Experimental performance of a conical pressure probe at Mach numbers of 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0

Wind tunnel investigation of performance of conical pressure probe at hypersonic speed

Constraints on Association of Single-pulse Gamma-ray Bursts and Supernovae

We explore the hypothesis, similar to one recently suggested by Bloom and colleagues, that some nearby supernovae are associated with smooth, single-pulse gamma-ray bursts, possibly having no emission above ~ 300 keV. We examine BATSE bursts with durations longer than 2 s, fitting those which can be visually characterized as single-pulse events with a lognormal pulse model. The fraction of events that can be reliably ascertained to be temporally and spectrally similar to the exemplar, GRB 980425 - possibly associated with SN 1998bw - is 4/1573 or 0.25%. This fraction could be as high as 8/1573 (0.5%) if the dimmest bursts are included. Approximately 2% of bursts are morphologically similar to GRB 980425 but have emission above ~ 300 keV. A search of supernova catalogs containing 630 detections during BATSE's lifetime reveals only one burst (GRB 980425) within a 3-month time window and within the total 3-sigma BATSE error radius that could be associated with a type Ib/c supernova. There is no tendency for any subset of single-pulse GRBs to fall near the Supergalactic Plane, whereas SNe of type Ib/c do show this tendency. Economy of hypotheses leads us to conclude that nearby supernovae generally are not related to smooth, single-pulse gamma-ray bursts.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure

Gravitationally Lensed Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of Dark Compact Objects

If dark matter in the form of compact objects comprises a large fraction of the mass of the universe, then gravitational lensing effects on gamma-ray bursts are expected. We utilize BATSE and Ulysses data to search for lenses of different mass ranges, which cause lensing in the milli, pico, and femto regimes. Null results are used to set weak limits on the cosmological abundance of compact objects in mass ranges from 10$^{-16}$ to 10$^{-9}$ $M_{\odot}$. A stronger limit is found for a much discussed $\Omega = 0.15$ universe dominated by black holes of masses $\sim 10^{6.5} M_{\odot}$, which is ruled out at the $\sim$ 90% confidence level.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, fixed minor corrections. Accepted for publication in ApJ(L

New biostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic and isotopic insights into the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum in low latitudes

The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) was a warming event that interrupted the long-term Eocene cooling trend. While this event is well documented at high southern and mid-latitudes, it is poorly known from low latitudes and its timing and duration are not well constrained because of problems of hiati, microfossil preservation and weak magnetic polarity in key sedimentary sections. Here, we report the results of a study designed to improve the bio-, magneto- and chemostratigraphy of the MECO interval using high-resolution records from two low-latitude sections in the Atlantic Ocean, Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 1051 and 1260. We present the first detailed benthic foraminiferal stable isotope records of the MECO from the low latitudes as well as the biostratigraphic counts of Orbulinoides beckmanni and new magnetostratigraphic results. Our data demonstrate a ~ 750 kyr-long duration for the MECO characterized by increasing δ13C and decreasing δ18O, with minimum δ18O values lasting ~ 40 kyr at 40.1 Ma coincident with a short-lived negative δ13C excursion. Thereafter, δ18O and δ13C values recover rapidly. The shift to minimum δ18O values at 40.1 Ma is coincident with a marked increase in the abundance of the planktonic foraminifera O. beckmanni, consistent with its inferred warm-water preference. O. beckmanni is an important Eocene biostratigraphic marker, defining planktonic foraminiferal Zone E12 with its lowest and highest occurrences (LO and HOs). Our new records reveal that the LO of O. beckmanni is distinctly diachronous, appearing ~ 500 kyr earlier in the equatorial Atlantic than in the subtropics (40.5 versus 41.0 Ma). We also show that, at both sites, the HO of O. beckmanni at 39.5 Ma is younger than the published calibrations, increasing the duration of Zone E12 by at least 400 kyr. In accordance with the tropical origins of O. beckmanni, this range expansion to higher latitudes may have occurred in response to sea surface warming during the MECO and subsequently disappeared with cooling of surface waters

Symbiont 'bleaching' in planktic foraminifera during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum

Many genera of modern planktic foraminifera are adapted to nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) surface waters by hosting photosynthetic symbionts, but it is unknown how they will respond to future changes in ocean temperature and acidity. Here we show that ca. 40 Ma, some fossil photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera were temporarily 'bleached' of their symbionts coincident with transient global warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 748 and 1051 (Southern Ocean and mid-latitude North Atlantic, respectively), the typically positive relationship between the size of photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifer tests and their carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) was temporarily reduced for ∼100 k.y. during the peak of the MECO. At the same time, the typically photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera Acarinina suffered transient reductions in test size and relative abundance, indicating ecological stress. The coincidence of minimum δ18O values and reduction in test size–δ13C gradients suggests a link between increased sea-surface temperatures and bleaching during the MECO, although changes in pH and nutrient availability may also have played a role. Our findings show that host-photosymbiont interactions are not constant through geological time, with implications for both the evolution of trophic strategies in marine plankton and the reliability of geochemical proxy records generated from symbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera

Astronomical Data Management

We present a summary of the major contributions to the Special Session on Data Management held at the IAU General Assembly in Prague in 2006. While recent years have seen enormous improvements in access to astronomical data, and the Virtual Observatory aims to provide astronomers with seamless access to on-line resources, more attention needs to be paid to ensuring the quality and completeness of those resources. For example, data produced by telescopes are not always made available to the astronomical community, and new instruments are sometimes designed and built with insufficient planning for data management, while older but valuable legacy data often remain undigitised. Data and results published in journals do not always appear in the data centres, and astronomers in developing countries sometimes have inadequate access to on-line resources. To address these issues, an 'Astronomers Data Manifesto' has been formulated with the aim of initiating a discussion that will lead to the development of a 'code of best practice' in astronomical data management.Comment: Proceedings of Special Session SPS6 (Astronomical Data Management) at the IAU GA 2006. To appear in Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 14, ed. K.A. van der Huch

Elastic moduli approximation of higher symmetry for the acoustical properties of an anisotropic material

The issue of how to define and determine an optimal acoustical fit to a set of anisotropic elastic constants is addressed. The optimal moduli are defined as those which minimize the mean squared difference in the acoustical tensors between the given moduli and all possible moduli of a chosen higher material symmetry. The solution is shown to be identical to minimizing a Euclidean distance function, or equivalently, projecting the tensor of elastic stiffness onto the appropriate symmetry. This has implications for how to best select anisotropic constants to acoustically model complex materials.Comment: 20 page