Close encounters in young stellar clusters: implications for planetary systems in the solar neighbourhood     

Daniel Malmberg  Francesca De Angeli  Melvyn B. Davies  Ross P. Church  Dougal Mackey  Mark I. Wilkinson 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,378(3):1207-1216

The stars that populate the solar neighbourhood were formed in stellar clusters. Through N -body simulations of these clusters, we measure the rate of close encounters between stars. By monitoring the interaction histories of each star, we investigate the singleton fraction in the solar neighbourhood. A singleton is a star which formed as a single star, has never experienced any close encounters with other stars or binaries, or undergone an exchange encounter with a binary. We find that, of the stars which formed as single stars, a significant fraction is not singletons once the clusters have dispersed. If some of these stars had planetary systems, with properties similar to those of the Solar System, the planets' orbits may have been perturbed by the effects of close encounters with other stars or the effects of a companion star within a binary. Such perturbations can lead to strong planet–planet interactions which eject several planets, leaving the remaining planets on eccentric orbits. Some of the single stars exchange into binaries. Most of these binaries are broken up via subsequent interactions within the cluster, but some remain intact beyond the lifetime of the cluster. The properties of these binaries are similar to those of the observed binary systems containing extrasolar planets. Thus, dynamical processes in young stellar clusters will alter significantly any population of Solar System-like planetary systems. In addition, beginning with a population of planetary systems exactly resembling the Solar System around single stars, dynamical encounters in young stellar clusters may produce at least some of the extrasolar planetary systems observed in the solar neighbourhood.  相似文献   

A novel method for the study and classification of shales     

J.M. Cubitt  J.G. Wilkinson 《Chemical Geology》1974,13(1):57-61

The electron spin resonance spectra of a range of shales, from the Upper Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian of Kansas, U.S.A., have been recorded. Cluster analysis of the spectral data produced a four-group classification of the samples. The results compare well with a classification based on X-ray diffraction results.  相似文献   

In situ U–Pb SIMS (IN-SIMS) micro-baddeleyite dating of mafic rocks: Method with examples     

Kevin R. Chamberlain  Axel K. Schmitt  Susan M. Swapp  T. Mark Harrison  Norbert Swoboda-Colberg  Wouter Bleeker  Tony D. Peterson  Charles W. Jefferson  Andrei K. Khudoley 《Precambrian Research》2010

An in situ U–Pb SIMS (IN-SIMS) method to date micro-baddeleyite crystals as small as 3 μm is presented with results from three samples that span a variety of ages and geologic settings. The method complements ID-TIMS geochronology by extending the range of dateable crystals to sizes smaller than can be recovered by physical separation. X-ray mapping and BSE imaging are used to locate target grains in thin section, followed by SIMS analysis on a CAMECA ims 1270, using the field aperture in the transfer column to screen out ions from host phases. Internal age precisions for the method are anticipated to range from 0.1% for Precambrian rocks to 3–7% for Phanerozoic rocks. Results establish a 2689 ± 5 Ma age for mafic dikes in the Wyoming craton, USA, a 1540 ± 30 Ma age for a subaerial lava flow from the Thelon Basin of northern Canada, and a 457 ± 34 Ma age for mafic dikes in the platform sequence of southeastern Siberia. The method is ideal for relatively non-destructive dating of small samples such as extraterrestrial rocks and precious terrestrial samples.  相似文献   

Management of freshwater lenses on small Pacific islands   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Ian White  Tony Falkland 《Hydrogeology Journal》2010,18(1):227-246

The nature of shallow aquifers and the impacts of seawater intrusion in small islands within the Pacific Ocean are reviewed. Many Pacific islands rely on shallow fresh groundwater lenses in highly permeable aquifers, underlain and surrounded by seawater, as their principal freshwater source. It is argued here that, in small islands, the nature of fresh groundwater lenses and their host aquifers coupled with frequent natural and ever-present anthropogenic threats make them some of the most vulnerable aquifer systems in the world. A simple steady-state approximation is used to provide insight into the key climatic, hydrogeological, physiographic, and management factors that influence the quantity of, and saline intrusion into freshwater lenses. Examples of the dynamic nature of freshwater lenses as they respond to these drivers are given. Natural and human-related threats to freshwater lenses are discussed. Long dry periods strongly coupled to sea surface temperatures impact on the quantity and salinity of fresh groundwater. The vulnerability of small island freshwater lenses dictates careful assessment, vigilant monitoring, appropriate development, and astute management. Strategies to aid future groundwater sustainability in small islands are presented and suggested improvements to donor and aid programs in water are also advanced.  相似文献   

