A new interpretation of the remarkable X-ray spectrum of the symbiotic star CH Cyg

We have re-analysed the ASCA X-ray spectrum of the bright symbiotic star CH Cyg, which exhibits apparently distinct hard and soft X-ray components. Our analysis demonstrates that the soft X-ray emission can be interpreted as scattering of the hard X-ray component in a photoionized medium surrounding the white dwarf. This is in contrast to previous analyses in which the soft X-ray emission was fitted separately and assumed to arise independently of the hard X-ray component. We note the striking similarity between the X-ray spectra of CH Cyg and Seyfert 2 galaxies, which are also believed to exhibit scattering in a photoionized medium.     

The symbiotic star CH Cygni – I. Non-thermal bipolar jets

Very Large Array surface brightness and spectral index maps of the evolving extended emission of the triple symbiotic star CH Cygni are presented. These are derived from observations at 4.8, 8.4 and 14 GHz between 1985 and 1999. The maps are dominated by thermal emission around the central bright peak of the nebula, but we also find unambiguous non-thermal emission associated with the extended regions. Our observations confirm that this is a jet. The central region has been associated with the stellar components through Hubble Space Telescope imaging. If the jets are the result of ejection events at outburst, expansion velocities are consistent with those from other measurement methods. We propose that the non-thermal emission is caused by material ejected in the bipolar jets interacting with the circumstellar wind envelope. The resulting shocks lead to local enhancements in the magnetic field from the compact component of the order of 3 mG.     

Searching for hidden Wolf–Rayet stars in the Galactic plane – 15 new Wolf–Rayet stars

We report the discovery of 15 previously unknown Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars found as part of an infrared (IR) broad-band study of candidate WR stars in the Galaxy. We have derived an empirically based selection algorithm which has selected ∼5000 WR candidate stars located within the Galactic plane drawn from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (mid-IR) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (near-IR) catalogues. Spectroscopic follow-up of 184 of these reveals 11 nitrogen-rich (WN) and four carbon-rich (WC) WR stars. Early WC subtypes are absent from our sample and none shows evidence for circumstellar dust emission. Of the candidates which are not WR stars, ∼120 displayed hydrogen emission-line features in their spectra. Spectral features suggest that the majority of these are in fact B supergiants/hypergiants, ∼40 of these are identified Be/B[e] candidates.
Here, we present the optical spectra for six of the newly detected WR stars, and the near-IR spectra for the remaining nine of our sample. With a WR yield rate of ∼7 per cent and a massive star detection rate of ∼65 per cent, initial results suggest that this method is one of the most successful means for locating evolved, massive stars in the Galaxy.     

Metallicity and kinematical clues to the formation of the Local Group

The kinematics and elemental abundances of resolved stars in the nearby Universe can be used to infer conditions at high redshift, trace how galaxies evolve and constrain the nature of dark matter. This approach is complementary to direct study of systems at high redshift, but I will show that analysis of individual stars allows one to break degeneracies, such as between star formation rate and stellar Initial Mass Function, that complicate the analysis of unresolved, distant galaxies (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Interstellar Extinction and the Intrinsic Colors of Classical Cepheids in the Galaxy, the LMC, and the SMC

New methods are applied to samples of classical cepheids in the galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Small Magellanic Cloud to determine the interstellar extinction law for the classical cepheids, R _B:R _V:R _I:R _J:R _H:R _K= 4.190:3.190:1.884:0.851:0.501:0.303, the color excesses for classical cepheids in the galaxy, E(B-V)=-0.382-0.168logP+0.766(V-I), and the color excesses for classical cepheids in the LMC and SMC, E(B-V)=-0.374-0.166logP+0.766(V-I). The dependence of the intrinsic color (B-V)₀ on the metallicity of classical cepheids is discussed. The intrinsic color (V-I)₀ is found to be absolutely independent of the metallicity of classical cepheids. A high precision formula is obtained for calculating the intrinsic colors of classical cepheids in the galaxy: (<B>-<V>)₀=0.365(±0.011)+0.328(±0.012)logP.     

