WorldWideScience

Sample records for stellar magnetospheres

  1. Theories of magnetospheres around accreting compact objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasyliunas, V.M.

    1979-01-01

    A wide class of galactic X-ray sources are believed to be binary systems where mass is flowing from a normal star to a companion that is a compact object, such as a neutron star. The strong magnetic fields of the compact object create a magnetosphere around it. We review the theoretical models developed to describe the properties of magnetospheres in such accreting binary systems. The size of the magnetosphere can be estimated from pressure balance arguments and is found to be small compared to the over-all size of the accretion region but large compared object if the latter is a neutron star. In the early models the magnetosphere was assumed to have open funnels in the polar regions, through which accreting plasma could pour in. Later, magnetically closed models were developed, with plasma entry made possible by instabilities at the magnetosphere boundary. The theory of plasma flow inside the magnetosphere has been formulated in analogy to a stellar wind with reversed flow; a complicating factor is the instability of the Alfven critical point for inflow. In the case of accretion via a well-defined disk, new problems if magnetospheric structure appear, in particular the question to what extent and by what process the magnetic fields from the compact object can penetrate into the acretion disk. Since the X-ray emission is powered by the gravitational energy released in the accretion process, mass transfer into the magnetosphere is of fundamental importance; the various proposed mechanisms are critically examined. (orig.)

  2. Magnetospheric structure and atmospheric Joule heating of habitable planets orbiting M-dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cohen, O.; Drake, J. J.; Garraffo, C.; Poppenhaeger, K. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Glocer, A. [NASA/GSFC, Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bell, J. M. [Center for Planetary Atmospheres and Flight Sciences, National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA 23666 (United States); Ridley, A. J.; Gombosi, T. I. [Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2014-07-20

    We study the magnetospheric structure and the ionospheric Joule Heating of planets orbiting M-dwarf stars in the habitable zone using a set of magnetohydrodynamic models. The stellar wind solution is used to drive a model for the planetary magnetosphere, which is coupled with a model for the planetary ionosphere. Our simulations reveal that the space environment around close-in habitable planets is extreme, and the stellar wind plasma conditions change from sub- to super-Alfvénic along the planetary orbit. As a result, the magnetospheric structure changes dramatically with a bow shock forming in the super-Alfvénic sectors, while no bow shock forms in the sub-Alfvénic sectors. The planets reside most of the time in the sub-Alfvénic sectors with poor atmospheric protection. A significant amount of Joule Heating is provided at the top of the atmosphere as a result of the intense stellar wind. For the steady-state solution, the heating is about 0.1%-3% of the total incoming stellar irradiation, and it is enhanced by 50% for the time-dependent case. The significant Joule Heating obtained here should be considered in models for the atmospheres of habitable planets in terms of the thickness of the atmosphere, the top-side temperature and density, the boundary conditions for the atmospheric pressure, and particle radiation and transport. Here we assume constant ionospheric Pedersen conductance similar to that of the Earth. The conductance could be greater due to the intense EUV radiation leading to smaller heating rates. We plan to quantify the ionospheric conductance in future study.

  3. A combined multiwavelength VLA/ALMA/Chandra study unveils the complex magnetosphere of the B-type star HR5907

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leto, P.; Trigilio, C.; Oskinova, L. M.; Ignace, R.; Buemi, C. S.; Umana, G.; Ingallinera, A.; Leone, F.; Phillips, N. M.; Agliozzo, C.; Todt, H.; Cerrigone, L.

    2018-05-01

    We present new radio/millimeter measurements of the hot magnetic star HR 5907 obtained with the VLA and ALMA interferometers. We find that HR 5907 is the most radio luminous early type star in the cm-mm band among those presently known. Its multi-wavelength radio light curves are strongly variable with an amplitude that increases with radio frequency. The radio emission can be explained by the populations of the non-thermal electrons accelerated in the current sheets on the outer border of the magnetosphere of this fast-rotating magnetic star. We classify HR 5907 as another member of the growing class of strongly magnetic fast-rotating hot stars where the gyro-synchrotron emission mechanism efficiently operates in their magnetospheres. The new radio observations of HR 5907 are combined with archival X-ray data to study the physical condition of its magnetosphere. The X-ray spectra of HR 5907 show tentative evidence for the presence of non-thermal spectral component. We suggest that non-thermal X-rays originate a stellar X-ray aurora due to streams of non-thermal electrons impacting on the stellar surface. Taking advantage of the relation between the spectral indices of the X-ray power-law spectrum and the non-thermal electron energy distributions, we perform 3-D modelling of the radio emission for HR 5907. The wavelength-dependent radio light curves probe magnetospheric layers at different heights above the stellar surface. A detailed comparison between simulated and observed radio light curves leads us to conclude that the stellar magnetic field of HR 5907 is likely non-dipolar, providing further indirect evidence of the complex magnetic field topology of HR 5907.

