Absolute Lineshifts - A new diagnostic for stellar hydrodynamics

For hydrodynamic model atmospheres, absolute lineshifts are becoming an observable diagnostic tool beyond the classical ones of line-strength, -width, -shape, and -asymmetry. This is the wavelength displacement of different types of spectral lines away from the positions naively expected from the Doppler shift caused by stellar radial motion. Caused mainly by correlated velocity and brightness patterns in granular convection, such absolute lineshifts could in the past be studied only for the Sun (since the relative Sun-Earth motion, and the ensuing Doppler shift is known). For other stars, this is now becoming possible thanks to three separate developments: (a) Astrometric determination of stellar radial motion; (b) High-resolution spectrometers with accurate wavelength calibration, and (c) Accurate laboratory wavelengths for several atomic species. Absolute lineshifts offer a tool to segregate various 2- and 3-dimensional models, and to identify non-LTE effects in line formation.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures; to appear in "Modelling of Stellar Atmospheres", IAU Symp.210; N.E.Piskunov, W.W.Weiss, D.F.Gray (eds.

The Learning of Ancient Languages as\ud (super)Human Effort

Problems around teaching ancient languages are discussed. It is suggested to assume that\ud learning and teaching of languages require some superhuman effort. Author’s experience of\ud teaching ancient languages and producing electronic educational tools both for text version\ud and for Internet in Faculty of Theology in University of Latvia is described. Problems around\ud cognitive models of reasoning and place of languages there are discussed

Quanta Mathematica Instrumentalis!

Quanta mathematica instrumentalis, from Latin, might mean How much mathematics for physical applications. But we try to give this expression another meaning. \ud We discuss how mathematics and its instrumental nature could serve as paradigm for other human activities and science in general. We introduce notions of higher observer and field of information. We discuss question why we are to study and develop mathematics more diligently than we do in natural way.\u

On building 4-critical plane and projective plane multiwheels from odd wheels

We build unbounded classes of plane and projective plane multiwheels that are 4-critical that are received summing odd wheels as edge sums modulo two. These classes can be considered as ascending from single common graph that can be received as edge sum modulo two of the octahedron graph O and the minimal wheel W3. All graphs of these classes belong to 2n-2-edges-class of graphs, among which are those that quadrangulate projective plane, i.e., graphs from Gr\"otzsch class, received applying Mycielski's Construction to odd cycle.Comment: 10 page

The One Savior Paradigm

The one savior paradigm is discussed not only as doctrinal aspect of religious teachings but as one of mostly manifested aspect of our psychic that should be adequately investigated. We suggest simple idea that could serve as starting cognitive model for the one savior paradigm, that might give effect in considering global aspects of humanity, e.g., such as global economy and exact sciences in more friendly connection with religious thinking.religion, theology, science, art, cognition, society, global economy, noosphere, accessibility to information

Stellar intensity interferometry over kilometer baselines: Laboratory simulation of observations with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

A long-held astronomical vision is to realize diffraction-limited optical aperture synthesis over kilometer baselines. This will enable imaging of stellar surfaces and their environments, show their evolution over time, and reveal interactions of stellar winds and gas flows in binary star systems. An opportunity is now opening up with the large telescope arrays primarily erected for measuring Cherenkov light in air induced by gamma rays. With suitable software, such telescopes could be electronically connected and used also for intensity interferometry. With no optical connection between the telescopes, the error budget is set by the electronic time resolution of a few nanoseconds. Corresponding light-travel distances are on the order of one meter, making the method practically insensitive to atmospheric turbulence or optical imperfections, permitting both very long baselines and observing at short optical wavelengths. Theoretical modeling has shown how stellar surface images can be retrieved from such observations and here we report on experimental simulations. In an optical laboratory, artificial stars (single and double, round and elliptic) are observed by an array of telescopes. Using high-speed photon-counting solid-state detectors and real-time electronics, intensity fluctuations are cross correlated between up to a hundred baselines between pairs of telescopes, producing maps of the second-order spatial coherence across the interferometric Fourier-transform plane. These experiments serve to verify the concepts and to optimize the instrumentation and observing procedures for future observations with (in particular) CTA, the Cherenkov Telescope Array, aiming at order-of-magnitude improvements of the angular resolution in optical astronomy.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures; Presented at SPIE conference on Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, June 2014. To appear in SPIE Proc.9146, Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV (J.K.Rajagopal, M.J.Creech-Eakman, F.Malbet, eds.), 201

Astrometric radial velocities. I. Non-spectroscopic methods for measuring stellar radial velocity

High-accuracy astrometry permits the determination of not only stellar tangential motion, but also the component along the line-of-sight. Such non-spectroscopic (i.e. astrometric) radial velocities are independent of stellar atmospheric dynamics, spectral complexity and variability, as well as of gravitational redshift. Three methods are analysed: (1) changing annual parallax, (2) changing proper motion and (3) changing angular extent of a moving group of stars. All three have significant potential in planned astrometric projects. Current accuracies are still inadequate for the first method, while the second is marginally feasible and is here applied to 16 stars. The third method reaches high accuracy (<1 km/s) already with present data, although for some clusters an accuracy limit is set by uncertainties in the cluster expansion rate.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (main journal