The Janus head of the HD 12661 planetary system

In this work we perform a global analysis of the radial velocity curve of the HD 12661 system. Orbital fits that are obtained by the genetic and gradient algorithms of minimization reveal the proximity of the system to the 6:1 mean motion resonance. The orbits are locked in the secular resonance with apsidal axes librating about 180 deg with the full amplitude $\simeq (90,180) deg$. Our solution incorporates the mutual interaction between the companions. The stability analysis with the MEGNO fast indicator shows that the system is located in an extended stable zone of quasi-periodic motions. These results are different from those obtained on the basis of the orbital fit published by Fischer et al. (2003)Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, manuscript submitted to ApJ Letters, revised versio

Non-integrability of the problem of a rigid satellite in gravitational and magnetic fields

In this paper we analyse the integrability of a dynamical system describing the rotational motion of a rigid satellite under the influence of gravitational and magnetic fields. In our investigations we apply an extension of the Ziglin theory developed by Morales-Ruiz and Ramis. We prove that for a symmetric satellite the system does not admit an additional real meromorphic first integral except for one case when the value of the induced magnetic moment along the symmetry axis is related to the principal moments of inertia in a special way.Comment: 39 pages, 4 figures, missing bibliography was adde

Effects of very high turbulence on convective heat transfer

The effects of high-intensity, large-scale turbulence on turbulent boundary-layer heat transfer are studied. Flow fields were produced with turbulence intensities up to 40% and length scales up to several times the boundary layer thickness. In addition, three different types of turbulence will be compared to see whether they have the same effect on the boundary layer. The three are: the far field of a free jet, flow downstream of a grid, and flow downstream of a simulated gas turbine combustor. Each turbulence field will be characterized by several measures: intensity (by component), scale, and spectrum. Heat transfer will be measured on a 2.5 m long, 0.5 m wide flat plate using the energy-balance technique. The same plate will be used in each of the four flow fields; a low-turbulence tunnel for baseline data, and the three flow situations mentioned

Non-integrability of density perturbations in the FRW universe

We investigate the evolution equation of linear density perturbations in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe with matter, radiation and the cosmological constant. The concept of solvability by quadratures is defined and used to prove that there are no "closed form" solutions except for the known Chernin, Heath, Meszaros and simple degenerate ones. The analysis is performed applying Kovacic's algorithm. The possibility of the existence of other, more general solutions involving special functions is also investigated.Comment: 13 pages. The latest version with added references, and a relevant new paragraph in section I

Relative equilibria in the unrestricted problem of a sphere and symmetric rigid body

We consider the unrestricted problem of two mutually attracting rigid bodies, an uniform sphere (or a point mass) and an axially symmetric body. We present a global, geometric approach for finding all relative equilibria (stationary solutions) in this model, which was already studied by Kinoshita (1970). We extend and generalize his results, showing that the equilibria solutions may be found by solving at most two non-linear, algebraic equations, assuming that the potential function of the symmetric rigid body is known explicitly. We demonstrate that there are three classes of the relative equilibria, which we call "cylindrical", "inclined co-planar", and "conic" precessions, respectively. Moreover, we also show that in the case of conic precession, although the relative orbit is circular, the point-mass and the mass center of the body move in different parallel planes. This solution has been yet not known in the literature.Comment: The manuscript with 10 pages, 5 figures; accepted to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