A belt of moonlets in Saturn's A ring

The origin and evolution of planetary rings is one of the prominent unsolved problems of planetary sciences, with direct implications for planet-forming processes in pre-planetary disks. The recent detection of four propeller-shaped features in Saturn's A ring proved the presence of large boulder-sized moonlets in the rings. Their existence favours ring creation in a catastrophic disruption of an icy satellite rather than a co-genetic origin with Saturn, because bodies of this size are unlikely to have accreted inside the rings. Here we report the detection of eight new propeller features in an image sequence that covers the complete A ring, indicating embedded moonlets with radii between 30 m and 70 m. We show that the moonlets found are concentrated in a narrow 3,000-km-wide annulus 130,000 km from Saturn. Compared to the main population of ring particles (radius s < 10 m), such embedded moonlets have a short lifetime with respect to meteoroid impacts. Therefore, they are probably the remnants of a shattered ring-moon of Pan size or larger, locally contributing new material to the older ring. This supports the theory of catastrophic ring creation in a collisional cascade.     

The determination of the structure of Saturn's F ring by nearby moonlets

Saturn's narrow F ring exhibits several unusual features that vary on timescales of hours to years. These include transient clumps, a central core surrounded by a multistranded structure and a regular series of longitudinal channels associated with Prometheus, one of the ring's two 'shepherding' satellites. Several smaller moonlets and clumps have been detected in the ring's immediate vicinity, and a population of embedded objects has been inferred. Here we report direct evidence of moonlets embedded in the ring's bright core, and show that most of the F ring's morphology results from the continual gravitational and collisional effects of small satellites, often combined with the perturbing effect of Prometheus. The F-ring region is perhaps the only location in the Solar System where large-scale collisional processes are occurring on an almost daily basis.     

A 20-km-diameter multi-ringed impact structure in the North Sea

Most craters found on Earth are highly eroded, poorly preserved and only exposed on land. Here we describe a multi-ringed impact structure discovered in the North Sea from the analysis of three-dimensional seismic reflection data. The structure is 20 km in diameter, and has at least ten distinctive concentric rings located between 2 and 10 km from the crater centre. The structure affects Cretaceous chalk and Jurassic shales, and is well preserved below several hundred metres of post-impact Tertiary strata, which constrains its age to be 60-65 Myr old. The formation of concentric ringed impact structures at this relatively small scale had not previously been thought possible, especially on the terrestrial planets. We have mapped the ring structures at a resolution of tens of metres both laterally and in depth, and show that the rings are fault-bounded graben structures, similar to fault arrays formed in low-strain-rate detachment tectonic settings. Strata deeper than 500 m palaeodepth appear unfaulted, and we infer that the concentric ring structures may have accommodated post-impact extension towards the excavated crater, through detachment on weak layers within the chalk.     

Energy spectra of quantum rings.

Quantum mechanical experiments in ring geometries have long fascinated physicists. Open rings connected to leads, for example, allow the observation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, one of the best examples of quantum mechanical phase coherence. The phase coherence of electrons travelling through a quantum dot embedded in one arm of an open ring has also been demonstrated. The energy spectra of closed rings have only recently been studied by optical spectroscopy. The prediction that they allow persistent current has been explored in various experiments. Here we report magnetotransport experiments on closed rings in the Coulomb blockade regime. Our experiments show that a microscopic understanding of energy levels, so far limited to few-electron quantum dots, can be extended to a many-electron system. A semiclassical interpretation of our results indicates that electron motion in the rings is governed by regular rather than chaotic motion, an unexplored regime in many-electron quantum dots. This opens a way to experiments where even more complex structures can be investigated at a quantum mechanical level.     

