Satellite kinematics – I. A new method to constrain the halo mass–luminosity relation of central galaxies

Satellite kinematics can be used to probe the masses of dark matter haloes of central galaxies. In order to measure the kinematics with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, one uses the satellite galaxies of a large number of central galaxies stacked according to similar properties (e.g. luminosity). However, in general, the relation between the luminosity of a central galaxy and the mass of its host halo will have non-zero scatter. Consequently, this stacking results in combining the kinematics of satellite galaxies in haloes of different masses, which complicates the interpretation of the data. In this paper, we present an analytical framework to model satellite kinematics, properly accounting for this scatter and for various selection effects. We show that in the presence of scatter in the halo mass–luminosity relation, the commonly used velocity dispersion of satellite galaxies can not be used to infer a unique halo mass–luminosity relation. In particular, we demonstrate that there is a degeneracy between the mean and the scatter of the halo mass–luminosity relation. We present a new technique that can break this degeneracy, and which involves measuring the velocity dispersions using two different weighting schemes: host weighting (each central galaxy gets the same weight) and satellite weighting (each central galaxy gets a weight proportional to its number of satellites). The ratio between the velocity dispersions obtained using these two weighting schemes is sensitive to the scatter in the halo mass–luminosity relation, and can thus be used to infer a unique relation between light and mass from the kinematics of satellite galaxies.     

The dependence of asteroid lightcurves on the orientation parameters and the shapes of asteroids

The dependence of asteroidal light curves has been derived from the obliquity, aspect and phase angles. The effects of an angle variation are discussed taking into account the possible geometry of an asteroidal body.The amplitude-aspect relation is discussed for different asteroidal shapes.On the basis of this relation a graphical attempt to determine the value of the aspect from the light curves' amplitude is described.     

Titan's methane cycle

Methane is key to sustaining Titan's thick nitrogen atmosphere. However, methane is destroyed and converted to heavier hydrocarbons irreversibly on a relatively short timescale of approximately 10-100 million years. Without the warming provided by CH₄-generated hydrocarbon hazes in the stratosphere and the pressure induced opacity in the infrared, particularly by CH₄-N₂ and H₂-N₂ collisions in the troposphere, the atmosphere could be gradually reduced to as low as tens of millibar pressure. An understanding of the source-sink cycle of methane is thus crucial to the evolutionary history of Titan and its atmosphere. In this paper we propose that a complex photochemical-meteorological-hydrogeochemical cycle of methane operates on Titan. We further suggest that although photochemistry leads to the loss of methane from the atmosphere, conversion to a global ocean of ethane is unlikely. The behavior of methane in the troposphere and the surface, as measured by the Cassini-Huygens gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, together with evidence of cryovolcanism reported by the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, represents a “methalogical” cycle on Titan, somewhat akin to the hydrological cycle on Earth. In the absence of net loss to the interior, it would represent a closed cycle. However, a source is still needed to replenish the methane lost to photolysis. A hydrogeochemical source deep in the interior of Titan holds promise. It is well known that in serpentinization, hydration of ultramafic silicates in terrestrial oceans produces H_2(aq), whose reaction with carbon grains or carbon dioxide in the crustal pores produces methane gas. Appropriate geological, thermal, and pressure conditions could have existed in and below Titan's purported water-ammonia ocean for “low-temperature” serpentinization to occur in Titan's accretionary heating phase. On the other hand, impacts could trigger the process at high temperatures. In either instance, storage of methane as a stable clathrate-hydrate in Titan's interior for later release to the atmosphere is quite plausible. There is also some likelihood that the production of methane on Titan by serpentinization is a gradual and continuous on-going process.     

Lavoisierite, Mn2+ 8[Al10(Mn3+Mg)][Si11P]O44(OH)12, a new mineral from Piedmont, Italy: the link between “ardennite” and sursassite