History of Star Formation and Chemical Enrichment in the Milky Way Disk

Based on a physical treatment of the star formation law similar to that given by Efstathiou, we have improved our two-component chemical evolution model for the Milky Way disk. Two gas infall rates are compared, one exponential, one Gaussian. It is shown that the star formation law adopted in this paper depends more strongly on the gas surface density than that in Chang et al. It has large effects on the history of star formation and gas evolution of the whole disk. In the solar neighborhood, the history of chemical evolution and star formation is not sensitive to whether the infall rate is Gaussian or exponential. For the same infall time scale, both forms predict the same behavior for the current properties of the Galactic disk. The model predictions do depend on whether or not the infall time scale varies with the radius, but current available observations cannot decide which case is the more realistic. Our results also show that it would be inadequate to describe the gradient evolution along the Gala     

Galactic Sun's motion in the cold dark matter,MOdified Newtonian Dynamics and modified gravity scenarios

We numerically integrate the equations of motion of the Sun in Galactocentric Cartesian rectangular coordinates for –4.5 Gyr ≤ t ≤ 0 in Newtonian mechanics with two different models for the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halo, in MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and in MOdified Gravity (MOG) without resorting to CDM. The initial conditions used come from the latest kinematical determination of the 3D Sun's motion in the Milky Way (MW) by assuming for the rotation speed of the Local Standard of Rest (LSR) the recent value Θ₀ = 268 km s^–1 and the IAU recommended value Θ₀ = 220 km s^–1; the Sun is assumed located at 8.5 kpc from the Galactic Center (GC). For Θ₀ = 268 km s^–1 the birth of the Sun, 4.5 Gyr ago, would have occurred at large Galactocentric distances (12–27 kpc depending on the model used), while for Θ₀ = 220 km s^–1 it would have occurred at about 8.8–9.3 kpc for almost all the models used. The integrated trajectories are far from being circular, especially for Θ₀ = 268 km s^–1, and differ each other with the CDM models yielding the widest spatial extensions for the Sun's orbital path (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Supersoft X‐ray sources

The workshop “Supersoft X‐ray Sources – New Developments” brought together observers and theoretician to discuss the present status and unsolved problems of supersoft source research. A large part of the workshop was devoted to optical novae and their supersoft state. Large samples of supersoft X‐ray sources were presented from nearby galaxies, as well as extensive monitoring campaigns ofbright individual sources. The theoretical modelling oflight curves and high‐resolution X‐ray spectra are well underway, but details are often not yet understood (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

基于共生理论的中国沿海省市海洋经济生态协调模式研究

建立海洋生态与海洋经济的共生演化Logistic模型,通过压力-状态-影响-响应（PSIR）模型对Logistic模型中的基本指数进行求解,进一步计算海洋生态与海洋经济之间的共生系数,结果表明：天津和上海两市发展模式已摆脱资源索取模式,其海洋经济生态共生模式的探讨意义较小;其余沿海九省中,河北、江苏、广西和海南4省处于反向共生水平,辽宁和山东两省呈现并生模式,浙江和广东呈现出生态受益的偏利共生模式,福建则呈现出经济受害的偏利共生模式。根据沿海各省市海洋经济生态共生模式,提出相关的政策建议,以期对沿海省市今后的经济和生态发展模式提供理论依据。     

Detection of non-radial pulsation and faint companion in the symbiotic star CH Cyg

We have detected asymmetry in the symbiotic star CH Cyg through the measurement of precision closure phase with the Integrated Optics Near-Infrared Camera (IONIC) beam combiner, at the infrared optical telescope array interferometer. The position of the asymmetry changes with time and is correlated with the phase of the 2.1-year period found in the radial velocity measurements for this star. We can model the time-dependent asymmetry either as the orbit of a low-mass companion around the M giant or as an asymmetric, 20 per cent change in brightness across the M giant. We do not detect a change in the size of the star during a 3-year monitoring period neither with respect to time nor with respect to wavelength. We find a spherical dust shell with an emission size of 2.2 ± 0.1 D _* full width at half-maximum around the M giant star. The star to dust flux ratio is estimated to be 11.63 ± 0.3. While the most likely explanation for the 20 per cent change in brightness is non-radial pulsation, we argue that a low-mass companion in close orbit could be the physical cause of the pulsation. The combined effect of pulsation and low-mass companion could explain the behaviour revealed by the radial velocity curves and the time-dependent asymmetry detected in the closure-phase data. If CH Cyg is a typical long secondary period variable then these variations could be explained by the effect of an orbiting low-mass companion on the primary star.