Stellar forensics — II. Millisecond pulsar binaries     

Brad M. S. Hansen  & Sterl Phinney 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,294(4):569-581

We use the grid of models described in Paper I to analyse those millisecond pulsar binaries whose secondaries have been studied optically. In particular, we find cooling ages for these binary systems that range from < 1 to ∼ 15 Gyr. Comparison of cooling ages and characteristic spin-down ages allows us to constrain the initial spin periods and spin-up histories for individual systems, showing that at least some millisecond pulsars had sub-Eddington accretion rates and long magnetic field decay times.  相似文献   

Establishing Quaternary as a formal internationa Period/System     

James G. Ogg Brad Pillans 《《幕》》2008,31(2):230-233

Despite being the most widely used unit infield mapping and having the greatest number of active researchers, the interval known as Quaternary is unique among the chronostratigraphic subdivisions of the Geological Time Scale （GTS） in having the most controversial definition and rank. After more than 100 years of debate, the base of the Quaternary is now widely recognized at -2.6 Ma, marking a dramatic and so-far irreversible shift to the ice-age-dominated world of oscillating glacial advances over the northern continents.  相似文献   

Carbon dioxide on the satellites of Saturn: Results from the Cassini VIMS investigation and revisions to the VIMS wavelength scale     

Dale P. Cruikshank  Allan W. Meyer  Roger N. Clark  Katrin Stephan  Scott A. Sandford  Gianrico Filacchione  Philip D. Nicholson  Thomas B. McCord  J. Brad Dalton  Dennis L. Matson 《Icarus》2010,206(2):561-572

Several of the icy satellites of Saturn show the spectroscopic signature of the asymmetric stretching mode of C-O in carbon dioxide (CO₂) at or near the nominal solid-phase laboratory wavelength of 4.2675 μm (2343.3 cm⁻¹), discovered with the Visible-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on the Cassini spacecraft. We report here on an analysis of the variation in wavelength and width of the CO₂ absorption band in the spectra of Phoebe, Iapetus, Hyperion, and Dione. Comparisons are made to laboratory spectra of pure CO₂, CO₂ clathrates, ternary mixtures of CO₂ with other volatiles, implanted and adsorbed CO₂ in non-volatile materials, and ab initio theoretical calculations of CO₂ * nH₂O. At the wavelength resolution of VIMS, the CO₂ on Phoebe is indistinguishable from pure CO₂ ice (each molecule’s nearby neighbors are also CO₂) or type II clathrate of CO₂ in H₂O. In contrast, the CO₂ band on Iapetus, Hyperion, and Dione is shifted to shorter wavelengths (typically ∼4.255 μm (∼2350.2 cm⁻¹)) and broadened. These wavelengths are characteristic of complexes of CO₂ with different near-neighbor molecules that are encountered in other volatile mixtures such as with H₂O and CH₃OH, and non-volatile host materials like silicates, some clays, and zeolites. We suggest that Phoebe’s CO₂ is native to the body as part of the initial inventory of condensates and now exposed on the surface, while CO₂ on the other three satellites results at least in part from particle or UV irradiation of native H₂O plus a source of C, implantation or accretion from external sources, or redistribution of native CO₂ from the interior.The analysis presented here depends on an accurate VIMS wavelength scale. In preparation for this work, the baseline wavelength calibration for the Cassini VIMS was found to be distorted around 4.3 μm, apparently as a consequence of telluric CO₂ gas absorption in the pre-launch calibration. The effect can be reproduced by convolving a sequence of model detector response profiles with a deep atmospheric CO₂ absorption profile, producing distorted detector profile shapes and shifted central positions. In a laboratory blackbody spectrum used for radiance calibration, close examination of the CO₂ absorption profile shows a similar deviation from that expected from a model. These modeled effects appear to be sufficient to explain the distortion in the existing wavelength calibration now in use. A modification to the wavelength calibration for 13 adjacent bands is provided. The affected channels span about 0.2 μm centered on 4.28 μm. The maximum wavelength change is about 10 nm toward longer wavelength. This adjustment has implications for interpretation of some of the spectral features observed in the affected wavelength interval, such as from CO₂, as discussed in this paper.  相似文献   

Sulfur chemistry in the Venus mesosphere from SO₂ and SO microwave spectra     

Brad J. Sandor  R. Todd Clancy  Gerald Moriarty-Schieven 《Icarus》2010,208(1):49-60

First measurements of SO₂ and SO in the Venus mesosphere (70-100 km) are reported. This altitude range is distinctly above the ∼60-70 km range to which nadir-sounding IR and UV investigations are sensitive. Since July 2004, use of ground-based sub-mm spectroscopy has yielded multiple discoveries. Abundance of each molecule varies strongly on many timescales over the entire sub-Earth Venus hemisphere. Diurnal behavior is evident, with more SO₂, and less SO, at night than during the day. Non-diurnal variability is also present, with measured SO₂ and SO abundances each changing by up to 2× or more between observations conducted on different dates, but at fixed phase, hence identical sub-Earth Venus local times. Change as large and rapid as a 5σ doubling of SO on a one-week timescale is seen. The sum of SO₂ and SO abundances varies by an order of magnitude or more, indicating at least one additional sulfur reservoir must be present, and that it must function as both a sink and source for these molecules. The ratio SO₂/SO varies by nearly two orders of magnitude, with both diurnal and non-diurnal components. In contrast to the strong time dependence of molecular abundances, their altitude distributions are temporally invariant, with far more SO₂ and SO at 85-100 km than at 70-85 km. The observed increase of SO₂ mixing ratio with altitude requires that the primary SO₂ source be upper mesospheric photochemistry, contrary to atmospheric models which assert upward transport as the only source of above-cloud SO₂. Abundance of upper mesospheric aerosol, with assumption that it is composed primarily of sulfuric acid, is at least sufficient to provide the maximum gas phase (SO + SO₂) sulfur reported in this study. Sulfate aerosol is thus a plausible source of upper mesospheric SO₂.  相似文献   