Discovery of the triple asteroidal system 87 Sylvia

After decades of speculation, the existence of binary asteroids has been observationally confirmed, with examples in all minor planet populations. However, no triple systems have hitherto been discovered. Here we report the unambiguous detection of a triple asteroidal system in the main belt, composed of a 280-km primary (87 Sylvia) and two small moonlets orbiting at 710 and 1,360 km. We estimate their orbital elements and use them to refine the shape of the primary body. Both orbits are equatorial, circular and prograde, suggesting a common origin. Using the orbital information to estimate its mass and density, 87 Sylvia appears to have a rubble-pile structure with a porosity of 25-60 per cent. The system was most probably formed through the disruptive collision of a parent asteroid, with the new primary resulting from accretion of fragments, while the moonlets are formed from the debris, as has been predicted previously.     

环的S.F.P.维数

定义了环的Ｓ．Ｆ．Ｐ．维数,给出了Ｓ．Ｆ．Ｐ．维数为１的交换拟局部环的特征刻画,对凝聚环得了ｇｌｄｉｍＲ＝ｍａｘ（ｗｇｌｄｉｍＲ,Ｓ．Ｆ．Ｐ．ｄｉｍＲ－１）,从而对凝聚环,尤其是总体维数为２的拟局环进行了分类,最后还考察了Ｃ－ｅｘｃｅｌｌｅｎｔ扩张。     

纳米晶体磁环对磨粒传感器灵敏度的影响

为了提高在线式磨粒监测传感器的监测灵敏度,设计了一种内置纳米晶体磁环的电磁式磨粒传感器.通过建立传感器内部磁场分布及输出感应电动势的数值模型,系统地研究了传感器感应线圈磁环和激励线圈磁环尺寸特征对磨粒监测灵敏度的影响规律.仿真及实验结果表明:纳米晶体磁环对传感器灵敏度具有显著影响.具体表现为:为激励线圈和感应线圈同时添加特定尺寸的磁环可使磨损颗粒引起的传感器输出感应电动势幅值增大4~7倍.该方法可大幅提高传感器对微小磨粒的监测能力,对大型机械设备的早期故障诊断和故障预警具有重要意义.      

Crystalline ion beams

By freezing out the motion between particles in a high-energy storage ring, it should be possible to create threads of ions, offering research opportunities beyond the realm of standard accelerator physics. The usual heating due to intra-beam collisions should completely vanish, giving rise to a state of unprecedented brilliance. Despite a continuous improvement of beam cooling techniques, such as electron cooling and laser cooling, the ultimate goal of beam crystallization has not yet been reached in high-energy storage rings. Electron-cooled dilute beams of highly charged ions show liquid-like order with unique applications. An experiment using laser cooling suggested a reduction of intra-beam heating, although the results were ambiguous. Here we demonstrate the crystallization of laser-cooled Mg+ beams circulating in the radiofrequency quadrupole storage ring PALLAS at a velocity of 2,800 m s-1, which corresponds to a beam energy of 1 eV. A sudden collapse of the transverse beam size and the low longitudinal velocity spread clearly indicate the phase transition. The continuous ring-shaped crystalline beam shows exceptional stability, surviving for more than 3,000 revolutions without cooling.     

Unidirectional rotation in a mechanically interlocked molecular rotor

Molecular motor proteins are ubiquitous in nature and have inspired attempts to create artificial machines that mimic their ability to produce controlled motion on the molecular level. A recent example of an artificial molecular rotor is a molecule undergoing a unidirectional 120 degrees intramolecular rotation around a single bond; another is a molecule capable of repetitive unimolecular rotation driven by multiple and successive isomerization of its central double bond. Here we show that sequential and unidirectional rotation can also be induced in mechanically interlocked assemblies comprised of one or two small rings moving around one larger ring. The small rings in these [2]- and [3]catenanes move in discrete steps between different binding sites located on the larger ring, with the movement driven by light, heat or chemical stimuli that change the relative affinity of the small rings for the different binding sites. We find that the small ring in the [2]catenane moves with high positional integrity but without control over its direction of motion, while the two rings in the [3]catenane mutually block each other's movement to ensure an overall stimuli-induced unidirectional motion around the larger ring.     

