Hydrogen photoproduction ofA. Variabilis incorporated in a photobioreactor

H₂ photoproduction and nitrogenase activities in two strains ofAnabaena variabilis marked wild type ATCC 29413 and mutant PK84 exposed to thermal stress (temperature higher than the normal incubation temperature of 30°C) were studied. Cultures of both strains collected from any interval of logarithmic growth phase exhibited high H₂ photoproduction and nitrogenase activities when exposed to limited time heat shock during the assay process. In contrast, the algal H₂ photoproduction rate of both strains fluctuated with long term thermal stress caused by increasing the growth temperature from 30°C to 36°C.

The changes of nitrogenase (the key H₂ photobiosynthetic enzyme) activities in the mutant PK84 showed variation tendency similar to that of H₂ photoproduction during exposure to thermal stress, indicating that fluctuation of H₂ photoproduction in the mutant was mainly due to the variation of nitrogenase activities. A temporary maximal H₂ photoproduction in the mutant PK84 (wild type ATCC29413) was observed when cells grew at 36°C for 14 (6) days. However, the responses of nitrogenase activities in the wild type to thermal stress were not completely similar to those in the mutant in spite of similar variations of H₂ photoproduction in both strains. The data obtained in these studies suggested that the activities of other enzymes (in the wild strain) involved in H₂ photoproduction were affected by thermal stress since H₂ photoproduction maximized or dropped to 0 without variation tendency similar to that of nitrogenase activities.

Furthermore, an enhancement of H₂ photoproduction speed of the mutant strain cultured in a 4.4 L laboratory photobioreactor was also observed when it was subjected to short time continuous charge of argon, and temperature rise.

All these results indicated that high temperature plays an important role in the photo-autotrophic H₂ photoproduction, and that long term thermal stress is unfavourable for net H₂ photoproduction in both strains ofA. variabilis though short-time heat shock is conducive to H₂ photoproduction.

     

Thermochronology of the Angara–Vitim Granitoid Batholith as an Evolution Record of the Mongol–Okhotsk Orogen

Doklady Earth Sciences - The thermal history of the Late Paleozoic granitoids of the Angara–Vitim batholith (AVB) was reconstructed using a comprehensive approach including U/Pb, 40Ar/39Ar,...     

Broadband spectrum of the total X-ray emission from the galaxy M31

We present the results of measurements of the total X-ray flux from the Andromeda galaxy (M31) in the 3-100 keV band based on data from the RXTE/PCA, INTEGRAL/ISGRI, and SWIFT/BAT space experiments. We show that the total emission from the galaxy has a multicomponent spectrum whose main characteristics are specified by binaries emitting in the optically thick and optically thin regimes. The galaxy’s luminosity at energies 20–100 keV gives about 6% of its total luminosity in the 3–100 keV band. The emissivity of the stellar population in M31 is L _{2–20 keV} ～ 1.1 × 10²⁹ erg s^?1 M _⊙ ^?1 in the 2–20 keV band and L _{20–100 keV} ～ 8 × 10²⁷ erg s^?1 M _⊙ ^?1 in the 20–100 keV band. Since low-mass X-ray binaries at high luminosities pass into a soft state with a small fraction of hard X-ray emission, the detection of individual hard X-ray sources in M31 requires a sensitivity that is tens of times better (up to 10^?13 erg s^?1 cm^?2) than is needed to detect the total hard X-ray emission from the entire galaxy. Allowance for the contribution from the hard spectral component of the galaxy changes the galaxy’s effective Compton temperature approximately by a factor of 2, from ～1.1 to ～2.1 keV.     

Observations of the transient X-ray pulsar KS 1947+300 by the INTEGRAL and RXTE observatories

We analyze the observations of the X-ray pulsar KS 1947+300 performed by the INTEGRAL and RXTE observatories over a wide (3–100 keV) X-ray energy range. The shape of the pulse profile was found to depend on the luminosity of the source. Based on the model of a magnetized neutron star, we study the characteristics of the pulsar using the change in its spin-up rate. We estimated the magnetic field strength of the pulsar and the distance to the binary.     

Hard spectra of X-ray pulsars from INTEGRAL data

We present spectra for 34 accretion-powers X-ray pulsars and one millisecond pulsar that were within the field of view of the INTEGRAL observatory over two years (December 2002–January 2005) of its in-orbit operation and that were detected by its instruments at a statistically significant level (> 8σ in the energy range 18–60 keV). There are seven recently discovered objects of this class among the pulsars studied: 2RXP J130159.6-635806, IGR/AX J16320-4751, IGR J16358-4726, AX J163904-4642, IGR J16465-4507, SAX/IGR J18027-2017, and AX J1841.0-0535. We have also obtained hard X-ray (>20 keV) spectra for the accretion-powered pulsars RX J0146.9+6121, AX J1820.5-1434, and AX J1841.0-0535 for the first time. We analyze the evolution of spectral parameters as a function of the intensity of the sources and compare these with the results of previous studies.     

