Space–VLBI observations of the OH maser OH 34.26+0.15: low interstellar scattering

We report on the first space–VLBI observations of the OH 34.26+0.15 maser in two main-line OH transitions at 1665 and 1667 MHz. The observations involved the space radio telescope on board the Japanese satellite HALCA and an array of ground radio telescopes. The map of the maser region and images of individual maser spots were produced with an angular resolution of 1 mas, which is several times higher than the angular resolution available on the ground. The maser spots were only partly resolved and a lower limit to the brightness temperature     was obtained. The maser seems to be located in the direction of low interstellar scattering, an order of magnitude lower than the scattering of a nearby extragalactic source and pulsar.     

ESTIMATION OF SOUNDING ABILITY OF A BRILLOUIN LIDAR IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

Vertical profiles of sound speed in the sea can be measured by using laser excited Brillouin scattering. In this paper the dependence of the accuracy of sound speed measurement on the accuracy of the Brillouin shift measurement is analyzed. We calculated the maximum detecting depths of sound speed to an accuracy of 1 m/s by lidar with different laser pulse energy, platform altitude, telescope aperture and lidar effective attenuation coefficient. The estimation of sounding ability in the East China Sea is made in some stations. These data can be used in the design of Brillouin Lidar for the China Sea.     

Parametric determination of the inclination of Keplerian circumstellar discs from spectropolarimetric profiles of scattered lines

Polarimetric line profiles arising from the Doppler redistribution of monochromatic stellar line radiation, Thomson scattered in a Keplerian rotating circumstellar disc are presented. It is shown that analysis of the scattered line profiles at different wavelengths which, due to Doppler redistribution, sample different disc regions allows the disc inclination to be determined.     

地下浅部异质体对表面波场谱扰动分析

均匀半无限体中表面源激发近表面波场由瑞利波主导,当浅部存在异质体,前行瑞利波发生散射,异质体周围表面波场响应谱发生变化。当异质体长度相对波长较大时,由异质体上方表面质点响应谱提取绕射波频散曲线可分析异质体与周围介质刚度差异对绕射波传播特性的影响。与含软层或硬层半无限体中瑞利波特性比较,可以发现绕射波具有与瑞利波类似的传播特性。异质体上方谱变化特征与异质体和周围介质间刚度差异有关,本研究基于异质体绕射波与入射瑞利波位移结构差异解释谱变化现象。结果表明：异质体上方谱与周围谱明显不同,在偏移距−波长域,相对于前方波场,软质体上方谱密度整体呈减弱趋势,硬质体上方谱密度整体呈增强趋势。根据谱密度变化对应偏移距、波长及谱密度强弱,可以预估异质体在传播方向的位置、埋深,并识别异质体类型。     

3维场景植被冠层多波段模拟研究进展

植被冠层辐射散射信号中蕴含了丰富的植被信息,通过构建植被冠层辐射散射模型,可以实现植被结构等生物物理参数的遥感定量反演。迄今为止,可见光/近红外、热红外、微波波段均已发展了大量的模型,这些模型在参数反演方面各具优势,但不同波段的模型又有其自身的局限性。跨波段的联合模拟可以实现模型间的优势互补,进而提高地表参数的反演精度,近年来已有学者专注于可见光/近红外与热红外模型,热红外与微波模型,主被动微波模型,以及可见光/近红外与微波模型的联合模拟和协同反演,但多是两两联合,且主要是基于经验模型或解析模型。基于3维场景的植被冠层辐射散射特性模拟模型可以细致刻画不同组分的结构和空间分布特征,对于由植被结构引起的多次散射和组分比例变化的考虑具有优势。本文主要介绍了3维模拟模型在可见光/近红外、热红外和微波波段,以及跨波段联合模拟方面的研究进展,从模型机理、场景统一、以及组分理化参数的统一的角度,探讨了构建多波段3维模拟系统的可行性,展望了多波段3维模拟模型的发展趋势。     

Cosmic ray scattering in compressible turbulence

We study the scattering of low-energy cosmic rays (CRs) in a turbulent, compressive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid. We show that compressible MHD modes – fast or slow waves with wavelengths smaller than CR mean free paths induce cyclotron instability in CRs. The instability feeds the new small-scale Alfvénic wave component with wavevectors mostly along magnetic field, which is not a part of the MHD turbulence cascade. This new component gives feedback on the instability through decreasing the CR mean free path. We show that the ambient turbulence fully suppresses the instability at large scales, while wave steepening constrains the amplitude of the waves at small scales. We provide the energy spectrum of the plane-parallel Alfvénic component and calculate mean free paths of CRs as a function of their energy. We find that for the typical parameters of turbulence in the interstellar medium and in the intercluster medium the new Alfvénic component provides the scattering of the low-energy CRs that exceeds the direct resonance scattering by MHD modes. This solves the problem of insufficient scattering of low-energy CRs in the turbulent interstellar or intracluster medium that was reported in the literature.     

Collisional hardening of compact binaries in globular clusters

We consider essential mechanisms for orbit shrinkage or 'hardening' of compact binaries in globular clusters (GCs) to the point of Roche lobe contact and X-ray emission phase, focusing on the process of collisional hardening due to encounters between binaries and single stars in the cluster core. The interplay between this kind of hardening and that due to emission of gravitational radiation produces a characteristic scaling of the orbit-shrinkage time with the single-star binary encounter rate γ in the cluster which we introduce, clarify and explore. We investigate possible effects of this scaling on populations of X-ray binaries in GCs within the framework of a simple 'toy' scheme for describing the evolution of pre-X-ray binaries in GCs. We find the expected qualitative trends sufficiently supported by data on X-ray binaries in Galactic GCs to encourage us towards a more quantitative study.     

Transport of ionizing radiation in terrestrial-like exoplanet atmospheres

The propagation of ionizing radiation through model atmospheres of terrestrial-like exoplanets is studied for a large range of column densities and incident photon energies using a Monte Carlo code we have developed to treat Compton scattering and photoabsorption. Incident spectra from parent star flares, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts are modeled and compared to energetic particles in importance. Large irradiation events with fluences of 10⁶-10⁹ erg cm⁻² at the conventional habitable zone can occur at a rate from many per day (flares from young low-mass parent stars) to ∼100 per Gyr (supernovae and gamma-ray bursts). We find that terrestrial-like exoplanets with atmospheres thinner than about 100 g cm⁻² block nearly all X-rays, but transmit and reprocess a significant fraction of incident γ-rays, producing a characteristic, flat surficial spectrum. Thick atmospheres (?100 g cm⁻²) efficiently block even γ-rays, but nearly all the incident energy is redistributed into diffuse UV and visible aurora-like emission, increasing the effective atmospheric transmission by many orders of magnitude. Depending on the presence of molecular UV absorbers and atmospheric thickness, up to 10% of the incident energy can reach the surface as UV reemission. For the Earth, between 2×10⁻³ and 4×10⁻² of the incident flux reaches the ground in the biologically effective 200-320 nm range, depending on O₂/O₃ shielding. For atmospheres thicker than ∼50 g cm⁻² in the case of pure Rayleigh scattering and ∼100 g cm⁻² in the case of O₂/O₃ absorption, the UV reemission exceeds the surficial transmitted ionizing radiation. We also discuss the effects of angle of incidence and derive a modified two-stream approximation solution for the UV transfer. Finally, we suggest that transient atmospheric ionization layers can be frequently created at altitudes lower than the equilibrium layers that result from steady irradiation and winds from the parent star. We suggest that these events can produce frequent fluctuations in atmospheric ionization levels and surficial UV fluxes on terrestrial-like planets.