基于图像处理的油圈分布特性研究

油圈在日常生活中经常可见．然而，油圈的分布特性迄今为止尚未得到深入研究．本文采用数字图像处理的方法来研究油圈的分布特性，具有直观、简便的优点．采用数码相机对油圈进行拍照，利用图像处理技术对图片进行图像相减、二值化、连通分量提取等处理，即可得到油圈的尺寸、数目等信息．采用直方图、高斯拟合等方法对上述信息进行一定的处理可得到油圈的分布特性．研究结果表明，经过搅拌处理后，直径大的油圈数目较少，直径小的油圈数目较多，且油圈数目与直径之间近似满足高斯分布规律．     

A dark jet dominates the power output of the stellar black hole Cygnus X-1

Black holes undergoing accretion are thought to emit the bulk of their power in the X-ray band by releasing the gravitational potential energy of the infalling matter. At the same time, they are capable of producing highly collimated jets of energy and particles flowing out of the system with relativistic velocities. Here we show that the 10-solar-mass (10M(o)) black hole in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 (refs 3-5) is surrounded by a large-scale (approximately 5 pc in diameter) ring-like structure that appears to be inflated by the inner radio jet. We estimate that in order to sustain the observed emission of the ring, the jet of Cygnus X-1 has to carry a kinetic power that can be as high as the bolometric X-ray luminosity of the binary system. This result may imply that low-luminosity stellar-mass black holes as a whole dissipate the bulk of the liberated accretion power in the form of 'dark', radiatively inefficient relativistic outflows, rather than locally in the X-ray-emitting inflow.     

环的半直和

推广了环的直和结构,构造出两个环的半直和,由此而使环可以嵌入有单位元的环这一结论可作为半直和结构的一个推论.同时,还证明了半直和的剩余类环是整环的一个整扩张.     

利用遗传算法的异步转移模式自愈环容量设计

自愈环是通信网的重要组成部分 ,自愈环的容量设计是双向自愈环规划的一个重要方面。该文以环路各段实际分配到的业务量总数尽可能平衡 ,从而环容量需求达到最小为优化目标 ,研究遗传算法在异步转移模式 (ATM)通信网双向自愈环容量设计中的应用 ,利用遗传算法的全局优化能力进行优化设计 ,解决了一个 NP(Nondeterministicpolynom ial)完全问题。针对节点对之间的业务量可分离和不可分离的两种情况建立了遗传算法的数学模型 ,并对不同规模的自愈环容量设计进行了计算机模拟。结果表明 :与其它方法相比较 ,该方法可以获得更好的设计结果 ,降低环容量的需求。     

Baer根的S-单环

证明Baer根的S－单环R有单位元的充要条件为R是有单位元的单环,从而证实：用Baer根的S－单环构造不平凡的原子根,则这环一定不能有单位元。     

Excellent 扩张环上Gorenstein投射模的性质

环论主要讨论其结构及分类,近年来特别对Gorenstein环的结构与分类以及维数不变量的研究很多,本文在Excellent扩张环上对Gorenstein投射模在两个环上的性质进行了比较.给出结论:若环S是环R的Excellent扩张,则模sM是G-Proj(Gorenstein投射模)的充要条件是sM是G-Proj,且模M作为S模和M模其Gorenstein投射维数相等,即GpdsM=GpdRM.     

A salt-water reservoir as the source of a compositionally stratified plume on Enceladus

The discovery of a plume of water vapour and ice particles emerging from warm fractures ('tiger stripes') in Saturn's small, icy moon Enceladus raised the question of whether the plume emerges from a subsurface liquid source or from the decomposition of ice. Previous compositional analyses of particles injected by the plume into Saturn's diffuse E ring have already indicated the presence of liquid water, but the mechanisms driving the plume emission are still debated. Here we report an analysis of the composition of freshly ejected particles close to the sources. Salt-rich ice particles are found to dominate the total mass flux of ejected solids (more than 99 per cent) but they are depleted in the population escaping into Saturn's E ring. Ice grains containing organic compounds are found to be more abundant in dense parts of the plume. Whereas previous Cassini observations were compatible with a variety of plume formation mechanisms, these data eliminate or severely constrain non-liquid models and strongly imply that a salt-water reservoir with a large evaporating surface provides nearly all of the matter in the plume.     

