Advances in understanding of the mechanism for generation of earthquake thermal precursors detected by satellites     

Arun K. Saraf  Vineeta Rawat  Swapnamita Choudhury  Sudipta Dasgupta  Josodhir Das 《International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation》2009

Stresses building up during an earthquake preparation phase also manifest themselves in the form of a so called increased land surface temperature (LST) leading to a thermal precursor prior to the earthquake event. This phenomenon has now been validated by our observations of short-term thermal anomalies detected by infrared satellite sensors for several recent past earthquakes around the world. The rise in infrared radiance temperature was seen to vary between 5 and 12 °C for different earthquakes. We discuss in this paper different explanations for the generation of such anomalies that have been offered. Emission of gases due to the opening and closure of micropores upon induced stresses and also the participation of ground water have been propounded as a possible cause for generation of thermal anomalies. Seismo-ionosphere coupling, by which gases like radon move to the earth–atmosphere interface and cause air ionization thus bringing about a change in air temperature, relative humidity, etc., has been put forth by some workers. A mechanism of low frequency electromagnetic emission was tested and experimented by scientists with rock masses in stressed conditions as those that exist at tectonic locations. The workers proposed the positive hole pair theory, which received support from several scientific groups. Positive holes (sites of electron deficiency) are activated in stressed rocks from pre-existing yet dormant positive hole pairs (PHPs) and their recombination at rock–air interface leads to a LST rise. A combination of remote sensing detection of rock mechanics behavior with a perception of chemistry and geophysics has been applied to propose the remote sensing rock mechanics theory. Remote sensing detections of such anomalies confirm so far proposed lab theories for such a hotly debated field as earthquake precursor study by providing unbiased observations with consistency in time and space distribution.  相似文献   

Spatially resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy of IC 5063     

S. Young †  C. Packham  R. E. Mason  J. T. Radomski  C. M. Telesco 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,378(3):888-892

We present spatially resolved 10-μm spectra of the nucleus of IC 5063 that are near-diffraction-limited. The observations were obtained with T-ReCS, the mid-infrared (mid-IR) imager and spectrometer on the 8.1-m Gemini South telescope, with the slit aligned at a position angle on the sky along the direction of the cone of narrow-line emission. The spectra cover the nucleus and the inner reaches of the ionization cones at a spatial resolution of approximately 0.4 arcsec (90 pc). Individual spectra, extracted in steps in the spatial direction along the slit, reveal variations in continuum slope and silicate feature profile and depth on subarcsecond scales, illustrating in unprecedented detail the complexity of the circumnuclear regions of this galaxy at mid-IR wavelengths. The dust population in the vicinity of the narrow-line region, north-west of the nuclear position, is significantly warmer than that to the south-east of the nucleus. This is consistent with an observation of the cooler dust associated with the outer reaches of the postulated torus that obscures the type 1 nucleus in this object.  相似文献   

GRO J1744−28, search for the counterpart: infrared photometry and spectroscopy     

A. J. Gosling  R. M. Bandyopadhyay  J. C. A. Miller-Jones  S. A. Farrell 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,380(4):1511-1520

  相似文献   

Variations in 24-μm morphologies among galaxies in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey: new insights into the Hubble sequence     

G. J. Bendo  D. Calzetti  C. W. Engelbracht  R. C. Kennicutt Jr    M. J. Meyer  M. D. Thornley  F. Walter  D. A. Dale  A. Li  E. J. Murphy 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,380(4):1313-1334

To study the distribution of star formation and dust emission within nearby galaxies, we measured five morphological parameters in the 3.6- and 24-μm wavebands for 65 galaxies in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) and eight galaxies that were serendipitously observed by SINGS. The morphological parameters demonstrate strong variations along the Hubble sequence, including statistically significant differences between S0/a-Sab and Sc-Sd galaxies. Early-type galaxies are generally found to be compact, centralized, symmetric sources in the 24-μm band, while late-type galaxies are generally found to be extended, asymmetric sources. These results suggest that the processes that increase the real or apparent sizes of galaxies' bulges also lead to more centralized 24-μm dust emission. Several phenomena, such as strong nuclear star formation, Seyfert activity, or outer ring structures, may cause galaxies to deviate from the general morphological trends observed at 24 μm. We also note that the 24-μm morphologies of Sdm-Im galaxies are quite varied, with some objects appearing very compact and symmetric but others appearing diffuse and asymmetric. These variations reflect the wide variation in star formation in irregular galaxies as observed at other wavelengths. The variations in the 24-μm morphological parameters across the Hubble sequence mirror many of the morphological trends seen in other tracers of the ISM and in stellar emission. However, the 24-μm morphological parameters for the galaxies in this sample do not match the morphological parameters measured in the stellar wavebands. This implies that the distribution of dust emission is related to but not equivalent to the distribution of stellar emission.  相似文献   

