these sources, there is evidence of morphological differences between the radio/optical and X-ray structures, and the spectrum is inconsistent with a one-component continuous-injection model. We suggest that the X-ray-bright knot is associated with a strong oblique shock in a moderately relativistic, light jet, at ∼ 20° to the line of sight, and that this shock is caused by the jet interacting with the wake in the cluster medium behind the companion galaxy of 3C 346. The general jet curvature can result from pressure gradients in the cluster atmosphere.     

Measurement of the baryonic acoustic oscillation scale in 21 cm intensity fluctuations during the reionization era

It has recently been suggested that the power spectrum of redshifted 21 cm fluctuations could be used to measure the scale of baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs) during the reionization era. The resulting measurements are potentially as precise as those offered by the next generation of galaxy redshift surveys at lower redshift. However, unlike galaxy redshift surveys, which in the linear regime are subject to a scale-independent galaxy bias, the growth of ionized regions during reionization is thought to introduce a strongly scale-dependent relationship between the 21 cm and mass power spectra. We use a seminumerical model for reionization to assess the impact of ionized regions on the precision and accuracy with which the BAO scale could be measured using redshifted 21 cm observations. For a model in which reionization is completed at   z ∼ 6  , we find that the constraints on the BAO scale are not systematically biased at   z ≳ 6.5  . In this scenario, and assuming the sensitivity attainable with a low-frequency array comprising 10 times the collecting area of the Murchison Widefield Array, the BAO scale could be measured to within 1.5 per cent in the range  6.5 ≲ z ≲ 7.5  .     

Swift时代伽马射线暴的观测和理论

伽马射线暴是宇宙中最剧烈的爆发现象之一.Swift卫星的快速定位和Fermi卫星的宽、高能段观测,使得伽马暴的观测可以全波段进行.通过Swift的观测可以对伽马暴现象的本质有进一步的理解,而Fermi卫星提供了一些暴高能光子的辐射数据,为进一步研究暴的辐射机制和伽马暴以及它的余辉提供了有力的依据.介绍了Swift和Fermi卫星发射后一些伽马暴的观测和理论研究进展.     

北极和南极表面温度对中低纬度海洋热强迫的响应

利用耦合了平板海洋模型的全球气候模式进行了大量的格林函数实验,以探究两极地区对于施加在中低纬度海域的热强迫的气候响应。结果表明,北极地区的气候不仅受到距离较近的北太平洋与北大西洋的影响,远离北极的热带太平洋以及南太平洋也对其气候有显著的影响,南极地区的气候则主要是受到邻近的南大洋的影响。通过经验正交函数法的进一步分析发现,北极响应最显著的区域包括波弗特海(Beaufort Sea)、拉普捷夫海(Laptev Sea)以及北极中心区附近;南极地区的响应主要集中在别林斯高晋海(Bellinsgauzen Sea)区域。另外,利用温度归因法对辐射反馈过程和大气能量输运分解发现,北极地区表面温度的响应主要是受到了反照率反馈以及垂直递减率反馈的影响,而南极地区的响应则主要是反照率反馈发挥了作用。     

Exact solution and approximate solution of irregular wave radiation stress for non-breaking wave

Wave radiation stress is the main driving force of wave-induced near-shore currents. It is directly related to the hydrodynamic characteristics of near-shore current whether the calculation of wave radiation stress is accurate or not. Irregular waves are more capable of reacting wave motion in the ocean compared to regular waves.Therefore, the calculation of the radiation stress under irregular waves will be more able to reflect the wave driving force in the actual near-shore current. Exact solution and approximate solution of the irregular wave radiation stress are derived in this paper and the two kinds of calculation methods are compared. On the basis of this, the experimental results are used to further verify the calculation of wave energy in the approximate calculation method. The results show that the approximate calculation method of irregular wave radiation stress has a good accuracy under the condition of narrow-band spectrum, which can save a lot of computing time, and thus improve the efficiency of calculation. However, the exact calculation method can more accurately reflect the fluctuation of radiation stress at each moment and each location.     

青海省地震电磁辐射监测

本文概述了青海省电磁辐射台网的建设、台网特征、台网管理及映震效能。     

裂缝智能检测技术研究及其在埕岛潜山的应用

断裂(裂缝)对油气藏既有破坏又有保存作用。胜利埕岛奥陶系潜山油藏受裂缝控制,非均质性强,勘探目标预测难度大。本文以地震边缘检测为先验信息和启发因子,在自适应地震相干数据体上进行蚂蚁体追踪,精细检测裂缝,弥补了单一相干体检测分辨低的缺陷,获得了与钻井和实际地下情况吻合度更高的裂缝检测结果。对该区的油气勘探起到了指导作用。