Heteroatom-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbons, a-C:H:X 'Volatile' silicon, sulphur and nitrogen depletion, blue photoluminescence, diffuse interstellar bands and ferro-magnetic carbon grain connections (Research Note)

Context. Hydrogenated amorphous carbons, a-C:H, can incorporate a variety of heteroatoms, which can lead to interesting effects. Aims. To investigate the doping of interstellar a-C:H grains with, principally, Si, O, N and S atoms within the astrophysical context. Methods. A search of the literature on doped a-C:H reveals a number of interesting phenomena of relevance to astrophysics. Results. X dopants in a-C:H:X materials can affect the sp3/sp2 ratio (X = Si, O and N), lead to blue photoluminescence (undoped or X = N), induce ferromagnetic-like behaviour (X = N and S) or simply be incorporated (depleted) into the structure (X = Si, O, N and S). Si and N atoms could also incorporate into fullerenes, possibly forming colour-centres that could mimic diffuse interstellar bands. Conclusions. Doped a-C:H grains could explain several dust-related conundrums, such as: 'volatile' Si in photo-dissociation regions, S and N depletion in molecular clouds, blue luminescence, some diffuse interstellar bands and ferromagnetism in carbonaceous grains.Comment: 5 page

Classification and Galois conjugacy of Hamming maps

We show that for each d>0 the d-dimensional Hamming graph H(d,q) has an orientably regular surface embedding if and only if q is a prime power p^e. If q>2 there are up to isomorphism \phi(q-1)/e such maps, all constructed as Cayley maps for a d-dimensional vector space over the field of order q. We show that for each such pair d, q the corresponding Belyi pairs are conjugate under the action of the absolute Galois group, and we determine their minimal field of definition. We also classify the orientably regular embedding of merged Hamming graphs for q>3

Forward bearing reactor mechanism for Titan 3-E/Centaur D-1T space launch vehicle

System between the Titan/Centaur launch vehicle and its aerodynamic shroud is described. The system provides a precise spring constant and is capable of being inactivated during flight. Design requirements, design details, and the test program are discussed. The conventional English system of units was used during this development program for all principal measurements and calculations