Man as geological agent     

Tony Waltham  & Alan Forster 《Geology Today》1999,15(6):217-220

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Intrinsic intraday variability in the gravitational lens system B0218+357     

A. D. Biggs  I. W. A. Browne  P. N. Wilkinson 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2001,323(4):995-998

Radio monitoring of the gravitational lens system B0218+357 reveals it to be a highly variable source with variations on time-scales of a few days correlated in both images. This shows that the variability is intrinsic to the background lensed source and suggests that similar variations in other intraday variable sources can also be intrinsic in origin.  相似文献   

Global very long-baseline interferometry observations of compact radio sources in M82     

A. R. McDonald  T. W. B. Muxlow  A. Pedlar  M. A. Garrett  K. A. Wills  S. T. Garrington  P. J. Diamond  P. N. Wilkinson 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2001,322(1):100-106

Observations of the starburst galaxy, M82, have been made with a 20-station global very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) array at λ 18 cm. Maps are presented of the brightest young supernova remnants (SNR) in M82 and the wide-field mapping techniques used in making images over a field of view of ∼1 arcmin with 3-milliarcsecond resolution are discussed. A limit has been placed on the power-law deceleration of the young supernova remnant (SNR) 43.31+592 with an index greater than 0.73±0.11 from observations with the European VLBI Network. Using the global array we have resolved compact knots of radio emission in the source which, with future global observations, will enable better constraints to be placed on the expansion parameters of this SNR.
The latest global observations have also provided high-resolution images of the most compact radio source in M82, 41.95+575. We determine an upper limit to the radial expansion rate along the major axis of 2000 km s⁻¹. However, the new images also show structure resembling that of collimated ejection which brings into question the previous explanation of the source as being a result of the confinement of a supernova by a high-density circumstellar medium.
It is apparent that we are now able to image the brightest supernova remnants in M82 with a linear scale which allows direct comparison with galactic SNR such as Cassiopeia A.  相似文献   

Dark matter in dwarf spheroidals – II. Observations and modelling of Draco     

J.Kleyna  M. I.Wilkinson  N. W.Evans  G.Gilmore  C.Frayn 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2002,330(4):792-806

We present stellar radial velocity data for the Draco dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy obtained using the AF2/WYFFOS instrument combination on the William Herschel Telescope. Our data set consists of 186 member stars, 159 of which have good quality velocities, extending to a magnitude   V ≈19.5  with a mean velocity precision of ≈2 km s⁻¹. As this survey is based on a high-precision photometric target list, it contains many more Draco members at large radii. For the first time, this allows a robust determination of the radial behaviour of the velocity dispersion in a dSph.
We find statistically strong evidence of a rising velocity dispersion consistent with a dark matter halo that has a gently rising rotation curve. There is a <2 σ signature of rotation about the long axis, inconsistent with tidal disruption as the source of the rising dispersion. By comparing our data set with earlier velocities, we find that Draco probably has a binary distribution and fraction comparable to those in the solar neighbourhood.
We apply a novel maximum likelihood algorithm and fit the velocity data to a two parameter spherical model with an adjustable dark matter content and velocity anisotropy. Draco is best fit by a weakly tangentially anisotropic distribution of stellar orbits in a dark matter halo with a very slowly rising rotation law  ( v _circ∝ r ^0.17)  . We are able to rule out both a mass-follows-light distribution and an extended halo with a harmonic core at the 2.5 to 3 σ significance level, depending on the details of our assumptions about Draco's stellar binary population. Our modelling lends support to the idea that the dark matter in dwarf spheroidals is distributed in the form of massive, nearly isothermal haloes.  相似文献   

Black holes in 4 nearby radio galaxies     

Jeremy Mould  Tony Readhead  Garret Cotter  David Batt  Mark Durré 《Astrophysics and Space Science》2015,356(2):347-351

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A photometrically and kinematically distinct core in the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy     

Jan T. Kleyna  Mark I. Wilkinson  N. Wyn Evans  Gerard Gilmore 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,354(4):L66-L72

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