58,628 research outputs found
The abundance of interstellar sulphur and zinc in high density sight-lines
On the basis of early absorption line studies of individual lines of sight with the Copernicus satellite, chlorine, sulphur and zinc were classed together as elements which showed little or no depletion, relative to hydrogen, in the interstellar medium. The abundances of other less volatile elements, such as Fe and Mg were found to vary widely from one sight-line to another with gas-phase abundances in some cases being orders of magnitude below their solar counterparts. Detailed studies are reported of the depletion/density behavior of two other volatile elements which were previously considered to be virtually undepleted, S and Zn, using equivalent width data from both Copernicus and IUE observations. The results provide further evidence that the established dependence of depletion on n bar (H) extends to volatile elements and show that their use as tracers of metallicity, or for estimating hydrogen column densities, may lead to large errors in sight-lines through dense regions. It now appears that such elements may take part in the surface chemistry of grains and be important constituents of grain mantle material, although they probably do not contribute significantly to the bulk mass of grains. Due to the very similar atomic masses and ionization potentials of sulphur and phosphorous, the thermal velocity distributions of the singly ionized species of these elements in interstellar clouds should be very similar. However, a comparison of Doppler widths (b-values) derived for SIT and PIT in the same sight-lines from the Bohlin et al Copernicus equivalent width measurements has revealed an unexpected systematic discrepancy of a factor of approx. 1.7. This Discrepancy indicates that the normally adopted oscillators strengths of the PII lambda lambda 1153 and 1302 A lines may require revision
X-ray variability in M87
We present the evidence for X-ray variability from the core and from knot A
in the M87 jet based on data from two observations with the Einstein
Observatory High Resolution Imager (HRI) and three observations with the ROSAT
HRI. The core intensity showed a 16% increase in 17 months ('79-'80); a 12%
increase in the 3 years '92 to '95; and a 17% drop in the last half of 1995.
The intensity of knot A appears to have decreased by 16% between 92Jun and
95Dec. Although the core variability is consistent with general expectations
for AGN nuclei, the changes in knot A provide constraints on the x-ray emission
process and geometry. Thus we predict that the x-ray morphology of knot A will
differ significantly from the radio and optical structure.Comment: 9 pages latex plus 6 ps figs. To appear in Monthly Notices of the RA
Extreme 18O-enrichment in majorite constrains a crustal origin of transition zone diamonds
The fate of subducted oceanic lithosphere and its role in the planet-scale geochemical cycle is a key problem in solid Earth studies. Asthenospheric and transition zone minerals included in diamond have been interpreted as representing subducted oceanic crust based on inclusion REE patterns and strong 13C depletion of their host diamond (δ13C as low as -23 ‰). This view/explanation, however, has been challenged by alternative interpretations that variable carbon isotopic compositions either result from high temperature fractionation involving carbides, or reflect primordial, unhomogenised mantle reservoirs. Here, we present the first oxygen isotope analyses of inclusions in such ultradeep diamonds – majoritic garnets in diamond from Jagersfontein (South Africa). The oxygen isotope compositions provide unambiguous evidence for derivation of the inclusions from subducted crustal materials. The δ18OVSMOW values of the majorites range from +8.6 ‰ to +10.0 ‰, well outside that of ambient mantle (+5.5 ±0.4 ‰) and indicate that the protoliths were very heavily weathered at relatively low temperatures. When this information is combined with the broadly eclogitic composition of the majoritic garnets, a derivation from subducted sea-floor basalts is implied. Based on the association between the heavy oxygen and light carbon, the light carbon isotope composition cannot relate to deep mantle processes and is also ultimately derived from the crust
Diamonds on the Hat: Globular Clusters in The Sombrero Galaxy (M104)
Images from the HST ACS are used to carry out a new photometric study of the
globular clusters (GCs) in M104, the Sombrero galaxy. The primary focus of our
study is the characteristic distribution function of linear sizes (SDF) of the
GCs. We measure the effective radii for 652 clusters with PSF-convolved King
and Wilson dynamical model fits. The SDF is remarkably similar to those
measured for other large galaxies of all types, adding strong support to the
view that it is a "universal" feature of globular cluster systems.
We develop a more general interpretation of the size distribution function
for globular clusters, proposing that the shape of the SDF that we see today
for GCs is strongly influenced by the early rapid mass loss during their star
forming stage, coupled with stochastic differences from cluster to cluster in
the star formation efficiency (SFE) and their initial sizes. We find that the
observed SDF shape can be accurately predicted by a simple model in which the
protocluster clouds had characteristic sizes of pc and SFEs of
. The colors and luminosities of the M104 clusters show the
clearly defined classic bimodal form. The blue sequence exhibits a
mass/metallicity relation (MMR), following a scaling of heavy-element abundance
with luminosity of very similar to what has been found in most
giant elliptical galaxies. A quantitative self-enrichment model provides a good
first-order match to the data for the same initial SFE and protocluster size
that were required to explain the SDF. We also discuss various forms of the
globular cluster Fundamental Plane (FP) of structural parameters, and show that
useful tests of it can be extended to galaxies beyond the Local Group.Comment: In press for MNRA
Low-density series expansions for directed percolation IV. Temporal disorder
We introduce a model for temporally disordered directed percolation in which
the probability of spreading from a vertex , where is the time and
is the spatial coordinate, is independent of but depends on . Using
a very efficient algorithm we calculate low-density series for bond percolation
on the directed square lattice. Analysis of the series yields estimates for the
critical point and various critical exponents which are consistent with a
continuous change of the critical parameters as the strength of the disorder is
increased.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Branching Transition of a Directed Polymer in Random Medium
A directed polymer is allowed to branch, with configurations determined by
global energy optimization and disorder. A finite size scaling analysis in 2D
shows that, if disorder makes branching more and more favorable, a critical
transition occurs from the linear scaling regime first studied by Huse and
Henley [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2708 (1985)] to a fully branched, compact one. At
criticality clear evidence is obtained that the polymer branches at all scales
with dimension and roughness exponent satisfying , and energy fluctuation exponent , in terms of longitudinal distanceComment: REVTEX, 4 pages, 3 encapsulated eps figure
- …