The soft X-ray superoutburst of VW hydri: 14 second periodicity

EXOSAT observations of the dwarf nova VW Hydri reveal a strong soft X-ray flux during optical superoutburst. The onset of the X-ray outburst was delayed by 2.5 days compared to the optical outburst. A modulation of the extreme soft X-ray flux was detected, consistent with a coherent (0 >x 10⁷) pulsation with a period of 14.07 seconds, probably reflecting the rotation period of the white dwarf.IIf this is indeed the case, VW Hydri is the fastest rotating white dwarf detected so far.     

Oxygen line mapping of SN 1006 with Suzaku

SN 1006 is one of the supernova remnants (SNRs) with relatively low-temperature electrons, considering the young age of just 1000 years. We carried out SN 1006 mapping observations with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) and the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) onboard Suzaku, the fifth Japanese X-ray satellite. Thanks to the excellent spectral resolution of XIS in the soft X-ray band, H-like and He-like oxygen emission lines were clearly detected, and we could make a map of the line intensity, and as well as a flux and the photon index of nonthermal component. We found that these parameters have spatial dependences from region to region in the SNR; the north region is bright in nonthermal, while dim in thermal; the east region is bright in both nonthermal and thermal; the inner region shows dim nonthermal and bright thermal emission. The photon index is the smallest in the north region.     

Elemental Abundances in Coronal Structures

A great deal of evidence for elemental abundance variations among different structures in the solar corona has accumulated over the years. Many of the observations show changes in the relative abundances of high- and low-First Ionization Potential elements, but relatively few show the absolute elemental abundances. Recent observations from the SOHO satellite give absolute abundances in coronal streamers. Along the streamer edges, and at low heights in the streamer, they show roughly photospheric abundances for the low-FIP elements, and a factor of 3 depletion of high-FIP elements. In the streamer core at 1.5 R·, both high- and low-FIP elements are depleted by an additional factor of 3, which appears to result from gravitational settling. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Random Characteristics of the Type II Phase-Locked Loop

The results of a study of the characteristics of the second-order Type II phase-locked loop with a Gaussian noise input, and obtained by digital computer simulation, are presented. The digital simulation is described and the random state variables are defined such that their characteristics can be interpreted in terms of existing phase portraits of autonomous phase-locked loops. The statistics associated with the state variables, which are phase error and a measure of frequency error, and those associated with the number of cycles skipped and the mean time to unlock, are given.     

Collision risk-capacity tradeoff analysis of an en-route corridor model

Flow corridors are a new class of trajectory-based airspace which derives from the next generation air transportation system concept of operations. Reducing the airspace complexity and increasing the capacity are the main purposes of the en-route corridor. This paper analyzes the collision risk-capacity tradeoff using a combined discrete–continuous simulation method. A basic two-dimensional en-route flow corridor with performance rules is designed as the operational environment. A second-order system is established by combining the point mass model and the proportional derivative controller together to simulate the self-separation operations of the aircrafts in the corridor and the operation performance parameters from the User Manual for the Base of Aircraft Data are used in this research in order to improve the reliability. Simulation results indicate that the aircrafts can self-separate from each other efficiently by adjusting their velocities,and rationally setting the values of some variables can improve the rate and stability of the corridor with low risks of loss of separation.     

Formation and Processing of Organics in the Early Solar System

Until pristine samples can be returned from cometary nuclei, primitive meteorites represent our best source of information about organic chemistry in the early solar system. However, this material has been affected by secondary processing on asteroidal parent bodies which probably did not affect the material now present in cometary nuclei. Production of meteoritic organic matter apparently involved the following sequence of events: Molecule formation by a variety of reaction pathways in dense interstellar clouds; Condensation of those molecules onto refractory interstellar grains; Irradiation of organic-rich interstellar-grain mantles producing a range of molecular fragments and free radicals; Inclusion of those interstellar grains into the protosolar nebula with probable heating of at least some grain mantles during passage through the shock wave bounding the solar accretion disc; Agglomeration of residual interstellar grains and locally produced nebular condensates into asteroid-sized planetesimals; Heating of planetesimals by decay of extinct radionuclides; Melting of ice to produce liquid water within asteroidal bodies; Reaction of interstellar molecules, fragments and radicals with each other and with the aqueous environment, possibly catalysed by mineral grains; Loss of water and other volatiles to space yielding a partially hydrated lithology containing a complex suite of organic molecules; Heating of some of this organic matter to generate a kerogen-like complex; Mixing of heated and unheated material to yield the meteoritic material now observed. Properties of meteoritic organic matter believed to be consistent with this scenario include: Systematic decrease of abundance with increasing C number in homologous series of characterisable molecules; Complete structural diversity within homologous series; Predominance of branched-chain isomers; Considerable isotopic variability among characterisable molecules and within kerogen-like material; Substantial deuterium enrichment in all organic fractions; Some fractions significantly enriched in nitrogen-15; Modest excesses of L-enantiomers in some racemisation-resistant molecules but no general enantiomeric preference. Despite much speculation about the possible role of Fischer-Tropsch catalytic hydrogenation of CO in production of organic molecules in the solar nebula, no convincing evidence for such material has been found in meteorites. A similarity between some meteoritic organics and those produced by Miller-Urey discharge synthesis may reflect involvement of common intermediates rather than the operation of electric discharges in the early solar system. Meteoritic organic matter constitutes a useful, but not exact, guide to what we shall find with in situ analytical and sample-return missions to cometary nuclei. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

1. Transport of Mass,Momentum and Energy in Planetary Magnetodisc Regions

The rapid rotation of the gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, leads to the formation of magnetodisc regions in their magnetospheric environments. In these regions, relatively cold plasma is confined towards the equatorial regions, and the magnetic field generated by the azimuthal (ring) current adds to the planetary dipole, forming radially distended field lines near the equatorial plane. The ensuing force balance in the equatorial magnetodisc is strongly influenced by centrifugal stress and by the thermal pressure of hot ion populations, whose thermal energy is large compared to the magnitude of their centrifugal potential energy. The sources of plasma for the Jovian and Kronian magnetospheres are the respective satellites Io (a volcanic moon) and Enceladus (an icy moon). The plasma produced by these sources is globally transported outwards through the respective magnetosphere, and ultimately lost from the system. One of the most studied mechanisms for this transport is flux tube interchange, a plasma instability which displaces mass but does not displace magnetic flux—an important observational constraint for any transport process. Pressure anisotropy is likely to play a role in the loss of plasma from these magnetospheres. This is especially the case for the Jovian system, which can harbour strong parallel pressures at the equatorial segments of rotating, expanding flux tubes, leading to these regions becoming unstable, blowing open and releasing their plasma. Plasma mass loss is also associated with magnetic reconnection events in the magnetotail regions. In this overview, we summarise some important observational and theoretical concepts associated with the production and transport of plasma in giant planet magnetodiscs. We begin by considering aspects of force balance in these systems, and their coupling with the ionospheres of their parent planets. We then describe the role of the interaction between neutral and ionized species, and how it determines the rate at which plasma mass and momentum are added to the magnetodisc. Following this, we describe the observational properties of plasma injections, and the consequent implications for the nature of global plasma transport and magnetodisc stability. The theory of the flux tube interchange instability is reviewed, and the influences of gravity and magnetic curvature on the instability are described. The interaction between simulated interchange plasma structures and Saturn’s moon Titan is discussed, and its relationship to observed periodic phenomena at Saturn is described. Finally, the observation, generation and evolution of plasma waves associated with mass loading in the magnetodisc regions is reviewed.