Evolution of binary stars and the effect of tides on binary populations

We present a rapid binary-evolution algorithm that enables modelling of even the most complex binary systems. In addition to all aspects of single-star evolution, features such as mass transfer, mass accretion, common-envelope evolution, collisions, supernova kicks and angular momentum loss mechanisms are included. In particular, circularization and synchronization of the orbit by tidal interactions are calculated for convective, radiative and degenerate damping mechanisms. We use this algorithm to study the formation and evolution of various binary systems. We also investigate the effect that tidal friction has on the outcome of binary evolution. Using the rapid binary code, we generate a series of large binary populations and evaluate the formation rate of interesting individual species and events. By comparing the results for populations with and without tidal friction, we quantify the hitherto ignored systematic effect of tides and show that modelling of tidal evolution in binary systems is necessary in order to draw accurate conclusions from population synthesis work. Tidal synchronism is important but, because orbits generally circularize before Roche lobe overflow, the outcome of the interactions of systems with the same semilatus rectum is almost independent of eccentricity. It is not necessary to include a distribution of eccentricities in population synthesis of interacting binaries; however, the initial separations should be distributed according to the observed distribution of semilatera recta rather than periods or semimajor axes.     

Evolution of regional metamorphism in the Cape Smith Thrust Belt (northern Quebec, Canada): interaction of tectonic and thermal processes

Abstract Syn-metamorphic re-imbrication of the internal part of thrust belts can result in distinct pressure–temperature–time–deformation ( P–T–t–d ) pathways for different structural–metamorphic domains. In the early Proterozoic Cape Smith Thrust Belt (Canada), an external (piggyback-sequence thrusting) domain is characterized by thermal peak metamorphism occurring after deformation. In contrast, thermal peak metamorphism in an internal domain occurred during re-imbrication by out-of-sequence thrusting. The interactions of tectonic and thermal processes have been studied using three methods: (i) qualitative evaluation of the timing between mineral growth and deformation; (ii) analytical P–T paths from growth-zoned garnet porphyroblasts; and (iii) numerical modelling of vertical heat conduction. Derived P–T–t–d pathways suggest that uplift in the external domain resulted in part from erosion and isostatic unloading. In contrast, paths for the internal domain indicate that the out-of-sequence portion of the thrust belt may have experienced faster unroofing relative to the external domain. This is attributed to thickening by out-of-sequence thrusting and possibly to extensional faulting at (now eroded) higher structural levels. Observations on the timing of metamorphism, coupled with numerical modelling, suggest that the thermal peak metamorphism documented in the external domain is a consequence of the emplacement of the out-of-sequence thrusts stack in the internal portion of the thrust belt.     

Polyclonal antibodies to light-harvesting CHL-protein of PSII (LHC II) in marine green algaeBryopsis corticulans

Polyc·lonal antibodies raised against LHC II isolated from SDS-solubilizedBryopsis corticulans thylakiod membranes by SDS-PAGE, were characterised by double immunodiffusion, Rocket immunoelectrophoresis and antigen-antibody crossed immunoelectro-phoresis assays showed the antibodies had strong cross-reaction with allB. corticulans LHC II components (even with those which were incubated in boiling water) and showed immunological cross-reactivity with LHC II polypeptides of spinach and the marine green algaCodium fragile. The results suggested that LHC II of different species had similar antigenic determinants and also conservation of amino acid sequences of the polypeptides during evolution, and that the antibodies could cross react with apoproteins of D₂ proteins (which contain P₆₈₀) fromB. corticulans, spinach andC. fragile, but not with apoproteins of P₇₀₀ Chl-proteins. Our results indicated some similarities in primary structure between LHC II of different species, and between LHC II and D₂ proteins of marine green algae and spinach. Our finding that D₂ and P₇₀₀ Chl-proteins are not immunologically related suggested that P₇₀₀ Chl-proteins and D₂ proteins pass through independent evolutionary pathways. Contribution No 1717 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica, This subject was supported by the National Science Foundation of China.     

