Cosmic ray impact on extrasolar earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones

Because of their different origins, cosmic rays can be subdivided into galactic cosmic rays and solar/stellar cosmic rays. The flux of cosmic rays to planetary surfaces is mainly determined by two planetary parameters: the atmospheric density and the strength of the internal magnetic moment. If a planet exhibits an extended magnetosphere, its surface will be protected from high-energy cosmic ray particles. We show that close-in extrasolar planets in the habitable zone of M stars are synchronously rotating with their host star because of the tidal interaction. For gravitationally locked planets the rotation period is equal to the orbital period, which is much longer than the rotation period expected for planets not subject to tidal locking. This results in a relatively small magnetic moment. We found that an Earth-like extrasolar planet, tidally locked in an orbit of 0.2 AU around an M star of 0.5 solar masses, has a rotation rate of 2% of that of the Earth. This results in a magnetic moment of less than 15% of the Earth's current magnetic moment. Therefore, close-in extrasolar planets seem not to be protected by extended Earth-like magnetospheres, and cosmic rays can reach almost the whole surface area of the upper atmosphere. Primary cosmic ray particles that interact with the atmosphere generate secondary energetic particles, a so-called cosmic ray shower. Some of the secondary particles can reach the surface of terrestrial planets when the surface pressure of the atmosphere is on the order of 1 bar or less. We propose that, depending on atmospheric pressure, biological systems on the surface of Earth-like extrasolar planets at close-in orbital distances can be strongly influenced by secondary cosmic rays.     

Life science experiments during the German-Russian MIR '97 mission

Manned spaceflight has been an important element of the German space program over the last decades. This is demonstrated by the nationally managed space missions Spacelab D-l (1985), D-2 (1993), and MIR '92 as well as by the participation in the 1st Spacelab mission FSLP (1983), the NASA missions IML-1 (1992) and IML-2 (1994), as well as in the ESA missions EUROMIR '94 and '95. On February 12th, this year, the German cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald was launched together with his Russian colleagues Wasilij Zibliew and Alexander Lasudkin onboard of a Soyuz spacecraft for another stay of a German cosmonaut onboard of the Russian Space Station MIR. This mission--the so-called German/Russian MIR '97--was, of course, another cornerstone with regard to the cooperation between Russian and German space organizations. The cooperation in the area of manned missions began 1978 with the flight of the German cosmonaut Sigmund Jahn onboard of Salyut 6, at that time a cooperation between the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic in the frame of the Interkosmos Program. In March 1992, it was followed by the flight of Klaus Dietrich Flade with his stay onboard of MIR. After two further successful ESA missions, EUROMIR '94 and '95 with the two German cosmonauts Ulf Merbold and Thomas Reiter and with a marked contribution of German scientists, the decision was taken to perform another German/Russian MIR mission, the so-called MIR '97. In Germany, MIR'97 was managed and performed in a joint effort between several partners. DARA, the German Space Agency, was responsible for the overall program and project management, while DLR, the German Aerospace Research Establishment, was responsible for the cosmonaut training, for medical operations, for the mission control at GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen as well as for user support.     

Radiation biology in space: a critical review.

A short summary of the results of radiobiological studies in space or on respective particles on ground will be given. Among the various types of radiation in space, the effect of heavy ions with high energy (HZE-particles) are most essential. Thus, radiobiology in space concerns mostly to the effect of these particles, in cells and in whole organism. Cell death, mutation and malignant transformation are the relevant endpoints, with can be studied on ground with heavy ions of different energy with suitable accelerators or in space, especially by the BIOSTACK concept. In space, however, the effect of microgravity has to be considered as well and there are hints, that under weightlessness the biological effect of radiation may be enhanced. There are still open questions to be answered concerning radioprotection of man in space. Further experiments are necessary.     

并行工程中下游阶段启动时间的实时确定

在并行工程的实施过程中，上下游阶段交叠形式的不合理安排将会给产品的开发带来不可预见的风险。如何决定各并行阶段的启动时间一直是困扰实施并行工程企业的问题。对于这方面的研究工作目前大多只限于概念模型分析的层面，而没有具体的数学模型。中应用Shannon信息熵量化了上下游阶段的交互信息和系统的有序度，建立了基于多层次模糊综合评判和BP神经网络的动态模型来实时确定下游阶段的启动时间。最后给出了基于PDM的实施框架和该模型的应用实例。     

A Precise Optical Instrumentation Radar

An instrumentation tracker is described which provides real-time positional data on high-speed cooperative targets with precisions of ±1 m at ranges between 300 m and 10 km. Unambiguous range is determined by a precise digital FM-CW ranging technique at a rate of 15 per second. A target-mounted beacon and a narrow laser ranging beam permit measurement of target position to values much less than target dimension. Azimuth and elevation angles are read out by precision shaft angle encoders and recorded in binary form, along with range and time, on magnetic tape or directly into a real-time computer.     