The new mineral species lavoisierite, ideally Mn²⁺ ₈[Al₁₀(Mn³⁺Mg)][Si₁₁P]O₄₄(OH)₁₂, has been discovered in piemontite-bearing micaschists belonging to the Piedmontese Nappe from Punta Gensane, Viù Valley, Western Alps, Italy. It occurs as yellow-orange acicular to prismatic-tabular crystals up to a few millimeters in length, with white streak and vitreous luster, elongated along [010] and flattened on {001}. Lavoisierite is associated with quartz, “mica,” sursassite, piemontite, spessartine, braunite, and “tourmaline.” Calculated density is 3.576 g cm^?3. In plane-polarized light, it is transparent, pleochroic, with pale yellow parallel to [010] and yellow-orange normal to this direction; extinction is parallel and elongation is positive. Birefringence is moderate; the calculated average refraction index n is 1.750. Lavoisierite is orthorhombic, space group Pnmm, with a 8.6891(10), b 5.7755(3), c 36.9504(20) Å, V 1854.3(2) Å³, Z = 2. Calculated main diffraction lines of the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [d in Å, (I), (hkl); relative intensities are visually estimated]: 4.62 (m) (112), 2.931 (vs) (1110), 2.765 (s) (1111), 2.598 (s) (310), 2.448 (ms) (028). Chemical analyses by electron microprobe give (in wt%) P₂O₅ 2.08, V₂O₅ 0.37, SiO₂ 34.81, TiO₂ 0.13, Al₂O₃ 22.92, Cr₂O₃ 0.32, Fe₂O₃ 0.86, Mn₂O₃ 6.92, MnO 19.09, MgO 5.73, CaO 1.94, Na₂O 0.01, H₂O 5.44, sum 100.62 wt%. H₂O content was calculated from structure refinement. The empirical formula, based on 56 anions, is (Mn _5.340 ²⁺ Mg_1.810Ca_0.686Na_0.006)_Σ=7.852(Al_8.921Mn _1.739 ³⁺ Mg_1.010Fe _0.214 ³⁺ Cr_0.084Ti_0.032)_Σ=12.000(Si_11.496P_0.582V_0.081)_Σ=12.159O_43.995(OH)_12.005. The crystal structure of lavoisierite was solved by direct methods and refined on the basis of 1743 observed reflections to R ₁ = 4.6 %. The structure is characterized by columns of edge-sharing octahedra running along [010] and linked to each other by means of [SiO₄], [Si₂O₇], and [Si₃O₁₀] groups. Lavoisierite, named after the French chemist and biologist Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743–1794), displays an unprecedented kind of structure, related to those of “ardennite” and sursassite.     

The environmental risk posed by small dumps of complex arsenic,antimony, nickel and cobalt sulphides

Mine waste dumps sited in the vicinity of mine workings typically consist of fragmented rock masses which in chemical terms may be defined as "complex systems", due to uncertainties in accurately simulating their behaviour, when water or aqueous solutions percolate through them. Remediation of the contamination problems created by abandoned mine dumps concerns many former mining areas from Europe to Africa. These dumps usually range in size from a few hundred thousand up to million cubic meters of rock defined as “waste” but which still contain significant amounts of potentially toxic elements. Although relatively small, they are often densely distributed in the territory impacting on surface and ground-water. This scenario is particularly applicable to the region of Sardinia, Italy, where several small dumps of uncommon sulphide minerals still exist on derelict mine sites. This paper reports on the results of a research project aimed at defining appropriate remedial measures of acid rock drainage. A dump of a Co–Ni–As–Sb complex sulphides mine was investigated and simulated in a laboratory leaching column. The column was irrigated with distilled water and a repetitive behaviour of the polluting elements concentrations in the effluents was observed for each run. Regardless of the campaign duration and the extent of the intervals between tests metal ions concentration peaks (250–50 ppm for Ni, 35–20 ppm for Co, 1.6–0.4 ppm for As, 20–15 ppm for Zn and 0.03–0.002 ppm for Sb) and acidic conditions (pH 2.5–3.5), on resumption of each irrigation, was noticed. As percolation continued, the ion concentrations decreased within the discharge limits after the replacement of only two pore volumes of the column material. This produces the conception that a sufficiently long rainfall period could remediate the polluting effects. Conception contradicted by field experiences: sporadic rainfall events, typical of the region, are not sufficient to completely leach out the metal ions. The repetitive nature of the leaching processes, both quantitatively and qualitatively, can be explained only by the activity of a microflora thriving in the rock mass even during long dry periods. Microbial tests and neutralisation campaigns confirmed this hypothesis and suggested that any effective remediation strategy must take into consideration the interaction between environmental factors with microbiological activities.     

Antigorite equation of state and anomalous softening at 6 GPa: an in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction study

The compressibility of antigorite has been determined up to 8.826(8) GPa, for the first time by single crystal X-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell, on a specimen from Cerro del Almirez. Fifteen pressure–volume data, up to 5.910(6) GPa, have been fit by a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, yielding V ₀ = 2,914.07(23) Å³, K _T0 = 62.9(4) GPa, with K′ = 6.1(2). The compression of antigorite is very anisotropic with axial compressibilities in the ratio 1.11:1.00:3.22 along a, b and c, respectively. The new equation of state leads to an estimation of the upper stability limit of antigorite that is intermediate with respect to existing values, and in better agreement with experiments. At pressures in excess of 6 GPa antigorite displays a significant volume softening that may be relevant for very cold subducting slabs.     

