Confusion Noise Sources in the Infrared Wavelength Range

Astronomy Reports - Within the framework of the model of the extragalactic background created earlier by the authors, the factors influencing the statistical properties of the confusion noise have...     

Constraints on the Number of Primordial Black Holes Due to Interaction with Dust

Astronomy Reports - Photons emitted by primordial black holes (PBHs) due to the Hawking effect are among the factors of interstellar dust heating. Based on the data on the temperature of dust,...     

Catalog of Supermassive Black Holes for Interferometric Observations

The paper presents a catalog of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) sharpened for interferometric observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, based on open sources. The catalog includes the object’s name, coordinates, angular size, and mass, the angular size of the gravitational radius of the SMBH, and the integrated radio flux associated with the radiosource concluding the SMBH at 20?900 GHz, planned for the Event Horizon Telescope, the future space mission Millimetron, and others. The catalog is intended for use during planning of interferometric observations of SMBH shadows.

     

The population of cosmic voids

We consider the main population of cosmic voids in a heirarchical clustering model. Based on the Press-Schechter formalism modified for regions in the Universe with reduced or enhanced matter densities, we construct the mass functions for gravitationally bound objects of dark matter occupying voids or superclusters. We show that the halo mass functions in voids and superclusters differ substantially. In particular, the spatial density of massive (M ～ 10¹² M _⊙) halos is appreciably lower in voids than in superclusters, with the difference in the mass functions being greater for larger masses. According to our computations, an appreciable fraction of the mass of matter in voids should be preserved to the present epoch in the form of primordial gravitationally bound objects (POs) with modest masses (to 10% for M _PO < 10⁹ M _⊙) keeping baryons. These primordial objects represent “primary blocks” in the heirarchical clustering model. We argue that the oldest globular clusters in the central regions of massive galaxies are the stellar remnants of these primordial objects: they can form in molecular clouds in these objects, only later being captured in the central regions of massive galaxies in the process of gravitational clustering. Primordial objects in voids can be observed as weak dwarf galaxies or Lyα absorption systems.     

Segmental closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean: Insight from detrital geochronology in the East Transbaikalia Basin

The Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean extended between the Siberian and Amur–North China continents.The timing and modalities of the oceanic closure are widely discussed.It is largely accepted that the ocean closed in a scissor-like manner from southwest to northeast(in modern coordinates),though the timing of this process remains uncertain.Recent studies have shown that both western(West Transbaikalia)and eastern(Dzhagda)parts of the ocean closed almost simultaneously at the Early–Middle Jurassic boundary.However,little information on the key central part of the oceanic suture zone is available.We performed U-Pb(LA-ICP-MS)dating of detrital zircon from wellcharacterized stratigraphic sections of the central part of the Mongol-Okhotsk suture zone.These include the initial marine and final continental sequences of the East Transbaikalia Basin,deposited on the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane basement.We provide new stratigraphic ages for the marine and continental deposits.This revised chronostratigraphy allows assigning an age of~165–155 Ma,to the collisionrelated flexure of the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane and the development of a peripheral foreland basin.This collisional process took place 5 to10 million years later than in the western and eastern parts of the ocean.We demonstrate that the northern Argun-Idemeg terrane was the last block to collide with the Siberian continent,challenging the widely supported scissor-like model of closure of the MongolOkhotsk Ocean.Different segments of the ocean closed independently,depending on the initial shape of the paleo continental margins.     

Generalized inflation with a gravitational wave background

We propose a -inflation model that explains a significant part of the COBE signal by primordial cosmic gravitational waves. The primordial density perturbations fulfil both the constraints of large-scale microwave background and galaxy cluster normalization. The model is tested against the galaxy cluster power spectrum and the high-multipole angular cosmic microwave background anisotropy.     

The NEAR‐Shoemaker x‐ray/gamma‐ray spectrometer experiment: Overview and lessons learned

Abstract— The near‐Earth asteroid rendezvous (NEAR)‐Shoemaker remote‐sensing x‐ray/gamma‐ray spectrometer (XGRS) completed more than a year of operation in orbit and on the surface of 433 Eros. Elemental compositions for a number of regions on the surface of Eros have been derived from analyses of the characteristic x‐ray and gamma‐ray emission spectra. The NEAR XGRS detection system was included as part of the interplanetary network (IPN) for the detection and localization of gamma‐ray bursts (GRBs). Preliminary results for both the elemental composition of the surface of Eros and the detection of GRBs have been obtained. In addition to the science results, the design and operation of the NEAR XGRS is considered. Significant information important for the design of future remote sensing XGRS systems has been obtained and evaluated. We focus on four factors that became particularly critical during NEAR: (1) overall spacecraft design, (2) selection of materials, (3) increase of the signal‐to‐noise ratio and (4) knowledge of the incident solar x‐ray spectrum.     

Radon in “nonradonic” ground waters of the Baikal region: Spatial and temporal variations

Based on the analysis of radon concentrations in several dozen springs and wells, three groups were distinguished for the waters classified as “nonradonic.” The spatial regularities of the distribution of these groups were revealed, along with the quantitative characteristic of the anomalies and the background, in view of their belonging to the Baikal and Transbaikal hydromineral provinces of the region.     

Long-term variations of the trophic state index in the Narochanskie Lakes and its relation with the major hydroecological parameters

Variations of the trophic status of lakes Batorino, Myastro, and Naroch were analyzed over a long period of 1978–2013. The lakes form a system of interconnected water bodies with a wide range of trophic states. In the period under consideration, the trophic conditions in the lakes varied from highly eutrophic (Lake Batorino) to oligotrophic (Lake Naroch), making it possible to analyze the long-term changes in the trophic state of the lakes with the use of different variants of evaluating the Carlson index (trophic state index, TSI), to assess the relationship between the three versions of the index with one another, with phytoplankton biomass, and with hydroecological characteristics, such as the concentrations of total N, seston, and organic matter and biochemical oxygen demand. The possibility to evaluate the index by other characteristics, including phytoplankton biomass, was also considered.     

Provenance change in the Irkutsk coal basin during the early and middle Jurassic: Geochemical and Sm-Nd isotope evidence

On the basis of the recently accepted chronostratigraphic chart, Jurassic sedimentation in the Irkutsk coal basin took place over a short time interval (~23 My), from the Pliensbachian (~191 Ma) to the Aalenian (~170 Ma). In this study, we present geochemical and Sm-Nd isotope data for sedimentary rocks of the Prisayan and Kuda formations and those in the upper course of the Angara River, which were deposited over an even shorter time interval (from ~174 to 170 Ma), as indicated by new data on biostratigraphy. Our results suggest that a greater contribution from Transbaikalia compared to that from the Siberian Platform during sediment deposition in the Irkutsk coal basin may reflect the onset of mountain building in Transbaikalia and reorganization of the river drainage network during the Middle Jurassic.