The Solar Origin of Corotating Interaction Regions and Their Formation in the Inner Heliosphere

Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) form as a consequence of the compression of the solar wind at the interface between fast speed streams and slow streams. Dynamic interaction of solar wind streams is a general feature of the heliospheric medium; when the sources of the solar wind streams are relatively stable, the interaction regions form a pattern which corotates with the Sun. The regions of origin of the high speed solar wind streams have been clearly identified as the coronal holes with their open magnetic field structures. The origin of the slow speed solar wind is less clear; slow streams may well originate from a range of coronal configurations adjacent to, or above magnetically closed structures. This article addresses the coronal origin of the stable pattern of solar wind streams which leads to the formation of CIRs. In particular, coronal models based on photospheric measurements are reviewed; we also examine the observations of kinematic and compositional solar wind features at 1 AU, their appearance in the stream interfaces (SIs) of CIRs, and their relationship to the structure of the solar surface and the inner corona; finally we summarise the Helios observations in the inner heliosphere of CIRs and their precursors to give a link between the optical observations on their solar origin and the in-situ plasma observations at 1 AU after their formation. The most important question that remains to be answered concerning the solar origin of CIRs is related to the origin and morphology of the slow solar wind. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Postbuckling elastoplastic state analysis of three-dimensional bodies taking into account finite strains

A technique for analyzing the stress strain state of elastoplastic bodies taking into account large displacements, rotations, finite strains, and buckling is presented. The step-by-step loading method with formulation of the resolvent variation equation in the current configuration is used. The governing equations for elastoplastic bodies that connect the Jaumann derivative of the Cauchy-Euler stress tensor with the velocity strain are applied. The spatial discretization is based on the finite element method (FEM) in the framework of the polylinear three-dimensional isoparameteric approximation. The numerical solutions of the problems are given.     

Collisional excitation of vinylidene (H2CC)

Though H₂CO, H₂CS, H₂CCC, H₂CCCC, H₂CCO have been identified in cool interstellar molecular clouds, identification of H₂CC is still awaited. To analyze its spectrum, collisional rate coefficients are required. We have calculated collisional rate coefficients for rotational transitions between 23 levels of ortho and para H₂CC for kinetic temperatures 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 K. The scattering problem is analyzed using the computer code MOLSCAT where the colliding partner is He atom. The interaction between H₂CC and He has been calculated with GAUSSIAN 2003. For the interaction potential obtained with GAUSSIAN 2003, MOLSCAT is used to derive the parameters q(L,M,M^′|E)$q(L\text{,}M\text{,}{M}^{\prime }|E)$ as a function of energy E   of the colliding partner. After averaging the parameters q(L,M,M^′|E)$q(L\text{,}M\text{,}{M}^{\prime }|E)$ over a Maxwellian distribution, the parameters Q(L,M,M^′|T)$Q(L\text{,}M\text{,}{M}^{\prime }|T)$ as a function of the kinetic temperature T in the cloud are obtained. Finally, the collisional rate coefficients have been calculated.     

基于图像的测量方法在工业风洞跨声速流测量中的最新进展

风洞中非定常复杂流场的实验研究要求先进的测量技术.基于图像的测量技术中最重要的是测量平面流速度场、平面压强分布、模型位置和变形、模型温度以及定量的高速流可视化等技术.DLR(德国宇航研究院)对这些技术的应用包括从低速流到跨声速流、从增升装置到螺旋桨和旋翼、从弹射装置和水塔储水罐尾迹流旋涡到三角翼上涡破裂现象等的研究.由于跨声速风洞的特殊环境,将基于图像的测量技术用于跨声速流要求专门的技术开发和有经验的科学家.给出了DLR空气动力学和流动技术研究所将基于图像的测量技术应用于跨声速流研究的最新进展.     

Iron-magnesium silicate bioweathering on Earth (and Mars?)

We examined the common, iron-magnesium silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene in basalt and in mantle rocks to determine if they exhibit textures similar to bioweathering textures found in glass. Our results show that weathering in olivine may occur as long, narrow tunnels (1-3 microm in diameter and up to 100 microm long) and as larger irregular galleries, both of which have distinctive characteristics consistent with biological activity. These weathering textures are associated with clay mineral by-products and nucleic acids. We also examined olivine and pyroxene in martian meteorites, some of which experienced preterrestrial aqueous alteration. Some olivines and pyroxenes in the martian meteorite Nakhla were found to contain tunnels that are similar in size and shape to tunnels in terrestrial iron-magnesium silicates that contain nucleic acids. Though the tunnels found in Nakhla are similar to the biosignatures found in terrestrial minerals, their presence cannot be used to prove that the martian alteration features had a biogenic origin. The abundance and wide distribution of olivine and pyroxene on Earth and in the Solar System make bioweathering features in these minerals potentially important new biosignatures that may play a significant role in evaluating whether life ever existed on Mars.