Multiple spacecraft rendezvous maneuvers by differential drag and low thrust engines

A novel two-phase hybrid controller is proposed to optimize propellant consumption during multiple spacecraft rendezvous maneuvers in Low Earth Orbit. This controller exploits generated differentials in aerodynamic drag on each involved chaser spacecraft to effect a propellant-free trajectory near to the target spacecraft during the first phase of the maneuver, and then uses a fuel optimal control strategy via continuous low-thrust engines to effect a precision dock during the second phase. In particular, by varying the imparted aerodynamic drag force on each of the chaser spacecraft, relative differential accelerations are generated between each chaser and the target spacecraft along two of the three translational degrees of freedom. In order to generate this required differential, each chaser spacecraft is assumed to include a system of rotating flat panels. Additionally, each chaser spacecraft is assumed to have continuous low-thrust capability along the three translational degrees of freedom and full-axis attitude control. Sample simulations are presented to support the validity and robustness of the proposed hybrid controller to variations in the atmospheric density along with different spacecraft masses and ballistic coefficients. Furthermore, the proposed hybrid controller is validated against a complete nonlinear orbital model to include relative navigation errors typical of carrier-phase differential GPS (CDGPS). Limitations of the proposed controller appear relative to the target spacecraft’s orbit eccentricity and a general characterization of the atmospheric density. Bounds on these variables are included to provide a framework within which the proposed hybrid controller can effect an extremely low propellant rendezvous of multiple chaser spacecraft to a desired target spacecraft.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of Late Ordovician phosphate-bearing oolitic ironstones from NW Sardinia, Italy

Summary. ?In the Nurra region, NW Sardinia, oolitic ironstones are interlayered within coarsening upward metasedimentary sequences of siltstone, sandstone, breccia, and conglomerate. A Caradoc-Early Ashgill age is suggested by the analogies with metasediments of Central-Southern Sardinia following the Sardinian tectonic phase. The sequences including oolitic ironstones are overlain by black metapelite of inferred Hirnantian to early Silurian age. The ooids consist of chamosite, siderite or magnetite or, rarely, stilpnomelane. Chamosite ooids consist of up to 30 lamellae and sporadically show clustering of magnetite grains in core and rim, and widespread late replacement by siderite. The alternation of chamosite and Fe-oxide observed in a few samples points to an ooid transport over the crests and hollows of megaripples in a continental shelf at 0–60 m depth, and/or a random displacement of the littoral environments in a rapidly evolving continent-sea transition zone producing an alternation of oxidizing and reducing conditions. Black phosphate clasts, including older Fe-ooids, frequently occur. The oolitic ironstones of Nurra are variable mixtures of an Al-Si-Ti rich- detrital component and a Fe-rich chemical component. The abundance of chamosite and siderite explains the high values of LOI and the high Fe_tot, Fe²⁺ and Al contents and the low Si amounts in comparison with other Phanerozoic oolitic ironstones. The detrital elements are Al, Si, Ti, Mg, Zr, Th. Chemical precipitation processes supplied Fe, Ca, P, Sr, HREE. The chondrite-normalized pattern shows a slight LREE enrichment, a clear negative Eu anomaly, and a flat HREE trend typical of many Ordovician oolitic ironstones. The NASC-normalized pattern has a convex shape, with peaks for Sm, Gd, like in all the pre-Devonian phosphate deposits. The numerous phosphate clasts, pyrite pockets, diffuse organic matter, and lack of glauconite suggest an upward extension of the oxygen minimum layer in a stratified basin, up to a depth of 60 m, and allow the estimation of log fO₂ = − 72 to − 80 and pH = 9.0–9.5. for the underlying pyrite zone (depth > 60 m). Here the pore waters leached Eu²⁺ from the bottom sediments giving the observed negative anomaly of the chondrite-normalized REE pattern.