Lyman break galaxies at z∼ 1 and the evolution of dust attenuation in star-forming galaxies with redshift     

D. Burgarella  E. Le Floc'h  T. T. Takeuchi  J. S. Huang  V. Buat  G. H. Rieke  K. D. Tyler 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,380(3):986-998

  相似文献   

Near-infrared polarimetry and modelling of the dusty young planetary nebula IRAS 19306+1407     

K. T. E. Lowe  T. M. Gledhill 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,374(1):176-186

We present near-infrared polarimetric images of the dusty circumstellar envelope (CSE) of IRAS 19306+1407, acquired at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) using the UKIRT 1–5 μm Imager Spectrometer (UIST) in conjunction with the half-waveplate module IRPOL2. We present additional 450- and 850-μm photometry data obtained with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), as well as archived Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) F606W - and F814W -filter images. The CSE structure in polarized flux at J and K bands shows an elongation north of north-east and south of south-west with two bright scattering shoulders north-west and south-east. These features are not perpendicular to each other and could signify a recent 'twist' in the outflow axis. We model the CSE using an axisymmetric light scattering ( als ) code to investigate the polarization produced by the CSE, and an axisymmetric radiation transport ( dart ) code to fit the spectral energy distribution. A good fit was achieved with the als and dart models using silicate grains, 0.1–0.4 μm with a power-law size distribution of a ^−3.5, and an axisymmetric shell geometry with an equator-to-pole ratio of 7:1. The spectral type of the central star is determined to be B1 i supporting previous suggestions that the object is an early planetary nebula. We have constrained the CSE and interstellar extinction as 2.0 and 4.2 mag, respectively, and have estimated a distance of 2.7 kpc. At this distance, the stellar luminosity is ∼4500 L_⊙ and the mass of the CSE is ∼0.2 M_⊙. We also determine that the mass loss lasted for ∼5300 yr with a mass-loss rate of ∼3.4 × 10⁻⁵ M_⊙ yr⁻¹.  相似文献   

Ultraviolet dust attenuation in spiral galaxies: the role of age-dependent extinction and the initial mass function     

P. Panuzzo  G. L. Granato  V. Buat  A. K. Inoue  L. Silva  J. Iglesias-Páramo  A. Bressan 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,375(2):640-648

  相似文献   

The stellar mass content of distant galaxy groups     

Michael L. Balogh  Dave Wilman  Robert D. E. Henderson  Richard G. Bower  David Gilbank  Richard Whitaker  Simon L. Morris  George Hau  J. S. Mulchaey  A. Oemler  Jr    R. G. Carlberg 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,374(3):1169-1180

  相似文献   

Long-term infrared variability of the UX Ori-type star SV Cep     

A. Juhász  T. Prusti  P. Ábrahám  C. P. Dullemond 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,374(4):1242-1252

We investigate the long-term optical–infrared variability of SV Cep and explain it in the context of an existing UX Ori (UXOR) model. A 25-month monitoring programme was completed with the Infrared Space Observatory in the 3.3–100 μm wavelength range. Following a careful data reduction, the infrared light curves were correlated with the variations of SV Cep in the V band. A remarkable correlation was found between the optical and the far-infrared light curves. In the mid-infrared regime, the amplitude of variations is lower, with a hint for a weak anti-correlation with the optical changes. In order to interpret the observations, we modelled the spectral energy distribution of SV Cep assuming a self-shadowed disc with a puffed-up inner rim, using a two-dimensional radiative transfer code. We found that modifying the height of the inner rim, the wavelength dependence of the long-term optical–infrared variations is well reproduced, except the mid-infrared domain. The origin of variation of the rim height might be fluctuation in the accretion rate in the outer disc. In order to model the mid-infrared behaviour, we tested adding an optically thin envelope to the system, but this model failed to explain the far-infrared variability. Infrared variability is a powerful tool to discriminate between models of the circumstellar environment. The proposed mechanism of variable rim height may not be restricted to UXOR stars, but might be a general characteristic of intermediate-mass young stars.  相似文献   

2MASS near-infrared photometry of symbiotic stars     

J. P. Phillips 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,376(3):1120-1132

We present Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry for 216 symbiotic and possible symbiotic stars. This represents the most comprehensive near-infrared photometry for these sources which has been published to date. The results are used to define the statistics of S- and D-type stars; to investigate the photometric properties of Magellanic S-type symbiotics; and to define the possible evolution of D-type symbiotics within the J − H / H − K _S colour plane. It appears that the colours of D-type symbiotics are consistent with differing mass-loss rates d M /d t , provided that the grains have a silicate-like composition, and maximum temperatures of the order of ∼800 K.  相似文献