Optimal water depth management on river-fed National Wildlife Refuges in a changing climate     

Sam Nicol  Brad Griffith  Jane Austin  Christine M. Hunter 《Climatic change》2014,124(1-2):271-284

The prairie pothole region (PPR) in the north-central United States and south-central Canada constitutes the most important waterfowl breeding area in North America. Projected long-term changes in precipitation and temperature may alter the drivers of waterfowl abundance: wetland availability and emergent vegetation cover. Previous studies have focused on isolated wetland dynamics, but the implications of changing precipitation on managed, river-fed wetlands have not been addressed. Using a structured decision making (SDM) approach, we derived optimal water management actions for 20 years at four river-fed National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in North and South Dakota under contrasting increasing/decreasing (+/?0.4 %/year) inflow scenarios derived from empirical trends. Refuge pool depth is manipulated by control structures. Optimal management involves setting control structure heights that have the highest probability of providing a desired mix of waterfowl habitat, given refuge capacities and inflows. We found optimal seasonal control structure heights for each refuge were essentially the same under increasing and decreasing inflow trends of 0.4 %/year over the next 20 years. Results suggest managed pools in the NWRs receive large inflows relative to their capacities. Hence, water availability does not constrain management; pool bathymetry and management tactics can be greater constraints on attaining management objectives than climate-mediated inflow. We present time-dependent optimal seasonal control structure heights for each refuge, which are resilient to the non-stationary precipitation scenarios we examined. Managers can use this information to provide a desired mixture of wildlife habitats, and to re-assess management objectives in reserves where pool bathymetry prevents attaining the currently stated objectives.  相似文献   

Post-peak,fluid-mediated modification of granulite facies zircon and monazite in the Trivandrum Block,southern India     

Richard J. M. Taylor  Chris Clark  Ian C. W. Fitzsimons  M. Santosh  M. Hand  Noreen Evans  Brad McDonald 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》2014,168(2):1-17

The quarry at Kottavattom in the Trivandrum Block of southern India contains spectacular examples of fluid-assisted alteration of high-grade metamorphic rocks. Garnet-biotite gneiss has undergone a change in mineral assemblage to form submetre scale orthopyroxene-bearing patches, later retrogressed to form an amphibole-bearing lithology. These patches, often referred to as arrested or incipient charnockite, crosscut the original metamorphic foliation and are typically attributed to passage of a low aH₂O fluid through the rock. Whilst this conversion is recognised as a late stage process, little detailed chronological work exists to link it temporally to metamorphism in the region. Zircon and monazite analysed from Kottavattom not only record metamorphism in the Trivandrum Block but also show internal, lobate textures crosscutting the original zoning, consistent with fluid-aided coupled dissolution-reprecipitation during formation of the orthopyroxene-bearing patches. High-grade metamorphism at the quarry occurred between the formation of metamorphic monazite at ~585 Ma and the growth of metamorphic zircon at ~523 Ma. The fluid-assisted alteration of the garnet-biotite gneiss is poorly recorded by altered zircon with only minimal resetting of the U–Pb system, whereas monazite has in some cases undergone complete U–Pb resetting and records an age for fluid infiltration at ~495 Ma. The fluid event therefore places the formation of the altered patches at least 25 Myr after the zircon crystallisation in the garnet-biotite gneiss. The most likely fluid composition causing the modification and U–Pb resetting of zircon and monazite is locally derived hypersaline brine.  相似文献   

Neutron star retention and millisecond pulsar production in globular clusters     

Melvyn B. Davies  & Brad M. S. Hansen 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》1998,301(1):15-24

We investigate the conditions by which neutron star retention in globular clusters is favoured. We find that neutron stars formed in massive binaries are far more likely to be retained. Such binaries are likely to then evolve into contact before encountering other stars, possibly producing a single neutron star after a common envelope phase. A large fraction of the single neutron stars in globular clusters are then likely to exchange into binaries containing moderate-mass main-sequence stars, replacing the lower-mass components of the original systems. These binaries will become intermediate-mass X-ray binaries (IMXBs), once the moderate-mass star evolves off the main sequence, as mass is transferred on to the neutron star, possibly spinning it up in the process. Such systems may be responsible for the population of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that has been observed in globular clusters. Additionally, the period of mass-transfer (and thus X-ray visibility) in the vast majority of such systems will have occurred 5–10 Gyr ago, thus explaining the observed relative paucity of X-ray binaries today, given the MSP population.  相似文献   

NASA Landsat program accomplishments continue to make a difference II     

Kamlesh Lulla  M. Duane Nellis  Brad Rundquist 《国际地球制图》2013,28(5)

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On the origin of fluorine in the Milky Way     

Agostino Renda  Yeshe Fenner  Brad K. Gibson  Amanda I. Karakas  John C. Lattanzio  Simon Campbell  Alessandro Chieffi  Katia Cunha  Verne V. Smith 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,354(2):575-580

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The evolution of substructure – II. Linking dynamics to environment     

Stuart P. D. Gill  Alexander Knebe  Brad K. Gibson  Michael A. Dopita 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,351(2):410-422

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