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Résumé ?Dans la région de la Nurra, Sardaigne nord-ouest, des niveaux ferrugineux oolithiques sont intercalés dans des séquences métasédimentaires composées de silts, grès, brèches et conglomerats. Un age Caradoc-Ashgill inférieur est suggéré par les analogies avec les métasédiments de la Sardaigne centrale-méridionale postérieurs à la phase tectonique Sarde. Les séquences qui contiennent les niveaux ferrugineux oolithiques sont surmontées par des métapélites noires pour lesquelles on suppose un age Hirnantien à Siliurien inférier. Les oolithes sont constituées de chamosite, siderite ou magnétite ou rarement, stilpnomelane. Les oolithes de chamosite peuvent avoir jusq’à 30 enveloppes dans le cortex et sporadiquement elles montrent une concentration de grains de magnétite au centre et sur le bord et un vaste replacement tardif par de la sidérite. L’alternation de enveloppes à chamosite et à oxydes de fer observée dans quelques échantillons indique un transport des oolithes sur la crête et dans la dépression de rides géantes sur une plateforme continentale à 0–60 m de profondeur et/ou bien un déplacement casuel des milieux c?tiers dans une zone de transition entre mer et continent en rapide évolution, ce qui produisait une alternation de conditions oxydantes et réduisantes. On trouve fréquemment des intraclastes noirs de phosphate qui contiennent des oolithes ferrugineuses plus anciennes. Les niveaux oolithiques ferrugineux de la Nurra sont le résultat d’un mélange en proportions variables entre une composante détritique riche en Al, Si,Ti et une composante chimique riche en fer. L’abondance de chamosite et sidérite explique les hautes valeurs de perte au feu et la haute teneur en Fe_tot, Fe²⁺ et Al et la basse teneur en Si en comparaison avec d’autres formations oolithiques ferrugineuses Phanérozo?ques. Les éléments détritiques sont Al, Si, Ti, Mg, Zr, Th. Les processus de précipitation chimique ont fourni Fe, Ca., P, Sr, HREE. Les teneurs de terres rares normalisées aux chondrites montrent un léger enrichissement en LREE, une évidente anomalie négative de Eu, et une disposition en plateau des HREE, qui est tipique de beaucoup de formations oolithiques ferrugineuses Ordoviciennes. Les teneurs normalisées aux NASC forment une courbe convexe avec deux maxima pour Sm et Gd, comme dans tout les dép?ts phosphatés pré-Dévoniens. Les nombreux intraclastes de phosphate, les cavités pleines de pyrite, l’abondance de matière organique et l’absence de glacounie suggèrent une extension vers plus faible profondeurs ( jusq’à 60 m) de la couche d’eau marine ayant la moindre teneur en oxygène dans un bassin stratifié. Pour la zone à pyrite qui est en dessous de la zone oolithique (profondeur > 60 m) on estime les conditions suivantes: log fO₂ = − 72 à− 80 et pH = 9.0–9.5. Les eaux intergranulaires solubilisent et emportent le Eu²⁺ des sediments du fond et donnent l’anomalie négative de Eu pour les teneurs de terres rares normalisées aux chondrites.

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Received February 10, 1999;/revised version accepted June 30, 1999     

Peculiar earthquake damage on a reinforced concrete building in San Gregorio (L��Aquila, Italy): site effects or building defects?

In San Gregorio (L’Aquila, Italy) a three-story, reinforced concrete (RC) building had the first floor collapsed following the earthquake of April 6, 2009. The remaining two stories fell with a displacement in the horizontal projection of about 70 cm. This unusual behaviour is made more puzzling by the fact that buildings located at a short distance and with similar features had little or no damage reported. To understand the causes of the collapse we performed strong motion recordings, microtremor measurements, a detailed geological survey, a high-resolution geo-electrical tomography, a borehole with a down-hole test. On the building we performed a geometrical survey and laboratory tests on concrete cores. The acceleration and noise recordings have shown a high amplification with uphill-downhill direction. The geological survey has revealed the presence of co-seismic fractures on stiff soils. Geo-electrical tomography has shown an unexpected, strong discontinuity just below the building. Taking advantage of excavations in adjacent lots, we have highlighted rare cataclastic decimetric bands with a very low resistance material incorporated in well-stratified calcarenites. The same soft material has been founded in the borehole down to 17 m from ground level, showing a shear wave velocity that starts at 250 m/s, increases with depth and has an abrupt transition in calcarenites at 1,150 m/s. The surface geophysical measurements in the vicinity of the site have not shown similar situations, with flat HVSR curves as expected for a rock outcrop, except for a lateral extension of the soft zone. The analysis on the quality of the building materials has yielded values higher than average for the age and type of construction, and no special design or construction deficiencies have been observed. A strong, peculiar site effect thus appears to be the most likely cause of the damage observed.