Chemical alteration of tephra in the depositional environment: theoretical stability modelling

The study of the chemical stability of vitreous material in aqueous media is well‐established. There has to date been little consideration of the implications of variations in the chemical durability of tephra in Quaternary tephrochronology. Chemical alteration can take the form of cationic leaching from the matrix, or complete destruction of the silica network, either of which could constrain the ability to chemically identify distal tephra. Here we apply established models of vitreous durability to the published chemical analyses of a large number of Icelandic tephras in order to predict their relative durabilities under equivalent conditions. This suggests that some important tephras have relatively poor chemical stability, and that rhyolitic tephras are, in general, more stable than basaltic. We conclude that tephras should be expected to show predictable differential chemical stability in the post‐depositional environment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

WR 7a: a V Sagittae or a qWR star?

The star WR 7a, also known as SPH 2, has a spectrum that resembles that of V Sagittae stars although no O  vi emission has been reported. The Temporal Variance Spectrum – TVS – analysis of our data shows weak but strongly variable emission of O  vi lines which is below the noise level in the intensity spectrum.
Contrary to what is seen in V Sagittae stars, optical photometric monitoring shows very little, if any, flickering. We found evidence of periodic variability. The most likely photometric period is   P _phot= 0.227(±14) d  , while radial velocities suggest a period of   P _spec= 0.204(±13) d  . One-day aliases of these periods can not be ruled out. We call attention to similarities with HD 45166 and DI Cru (= WR 46), where multiple periods are present. They may be associated to the binary motion or to non-radial oscillations.
In contrast to a previous conclusion by Pereira et al., we show that WR 7a contains hydrogen. The spectrum of the primary star seems to be detectable as the N  v 4604 Å  absorption line is visible. If so, it means that the wind is optically thin in the continuum and that it is likely to be a helium main sequence star.
Given the similarity to HD 45166, we suggests that WR 7a may be a qWR – quasi Wolf–Rayet – star. Its classification is WN4h/CE in the Smith, Shara & Moffat three-dimensional classification system.     

X-ray spectral evolution of low-mass X-ray binary GX 349+2

We present the results of a systematic investigation of spectral evolution in the Z source GX 349+2, using data obtained during 1998 with the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) on-board the RXTE satellite. The source traced a extended normal branch (NB) and flaring branch (FB) in the colour–colour diagram (CD) and the hardness-intensity diagram (HID) during these observations. The spectra at different positions of the Z-track were best fitted by a model consisting of a disc blackbody and a Comptonized spectrum. A broad (Gaussian) iron line at ∼6.7 keV is also required to improve the fit. The spectral parameters showed a systematic and significant variation with the position along the Z-track. The evolution in spectral parameters is discussed in view of the increasing mass accretion rate scenario, proposed to explain the motion of Z sources in the CD and the HID.