Lead poisoning: zoo animals may be the first victims

In the article "Lead Poisoning: Zoo animals may be the first victims" (p. 130, 9 July), an erroneous figure was given in column 3, paragraph 3, lines 5 and 6. It should have read 3900 micrograms per gram of dry weight.     

The extreme Kuiper Belt binary 2001 QW322

The study of binary Kuiper Belt objects helps to probe the dynamic conditions present during planet formation in the solar system. We report on the mutual-orbit determination of 2001 QW322, a Kuiper Belt binary with a very large separation whose properties challenge binary-formation and -evolution theories. Six years of tracking indicate that the binary's mutual-orbit period is approximately 25 to 30 years, that the orbit pole is retrograde and inclined 50 degrees to 62 degrees from the ecliptic plane, and, most surprisingly, that the mutual orbital eccentricity is <0.4. The semimajor axis of 105,000 to 135,000 kilometers is 10 times that of other near-equal-mass binaries. Because this weakly bound binary is prone to orbital disruption by interlopers, its lifetime in its present state is probably less than 1 billion years.     

Pulsars in binary systems: probing binary stellar evolution and general relativity

Radio pulsars in binary orbits often have short millisecond spin periods as a result of mass transfer from their companion stars. They therefore act as very precise, stable, moving clocks that allow us to investigate a large set of otherwise inaccessible astrophysical problems. The orbital parameters derived from high-precision binary pulsar timing provide constraints on binary evolution, characteristics of the binary pulsar population, and the masses of neutron stars with different mass-transfer histories. These binary systems also test gravitational theories, setting strong limits on deviations from general relativity. Surveys for new pulsars yield new binary systems that increase our understanding of all these fields and may open up whole new areas of physics, as most spectacularly evidenced by the recent discovery of an extremely relativistic double-pulsar system.     

The triple-ring nebula around SN 1987A: fingerprint of a binary merger

Supernova 1987A, the first naked-eye supernova observed since Kepler's supernova in 1604, defies a number of theoretical expectations. Its anomalies have long been attributed to a merger between two massive stars that occurred some 20,000 years before the explosion, but so far there has been no conclusive proof that this merger took place. Here, we present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of the mass ejection associated with such a merger and the subsequent evolution of the ejecta, and we show that this accurately reproduces the properties of the triple-ring nebula surrounding the supernova.     

Very high energy gamma-ray binary stars

One of the major astronomical discoveries of the last two decades was the detection of luminous x-ray binary star systems in which gravitational energy from accretion is released by the emission of x-ray photons, which have energies in the range of 0.1 to 10 kiloelectron volts. Recent observations have shown that some of these binary sources also emit photons in the energy range of 10(12) electron volts and above. Such sources contain a rotating neutron star that is accreting matter from a companion. Techniques to detect such radiation are ground-based, simple, and inexpensive. Four binary sources (Hercules X-1, 4U0115+63, Vela X-1, and Cygnus X-3) have been observed by at least two independent groups. Although the discovery of such very high energy "gamma-ray binaries" was not theoretically anticipated, models have now been proposed that attempt to explain the behavior of one or more of the sources. The implications of these observations is that a significant portion of the more energetic cosmic rays observed on Earth may arise from the action of similar sources within the galaxy during the past few million years.     

Discovery of a young planetary-mass binary

We have identified a companion to the young planetary-mass brown dwarf Oph 162225-240515. This pair forms a resolved binary consisting of two objects with masses comparable to those of extrasolar giant planets. Several lines of evidence confirm the coevality and youth of the two objects, suggesting that they form a physical binary. Models yield masses of approximately 14 and approximately 7 times the mass of Jupiter for the primary and the secondary object, respectively, at an age of approximately 1 million years. A wide ( approximately 240-astronomical unit) binary in the ultra-low-mass regime poses a challenge to some popular models of brown dwarf formation.     

Layer-by-layer growth of binary colloidal crystals

We report the growth of binary colloidal crystals with control over the crystal orientation through a simple layer-by-layer process. Well-ordered single binary colloidal crystals with a stoichiometry of large (L) and small (S) particles of LS2 and LS were generated. In addition, we observed the formation of an LS3 superstructure. The structures formed as a result of the templating effect of the first layer and the forces exerted by the surface tension of the drying liquid. By using spheres of different composition, one component can be selectively removed, as is demonstrated in the growth of a hexagonal non-close-packed colloidal crystal.