Origin of Saturn's rings and inner moons by mass removal from a lost Titan-sized satellite

The origin of Saturn's rings has not been adequately explained. The current rings are more than 90 to 95 per cent water ice, which implies that initially they were almost pure ice because they are continually polluted by rocky meteoroids. In contrast, a half-rock, half-ice mixture (similar to the composition of many of the satellites in the outer Solar System) would generally be expected. Previous ring origin theories invoke the collisional disruption of a small moon, or the tidal disruption of a comet during a close passage by Saturn. These models are improbable and/or struggle to account for basic properties of the rings, including their icy composition. Saturn has only one large satellite, Titan, whereas Jupiter has four large satellites; additional large satellites probably existed originally but were lost as they spiralled into Saturn. Here I report numerical simulations of the tidal removal of mass from a differentiated, Titan-sized satellite as it migrates inward towards Saturn. Planetary tidal forces preferentially strip material from the satellite's outer icy layers, while its rocky core remains intact and is lost to collision with the planet. The result is a pure ice ring much more massive than Saturn's current rings. As the ring evolves, its mass decreases and icy moons are spawned from its outer edge with estimated masses consistent with Saturn's ice-rich moons interior to and including Tethys.     

Evolutionary biology: adaptive developmental plasticity in snakes

The morphology of organisms is generally well matched to their environment, presumably because expression of their genes is tailored either at the population or the individual level to suit local conditions: for example, snake populations that persistently encounter large prey may accumulate gene mutations that specify a large head size, or head growth may be increased in individual snakes to meet local demands (adaptive developmental plasticity). Here we test the relative contributions of genetics and environment to the jaw sizes of two tiger snake populations: one that consumes small prey on the mainland, and an island population that relies on larger prey and has a larger jaw size. Although the idea of adaptive plasticity in response to environmental pressures is controversial, we find that both factors influence the difference in jaw size between the two populations, and the influence of developmental plasticity is greater in the island population.     

The sculpting of Jupiter's gossamer rings by its shadow

Dust near Jupiter is produced when interplanetary impactors collide energetically with small inner moons, and is organized into a main ring, an inner halo, and two fainter and more distant gossamer rings. Most of these structures are constrained by the orbits of the moons Adrastea, Metis, Amalthea and Thebe, but a faint outward protrusion called the Thebe extension behaves differently and has eluded understanding. Here we report on dust impacts detected during the Galileo spacecraft's traversal of the outer ring region: we find a gap in the rings interior to Thebe's orbit, grains on highly inclined paths, and a strong excess of submicrometre-sized dust just inside Amalthea's orbit. We present detailed modelling that shows that the passage of ring particles through Jupiter's shadow creates the Thebe extension and fully accounts for these Galileo results. Dust grains alternately charge and discharge when traversing shadow boundaries, allowing the planet's powerful magnetic field to excite orbital eccentricities and, when conditions are right, inclinations as well.     

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

The processes leading to the birth of low-mass stars such as our Sun have been well studied, but the formation of high-mass (over eight times the Sun's mass, M(o)) stars remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that high-mass stars may form through accretion of material from a circumstellar disk, in essentially the same way as low-mass stars form, rather than through the merging of several low-mass stars. There is as yet, however, no conclusive evidence. Here we report the presence of a flattened disk-like structure around a massive 15M(o) protostar in the Cepheus A region, based on observations of continuum emission from the dust and line emission from the molecular gas. The disk has a radius of about 330 astronomical units (Au) and a mass of 1 to 8 M(o). It is oriented perpendicular to, and spatially coincident with, the central embedded powerful bipolar radio jet, just as is the case with low-mass stars, from which we conclude that high-mass stars can form through accretion.