  4. Planets, stars and stellar systems

    CERN Document Server

    Bond, Howard; McLean, Ian; Barstow, Martin; Gilmore, Gerard; Keel, William; French, Linda

    2013-01-01

    This is volume 3 of Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems, a six-volume compendium of modern astronomical research covering subjects of key interest to the main fields of contemporary astronomy. This volume on “Solar and Stellar Planetary Systems” edited by Linda French and Paul Kalas presents accessible review chapters From Disks to Planets, Dynamical Evolution of Planetary Systems, The Terrestrial Planets, Gas and Ice Giant Interiors, Atmospheres of Jovian Planets, Planetary Magnetospheres, Planetary Rings, An Overview of the Asteroids and Meteorites, Dusty Planetary Systems and Exoplanet Detection Methods. All chapters of the handbook were written by practicing professionals. They include sufficient background material and references to the current literature to allow readers to learn enough about a specialty within astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology to get started on their own practical research projects. In the spirit of the series Stars and Stellar Systems published by Chicago University Press in...

  5. A novel look at the pulsar force-free magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, S. A.; Flanchik, A. B.

    2018-03-01

    The stationary axisymmetric force-free magnetosphere of a pulsar is considered. We present an exact dipolar solution of the pulsar equation, construct the magnetospheric model on its basis and examine its observational support. The new model has toroidal rather than common cylindrical geometry, in line with that of the plasma outflow observed directly as the pulsar wind nebula at much larger spatial scale. In its new configuration, the axisymmetric magnetosphere consumes the neutron star rotational energy much more efficiently, implying re-estimation of the stellar magnetic field, B_{new}0=3.3×10^{-4}B/P, where P is the pulsar period. Then the 7-order scatter of the magnetic field derived from the rotational characteristics of the pulsars observed appears consistent with the \\cotχ-law, where χ is a random quantity uniformly distributed in the interval [0,π/2]. Our result is suggestive of a unique actual magnetic field strength of the neutron stars along with a random angle between the magnetic and rotational axes and gives insight into the neutron star unification on the geometrical basis.

  6. Planetary magnetospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, T.W.; Michel, F.C.

    1975-01-01

    Recent planetary probes have resulted in the realization of the generality of magnetospheric interactions between the solar wind and the planets. The three categories of planetary magnetospheres are discussed: intrinsic slowly rotating magnetospheres, intrinsic rapidly rotating magnetospheres, and induced magnetospheres. (BJG)

  7. Magnetohydrodynamic calculations on pulsar magnetospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brinkmann, W.

    1976-01-01

    In this paper, the relativistic magnetohydrodynamic is presented in covariant form and applied to some problems in the field of pulsar magnetospheres. In addition, numerical methods to solve the resulting equations of motion are investigated. The theory of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic presented here is valid in the framework of the theory of general relativity, describing the interaction of electromagnetic fields with an ideal fluid. In the two-dimensional case, a Lax-Wendroff method is studied which should be optimally stable with the operator splitting of Strang. In the framework of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic also the model of a stationary aequatorial stellar pulsar wind as well as the parallel rotator is investigated. (orig.) [de

  8. Investigating the Magnetospheres of Rapidly Rotating B-type Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, C. L.; Petit, V.; Nazé, Y.; Wade, G. A.; Townsend, R. H.; Owocki, S. P.; Cohen, D. H.; David-Uraz, A.; Shultz, M.

    2017-11-01

    Recent spectropolarimetric surveys of bright, hot stars have found that ~10% of OB-type stars contain strong (mostly dipolar) surface magnetic fields (~kG). The prominent paradigm describing the interaction between the stellar winds and the surface magnetic field is the magnetically confined wind shock (MCWS) model. In this model, the stellar wind plasma is forced to move along the closed field loops of the magnetic field, colliding at the magnetic equator, and creating a shock. As the shocked material cools radiatively it will emit X-rays. Therefore, X-ray spectroscopy is a key tool in detecting and characterizing the hot wind material confined by the magnetic fields of these stars. Some B-type stars are found to have very short rotational periods. The effects of the rapid rotation on the X-ray production within the magnetosphere have yet to be explored in detail. The added centrifugal force due to rapid rotation is predicted to cause faster wind outflows along the field lines, leading to higher shock temperatures and harder X-rays. However, this is not observed in all rapidly rotating magnetic B-type stars. In order to address this from a theoretical point of view, we use the X-ray Analytical Dynamical Magnetosphere (XADM) model, originally developed for slow rotators, with an implementation of new rapid rotational physics. Using X-ray spectroscopy from ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope, we observed 5 rapidly rotating B-types stars to add to the previous list of observations. Comparing the observed X-ray luminosity and hardness ratio to that predicted by the XADM allows us to determine the role the added centrifugal force plays in the magnetospheric X-ray emission of these stars.

