Contribution to the search for binaries among Am stars – V. Orbital elements of eight short-period spectroscopic binaries

We present the results of a radial-velocity study of eight Am stars (HD 341, 55822, 61250, 67317, 93991, 162950, 224890 and 225137) observed at Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the CORAVEL instrument. We find that these systems are single-line spectroscopic binaries whose orbital elements are determined for the first time.     

Numerical simulation of the weak turbulence excited by a beam of electrons in the interplanetary plasma

The electron distribution functions measured at 1 AU in an electron stream passing the ISEE-3 spacecraft (Lin et al., 1981) are used as input data to a programme which simulates in a one-dimensional model the interaction between fast electrons and plasma waves (quasi-linear relaxation) together with the plasma wave scattering off the background ions. While the computed spectral energy density of the plasma waves excited in resonance with the streaming of electrons is below Zakharov's threshold of strong turbulence, it is sufficiently high to undergo a fast induced scattering off the background ions. The resulting spectrum is concentrated around the wave vector k = 0. Some simple analytic considerations show that this stage leads necessarily to the crossing of Zakharov's threshold and therefore this indirect excitation of strong turbulence seems to play an essential role in understanding the Langmuir turbulence generated by the motion of fast electron beams in the interplanetary plasma.     

Contribution to the search for binaries among Am stars – VIII. New spectroscopic orbits of eight systems and statistical study of a sample of 91 Am stars

Red clump giant (RCG) stars can be used as distance indicators to trace the mass distribution of the Galactic bar. We use RCG stars from 44 bulge fields from the OGLE-II microlensing collaboration data base to constrain analytic triaxial models for the Galactic bar. We find the bar major-axis is oriented at an angle of 24°–27° to the Sun–Galactic Centre line-of-sight. The ratio of semimajor and semiminor bar axis scalelengths in the Galactic plane   x ₀, y ₀  , and vertical bar scalelength z ₀, is   x ₀ :  y ₀ :  z ₀= 10 : 3.5 : 2.6  , suggesting a slightly more prolate bar structure than the working model of Gerhard which gives the scalelength ratios as   x ₀ :  y ₀ :  z ₀= 10 : 4 : 3  .     

Contribution to the study of composite spectra: XI. Orbital elements of some faint systems

We present the results of a radial‐velocity study of nine new faint SB1 spectroscopic binaries with composite spectra: HD 137975‐6, 177984, HDE 226489, 231613‐4, 255387‐8, 256138‐9, 264997‐8, 276787 and 293041‐2. The observations were made at Haute‐Provence and Cambridge observatories with CORAVEL instruments between 1982 and 2006. From the radial‐velocity measurements of the cool components, we derive the orbital elements of those spectroscopic binaries for the first time. Using all the available data, we propose a model for each system that describes the nature of the individual components, with an estimation of the angular separation and orbital inclination. Finally we discuss the rotation–revolution synchronism of the cool components. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

东昆仑活动断裂带西大滩段断层气(Rn,CO2)的释放特征

通过在东昆仑活动断裂带西大滩段进行断层气测试,首次获取了该断裂带中Rn和CO2的释放量。在2004年开挖的2～3m深的探槽内,氡浓度可达20732Bq.m-3,氡发射率可达433mBq.m-2.s-1,远高于在地表的氡浓度505～2380Bq.m-3与氡发射率7～28.19mBq.m-2.s-1(地表氡发射率均值为14.7mBq.m-2.s-1,与世界平均值相当)。从而我们推断该断裂具有从上部第四系覆盖物到深部花岗岩之间的良好连通性。在地表CO2的析出率平均值为18.9g.m-2.d-1,与通常的背景值相当,在探槽中和距离断层1km的地方没有明显的空间变化,但是在断层北侧3km处的一个近乎直立的千枚岩小山上,CO2的析出率却很高,为421g.m-2.d-1,同时该处氡的发射率也高,达503mBq.m-2.s-1,因此,有必要在该断裂附近进行长期监测     

PILOT: a balloon-borne experiment to measure the polarized FIR emission of dust grains in the interstellar medium

Future cosmology space missions will concentrate on measuring the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background, which potentially carries invaluable information about the earliest phases of the evolution of our universe. Such ambitious projects will ultimately be limited by the sensitivity of the instrument and by the accuracy at which polarized foreground emission from our own Galaxy can be subtracted out. We present the PILOT balloon project, which aims at characterizing one of these foreground sources, the polarized continuum emission by dust in the diffuse interstellar medium. The PILOT experiment also constitutes a test-bed for using multiplexed bolometer arrays for polarization measurements. This paper presents the instrument and its expected performances. Performance measured during ground calibrations of the instrument and in flight will be described in a forthcoming paper.     

Interfacial tension measurements and wettability evaluation for geological CO2 storage

Interfacial interactions, namely interfacial tension, wettability, capillarity and interfacial mass transfer are known to govern fluid distribution and behavior in porous media. Therefore the interfacial interactions between CO₂, brine and oil and/or gas reservoirs have a significant influence on the effectiveness of any CO₂ storage operations. However, data and knowledge of interfacial properties in storage conditions are scarce. This issue becomes particularly true in the case of deep saline aquifers where limited, economically driven, data collection and archiving are available. In this paper, we present a complete set of brine–CO₂ interfacial tension data at pressure, temperature and salinity conditions, representative of a CO₂ storage operation. A semi-empirical correlation is proposed to calculate the interfacial tension from the experimental data. Wettability is studied at pore scale, using glass micromodels in order to track fluids distribution as a function of the thermodynamic properties and wettability conditions for water–CO₂ systems. With this approach, we show that, in strongly hydrophilic porous media, the CO₂ does not wet the solid surface whereas; if the porous media has less hydrophilic properties the CO₂ significantly wets the surface.