Timing characteristics of the hard X-ray emission from bright X-ray pulsars based on INTEGRAL data

We review the results of a timing analysis of the observations for ten bright X-ray pulsars (with fluxes >100 mCrab in the 20–100 keV energy band) that fell within the INTEGRAL field of view from 2003 to 2007. The dependence of the pulse profile on the energy and intrinsic source luminosity has been investigated; particular attention has been paid to searching for changes in the pulse profile near the cyclotron frequency. The dependence of the pulsed fraction for X-ray pulsars on their luminosity and energy band has been studied in detail for the first time.     

Luminosity function of high-mass X-ray binaries and anisotropy in the distribution of active galactic nuclei toward the Large Magellanic Cloud

In 2003?C2012, the INTEGRAL observatory has performed long-term observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). At present, this is one of the deepest hard X-ray (20?C60 keV) surveys of extragalactic fields in which more than 20 sources of different natures have been detected. We present the results of a statistical analysis of the population of high-mass X-ray binaries in the LMC and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) observed in its direction. The hard X-ray luminosity function of high-mass X-ray binaries is shown to be described by a power law with a slope ?? 1.8, that in agreement with the luminosity function measurements both in the LMC itself, but made in the soft X-ray energy band, and in other galaxies. At the same time, the number of detected AGNs toward the LMC turns out to be considerably smaller than the number of AGNs registered in other directions, in particular, toward the source 3C 273. The latter points to the nonuniformity of the distribution of matter in the local Universe.     

An Upper Limit on Nickel Overabundance in the Supercritical Accretion Disk Wind of SS 433 from X-ray Spectroscopy

We analyze a long (with a total exposure time of 120 ks) X-ray observation of the unique Galactic microquasar SS 433 carried out by the XMM-Newton space observatory with the goal of searching for the fluorescent line of neutral (or weakly ionized) nickel at energy 7.5 keV. We consider two models for the formation of fluorescent lines in the spectrum of SS 433: (1) through the reflection of radiation from a putative central X-ray source off the optically thick neutral gas of the supercritical disk “funnel” walls; and (2) due to the scattering of the radiation coming from the hottest parts of the jets in the optically thin wind of the system. We show that for these two cases the flux of the Ni I K_α fluorescent line is expected to be 0.45 of the flux of the Fe I K_α fluorescent line at 6.4 keV for the relative nickel overabundance Z_Ni/Z = 10 observed in the jets of SS 433. For the continuum model without the absorption edge of neutral iron, we have found an upper limit on the flux of the narrow Ni I K_α fluorescent line of 0.9 × 10^?5 phot s^?1 cm^?2 (90% confidence level). In the continuum model with the absorption edge we have determined an upper limit on the flux of the Ni I K_α line at the level of 2.5×10^?5 phot s^?1 cm^?2. At the same time, the flux of the fluorescent iron line has been measured to be 9.9 _8.4 ^11.2 × 10^?5 phot s^?1 cm^?2. This result implies that the nickel overabundance in the accretion disk wind should be at least a factor of 1.5 times smal than the corresponding nickel overabundance observed in the jets of SS 433.     

Radius of the neutron star magnetosphere during disk accretion

The dependence of the spin frequency derivative \(\dot \nu \) of accreting neutron stars with a strongmagnetic field (X-ray pulsars) on the mass accretion rate (bolometric luminosity, L_bol) has been investigated for eight transient pulsars in binary systems with Be stars. Using data from the Fermi/GBM and Swift/BAT telescopes, we have shown that for seven of the eight systems the dependence \(\dot \nu \) (L_bol) can be fitted by the model of angular momentum transfer through an accretion disk, which predicts the relation \(\dot \nu \) ～ L^6/7_bol. Hysteresis in the dependence \(\dot \nu \) (L_bol) has been confirmed in the system V 0332+53 and has been detected for the first time in the systems KS 1947+300, GRO J1008-57, and 1A 0535+26. Estimates for the radius of the neutron star magnetosphere in all of the investigated systems have been obtained. We show that this quantity varies from pulsar to pulsar and depends strongly on the analytical model and the estimates for the neutron star and binary system parameters.