Pulsar Wind Nebulae in Egret Error Boxes

A remarkable number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) are coincident with EGRET γ-ray sources. X-ray and radio imaging studies of unidentified EGRET sources have resulted in the discovery of at least six new pulsar wind nebulae (PWN). Stationary PWN (SPWN) appear to be associated with steady EGRET sources with hard spectra, typical for γ-ray pulsars. Their toroidal morphologies can help determine the geometry of the pulsar which is useful for constraining models of pulsed γ-ray emission. Rapidly moving PWN (RPWN) with more cometary morphologies seem to be associated with variable EGRET sources in regions where the ambient medium is dense compared to what is typical for the ISM.     

Lunar motion: Theory and observations

Results of several fits of the lunar theory ELP 2000-82B and of Moons' theory of libration are presented. The theories are fitted both to JPL numerical integrations and to LLR observations     

Relict mountain slope deposits of northern Portugal: facies,sedimentogenesis and environmental implications

This paper deals with the formation processes and the palaeoenvironmental significance of relict slope deposits located on the uppermost part of the north Portugal mountains. For this purpose, seven key sites representative of the different lithofacies have been selected and analysed in detail. The data show that three main dynamic processes are responsible for the emplacement of regional fossil slope deposits: runoff, debris flows and dry grain flows. The ubiquity of these processes and the lack of frost‐related features or landforms do not support the existence of severe Pleistocene climates in this part of the lberian Peninsula as postulated by previous work. Pedological data gathered at one of the study sites show that a subalpine environment was probably present at 700–800 m altitude between 29 and 14 kyr. Using data from the Pyrenees Mountains, a 6.5 to 12°C depression in mean annual temperature has been tentatively postulated for this Pleniglacial period. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The NAIAD experiment for WIMP searches at Boulby mine and recent results

The NAIAD experiment (NaI Advanced Detector) for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter searches at Boulby mine (UK) is described. The detector consists of an array of encapsulated and unencapsulated NaI(Tl) crystals with high light yield. Six crystals are collecting data at present. Data accumulated by four of them (10.6 kg × year exposure) have been used to set upper limits on the WIMP–nucleon spin-independent and WIMP–proton spin-dependent cross-sections. Pulse shape analysis has been applied to discriminate between nuclear recoils, as may be caused by WIMP interactions, and electron recoils due to gamma background. Various calibrations of crystals are presented.     

Time signatures of impulsively generated waves in a coronal plasma

Impulsively generated waves in solar coronal loops are numerically simulated in the frame-work of cold magnetohydrodynamics. Coronal inhomogeneities are approximated by gas density slabs embedded in a uniform magnetic field. The simulations show that an initially excited pulse results in the propagation of wave packets which correspond to both trapped and leaky waves. Whereas the leaky waves propagate outside the slab, the trapped waves occur as a result of a total reflection from the slab walls. Time signatures of these waves are made by a detection of the trapped waves at a fixed spatial location. For waves excited within the slab, time signatures exhibit periodic, quasi-periodic and decay phases. The time signatures for waves excited outside the slab, or for a multi-series of variously shaped impulses generated at different places and times, can possess extended quasi-periodic phases. The case of parallel slabs, when the presence of a second slab influences the character of wave propagation in the first slab, exhibits complex time signatures as a result of solitary waves interaction.     

Low‐energy helium ion irradiation‐induced amorphization and chemical changes in olivine: Insights for silicate dust evolution in the interstellar medium

Abstract— We present the results of irradiation experiments aimed at understanding the structural and chemical evolution of silicate grains in the interstellar medium. A series of He+ irradiation experiments have been performed on ultra‐thin olivine, (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄, samples having a high surface/volume (S/V) ratio, comparable to the expected S/V ratio of interstellar dust. The energies and fluences of the helium ions used in this study have been chosen to simulate the irradiation of interstellar dust grains in supernovae shock waves. The samples were mainly studied using analytical transmission electron microscopy. Our results show that olivine is amorphized by low‐energy ion irradiation. Changes in composition are also observed. In particular, irradiation leads to a decrease of the atomic ratios O/Si and Mg/Si as determined by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and by x‐ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. This chemical evolution is due to the differential sputtering of atoms near the surfaces. We also observe a reduction process resulting in the formation of metallic iron. The use of very thin samples emphasizes the role of surface/volume ratio and thus the importance of the particle size in the irradiation‐induced effects. These results allow us to account qualitatively for the observed properties of interstellar grains in different environments, that is, at different stages of their evolution: chemical and structural evolution in the interstellar medium, from olivine to pyroxene‐type and from crystalline to amorphous silicates, porosity of cometary grains as well as the formation of metallic inclusions in silicates.     

Radar observations of Itokawa in 2004 and improved shape estimation

Abstract— We present June 2004 radar images of asteroid 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36) that improve upon the longitude‐latitude coverage of images obtained in 2001 by Ostro et al. (2004) and use the 2001–2004 data to refine that paper's constraints on Itokawa's shape. The 2004 images, the first of the asteroid's southern side, look distinctly different from the 2001 images, revealing leading edges that are much more curved and rugged than the nearly convex leading edges seen at northern latitudes in 2001. Itokawa is shaped like a slightly asymmetrical, bent, lumpy ellipsoid with dimensions along the principal axes within 10% of 594 times 320 times 288 m. To illustrate the uncertainty space associated with shape reconstruction from images with suboptimal orientational coverage, we present two alternative three‐dimensional models of the object.     

Nonlinearly selected frequencies in coronal loops

A nonlinear process for the resonant generation of low-frequency fast magnetosonic kink waves in coronal loops is discussed. The efficiency of the process is strongly enhanced due to the existence of a nonlinearly selected frequency produced by a constant frequency difference in the dispersion curves in the short wavelength limit. The kink wave with the selected frequency interacts with high-frequency kink and sausage waves. The efficiency of such interaction does not require coherence in the interactive waves. In a loop of width 2 × 10³ km, field strength 50 G and number density 5 × 10¹⁵ m^–3, the nonlinearly selected frequency is of order 46 mHz (period 21.8 s), but this may range through 11 mHz to 184 mHz (periods 86.5 s to 5.4 s) for typical coronal conditions.