A catalogue and analysis of local galaxy ages and metallicities

We have assembled a catalogue of relative ages, metallicities and abundance ratios for about 150 local galaxies in field, group and cluster environments. The galaxies span morphological types from cD and ellipticals, to late-type spirals. Ages and metallicities were estimated from high-quality published spectral line indices using Worthey & Ottaviani (1997) single stellar population evolutionary models.
The identification of galaxy age as a fourth parameter in the fundamental plane ( Forbes, Ponman & Brown 1998 ) is confirmed by our larger sample of ages. We investigate trends between age and metallicity, and with other physical parameters of the galaxies, such as ellipticity, luminosity and kinematic anisotropy. We demonstrate the existence of a galaxy age–metallicity relation similar to that seen for local galactic disc stars, whereby young galaxies have high metallicity, while old galaxies span a large range in metallicities.
We also investigate the influence of environment and morphology on the galaxy age and metallicity, especially the predictions made by semi-analytic hierarchical clustering models (HCM). We confirm that non-cluster ellipticals are indeed younger on average than cluster ellipticals as predicted by the HCM models. However we also find a trend for the more luminous galaxies to have a higher [Mg/Fe] ratio than the lower luminosity galaxies, which is opposite to the expectation from HCM models.     

Chemical abundances in a UV-selected sample of galaxies

We discuss the chemical properties of a sample of UV-selected intermediate-redshift  (0≲z≲0.4)  galaxies in the context of their physical nature and star-formation history. This work represents an extension of our previous studies of the rest-frame UV-luminosity function (Treyer et al.) and the star-formation properties of the same sample (Sullivan et al.) . We revisit the optical spectra of these galaxies and perform further emission-line measurements restricting the analysis to those spectra with the full set of emission lines required to derive chemical abundances. Our final sample consists of 68 galaxies with heavy-element abundance ratios and both UV and CCD B -band photometry. Diagnostics based on emission-line ratios show that all but one of the galaxies in our sample are powered by hot, young stars rather than by an AGN. Oxygen-to-hydrogen (O/H) and nitrogen-to-oxygen (N/O) abundance ratios are compared with those of various local and intermediate-redshift samples. Our UV-selected galaxies span a wide range of oxygen abundances, from ∼0.1 to 1 Z_⊙, intermediate between low-mass H  ii galaxies and massive starburst nuclei. For a given oxygen abundance, most have strikingly low N/O values. Moreover, UV-selected and H  ii galaxies systematically deviate from the usual metallicity–luminosity relation in the sense of being more luminous by  2–3 mag  . Adopting the 'delayed-release' chemical evolution model, we propose our UV-selected sources are observed at a special stage in their evolution, following a powerful starburst that enriched their ISM in oxygen and temporarily lowered their mass-to-light ratios. We discuss briefly the implications of our conclusions on the nature of similarly selected high-redshift galaxies.     

Interfacial instabilities driven by self-gravity: first numerical results

The evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) is driven by a variety of phenomena, including turbulence, shearing flows, magnetic fields and the thermal properties of the gas. Among the most important forces at work is self-gravity, which ultimately drives protostellar collapse. As part of an ongoing study of instabilities in the ISM, Hunter, Whitaker & Lovelace have discovered another process driven by self-gravity: the instability of an interface of discontinuous density. Theory predicts that this self-gravity driven interfacial instability persists in the static limit and in the absence of a constant background acceleration. Disturbances to a density interface are found to grow on a time-scale of the order of the free-fall time, even when the perturbation wavelength is much less than the Jeans length. Here we present the first numerical simulations of this instability. The theoretical growth rate is confirmed and the non-linear morphology displayed. The self-gravity interfacial instability is shown to be fundamentally different from the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, although both exhibit similar morphologies under the condition of a high density contrast, such as is commonly found in the ISM. Such instabilities are a possible mechanism by which observed features, such as the pillars of gas seen near the boundaries of interstellar clouds, are formed.     

Orbital evolution of Uranus’s new outer satellites

Data on three recently discovered satellites of Uranus are used to determine basic evolutional parameters of their orbits: the extreme eccentricities and inclinations, as well as the circulation periods of the pericenter arguments and of the longitudes of the ascending nodes. The evolution is mainly investigated by analytically solving Hill’s double-averaged problem for the Uranus-Sun-satellite system, in which Uranus’s orbital eccentricity e _U and inclination i _U to the ecliptic are assumed to be zero. For the real model of Uranus’s evolving orbit with e _U≠0 and i _U≠0, we refine the evolutional parameters of the satellite orbits by numerically integrating the averaged system. Having analyzed the configuration and dynamics of the orbits of Uranus’s five outer satellites, we have revealed the possibility of their mutual crossings and obtained approximate temporal estimates.