Obscured Activity: AGN, Quasars, Starbursts and ULIGs Observed by the Infrared Space Observatory

Some of the most ‘active’ galaxies in the Universe are obscured by large quantities of dust and emit a substantial fraction of their bolometric luminosity in the infrared. Observations of these infrared luminous galaxies with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) have provided a relatively unabsorbed view to the sources fuelling this active emission. The improved sensitivity, spatial resolution and spectroscopic capability of ISO over its predecessor Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) of enabled significant advances in the understanding of the infrared properties of active galaxies. ISO surveyed a wide range of active galaxies which, in the context of this review, includes those powered by intense bursts of star formation as well as those containing a dominant active galactic nucleus (AGN). Mid-infrared imaging resolved for the first time the dust enshrouded nuclei in many nearby galaxies, while a new era in infrared spectroscopy was opened by probing a wealth of atomic, ionic and molecular lines as well as broad band features in the mid- and far-infrared. This was particularly useful, since it resulted in the understanding of the power production, excitation and fuelling mechanisms in the nuclei of active galaxies including the intriguing but so far elusive ultraluminous infrared galaxies. Detailed studies of various classes of AGN and quasars greatly improved our understanding of the unification scenario. Far-infrared imaging and photometry revealed the presence of a new very cold dust component in galaxies and furthered our knowledge of the far-infrared properties of faint starbursts, ULIGs and quasars. We summarise almost nine years of key results based on ISO data spanning the full range of luminosity and type of active galaxies.     

Astrophysics in 2006

The fastest pulsar and the slowest nova; the oldest galaxies and the youngest stars; the weirdest life forms and the commonest dwarfs; the highest energy particles and the lowest energy photons. These were some of the extremes of Astrophysics 2006. We attempt also to bring you updates on things of which there is currently only one (habitable planets, the Sun, and the Universe) and others of which there are always many, like meteors and molecules, black holes and binaries.     

介质粘性对椭圆齿轮流量计性能影响的研究

本文根据粘性流体力学原理和转子动力学理论,分析了椭圆齿轮流量计的缝隙漏流和转子受力状况,建立了能预测介质粘性对流量计误差特性和压力损失影响的理论模型。数值计算表明,理论值与实验数据基本吻合。     

Study of the variability of blazars gamma-ray emission

The γ-ray emission of blazar jets shows a pronounced variability and this feature provides limits to the size and to the speed of the emitting region. We study the γ-ray variability of bright blazars using data from the first 18 months of activity of the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. From the daily light-curves of the blazars characterized by a remarkable activity, we firstly determine the minimum variability time-scale, giving an upper limit for the size of the emitting region of the sources, assumed to be spheroidal blobs in relativistic motion. These regions must be smaller than ∼10⁻³ parsec. Another interesting time-scale is the duration of the outbursts. We conclude that they cannot correspond to radiation produced by a single blob moving relativistically along the jet, but they are either the signature of emission from a standing shock extracting energy from a modulated jet, or the superposition of a number of flares occurring on a shorter time-scale. We also derive lower limits on the bulk Lorentz factor needed to make the emitting region transparent for gamma-rays interacting through photon–photon collisions.     

An improved approach for rainfall estimation over Indian summer monsoon region using Kalpana-1 data

In this paper, an improved Kalpana-1 infrared (IR) based rainfall estimation algorithm, specific to Indian summer monsoon region is presented. This algorithm comprises of two parts: (i) development of Kalpana-1 IR based rainfall estimation algorithm with improvement for orographic warm rain underestimation generally suffered by IR based rainfall estimation methods and (ii) cooling index to take care of the growth and decay of clouds and thereby improving the precipitation estimation.     

Balloon altitude studies of southern hemisphere hard X-ray sources by the Imperial College-University of Tasmania-INPE collaboration

Hard X-ray balloon altitude measurements with a 1600 cm² phoswich array are described. Data from observations on Sco X-1, GX1+4, GX5−1, Nova Oph. 1977, SMC X-1, SS433, IC 4329A and MR 2251-178 are presented. The role of Comptonisation in X-ray production for Sco X-1 and GX1+4 is discussed.     

Relativistic MHD Simulations of Jets with Toroidal Magnetic Fields

This paper presents an application of the recent relativistic HLLC approximate Riemann solver by Mignone & Bodo to magnetized flows with vanishing normal component of the magnetic field. The numerical scheme is validated in two dimensions by investigating the propagation of axisymmetric jets with toroidal magnetic fields. The selected jet models show that the HLLC solver yields sharper resolution of contact and shear waves and better convergence properties over the traditional HLL approach.     

基于纹理边界检测的航天器椭圆特征提取方法

为确定失效航天器等非合作目标的相对位姿,提出一种通过纹理边界检测的椭圆特征提取方法。该方法假设椭圆特征是航天器表面两种不同纹理的边界,利用上一时刻相对位姿信息,将对接环离散几何模型投影到像平面,并沿各离散点的法向方向通过概率方法检测纹理边界点。利用随机抽样一致(RANSAC)方法剔除边界点中的粗大误差,进而拟合出椭圆参数。纹理特征对光照变化具有鲁棒性,因此该方法能够在变光照、星体表面反光不均匀等复杂情况下快速准确地提取图像中的椭圆特征。本文以对接环图像特征提取为例进行仿真校验,分析了算法参数和噪声对提取椭圆精度和时间的影响。利用真实图像与基于梯度边缘的椭圆提取方法进行对比,结果表明,所提出的算法具有较高的精度和速度。     

椭圆轨道卫星对地全球覆盖电推进控制

针对椭圆轨道卫星近/远地点的星下点对全球或特定纬度区域的访问问题,提出一种连续小推力下的对地覆盖控制策略。首先,推导了自然摄动对卫星拱线变化的影响,并探讨了进行小推力覆盖控制的必要性。然后,针对燃料消耗的优化问题,将控制方程展开成含傅里叶级数的形式,用以获得便于星上计算的解析形式的次优解,同时探讨了截取阶数与优化程度的关系。在进行拱线控制的同时,通过合理设置约束,对椭圆轨道的近地点高度进行保护,确保卫星安全运行。仿真结果表明,提出的方法能够以适当的燃料消耗代价实现椭圆轨道的近/远地点的全球覆盖控制或特定纬度区域的反复推扫,且控制力在可接受的范围内。     

Halo White Dwarfs and Baryonic Dark Matter

We describe the formation of hot intergalactic gas along with baryonic remnants in galaxy halos. In this scenario, the mass and metallicity of the hot intracluster and intragroup gas relates directly to the production of baryonic remnants during the collapse of galactic halos. We construct a schematic but self-consistent model in which early bursts of star formation lead to a large remnant population in the halo, and to the outflow of stellar ejecta into the halo and ultimately the Local Group. We consider local as well as high redshift constraints on this scenario. This study suggests that the microlensing objects in the Galactic halo may predominantly be 0.5M white dwarfs, assuming that the initial mass function for early star formation favored the formation of intermediate mass stars with m 1M. However, the bulk of the baryonic dark matter in this scenario is associated with the ejecta of the white dwarf progenitors, and resides in the hot intergalactic medium.