  9. A SEARCH FOR X-RAY EMISSION FROM COLLIDING MAGNETOSPHERES IN YOUNG ECCENTRIC STELLAR BINARIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Getman, Konstantin V.; Broos, Patrick S. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Kóspál, Ágnes [Konkoly Observatory, Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 67, 1525 Budapest (Hungary); Salter, Demerese M. [Department of Astronomy and Laboratory for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Garmire, Gordon P. [Huntingdon Institute for X-ray Astronomy, LLC, 10677 Franks Road, Huntingdon, PA 16652 (United States)

    2016-12-01

    Among young binary stars whose magnetospheres are expected to collide, only two systems have been observed near periastron in the X-ray band: the low-mass DQ Tau and the older and more massive HD 152404. Both exhibit elevated levels of X-ray emission at periastron. Our goal is to determine whether colliding magnetospheres in young high-eccentricity binaries commonly produce elevated average levels of X-ray activity. This work is based on Chandra snapshots of multiple periastron and non-periastron passages in four nearby young eccentric binaries (Parenago 523, RX J1622.7-2325 Nw, UZ Tau E, and HD 152404). We find that for the merged sample of all four binaries the current X-ray data show an increasing average X-ray flux near periastron (at a ∼2.5-sigma level). Further comparison of these data with the X-ray properties of hundreds of young stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster, produced by the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP), indicates that the X-ray emission from the merged sample of our binaries cannot be explained within the framework of the COUP-like X-ray activity. However, due to the inhomogeneities of the merged binary sample and the relatively low statistical significance of the detected flux increase, these findings are regarded as tentative only. More data are needed to prove that the flux increase is real and is related to the processes of colliding magnetospheres.

  10. Magnetospheric substorm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ondoh, Tadanori

    1974-01-01

    The results of observation of electric field, magnetic field, high energy particles, plasma and aurora on the ground and with artificial satellites during magnetospheric substorm are reviewed, and the problems are mentioned. A new image of magnetospheric substorm is described. The whole description is divided into eight parts. The first part describes the ionospheric electric current and plasma convection accompanying magnetospheric substorm. The variation of geomagnetism during the magnetospheric substorm, the ionospheric equivalent current during the growth and expansion period of substorm, and the relationship between the high energy proton flux of equatorial zone current and peripheral plasma density are illustrated. The second part describes auroral storm. The time variation of aurora observed with a whole sky camera is illustrated. The third part describes the structure of magnetosphere tail. The variation of electron spectrum parameters when the inner edge of plasma sheet passes is illustrated. The fourth part describes the auroral zone of the plasma sheet. The fifth part describes the magnetospheric substorm in magnetosphere tail. The sixth part describes the electric connection of magnetosphere with high latitudinal ionosphere. The seventh part describes interplanet magnetic field and magnetospheric substorm. The eighth part is summary. The ''SC- triggered bay'' accompanied by rapid decrease of X- or H-component occurred frequently immediately after SC in the night side of auroral zone when the rapidstart type magnetic storm at mid- and low-latitudes occurred. The correlation between the Dsub(st) at low latitude and the DS at high latitude during magnetic storm should be reexamined. (Iwakiri, K.)

  11. Magnetic absorption of VHE photons in the magnetosphere of the Crab pulsar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogovalov, S. V.; Contopoulos, I.; Prosekin, A.; Tronin, I.; Aharonian, F. A.

    2018-05-01

    The detection of the pulsed ˜1 TeV gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar reported by MAGIC and VERITAS collaborations demands a substantial revision of existing models of particle acceleration in the pulsar magnetosphere. In this regard model independent restrictions on the possible production site of the very high energy (VHE) photons become an important issue. In this paper, we consider limitations imposed by the process of conversion of VHE gamma-rays into e± pairs in the magnetic field of the pulsar magnetosphere. Photons with energies exceeding 1 TeV are effectively absorbed even at large distances from the surface of the neutron star. Our calculations of magnetic absorption in the force-free magnetosphere show that the twisting of the magnetic field due to the pulsar rotation makes the magnetosphere more transparent compared to the dipole magnetosphere. The gamma-ray absorption appears stronger for photons emitted in the direction of rotation than in the opposite direction. There is a small angular cone inside which the magnetosphere is relatively transparent and photons with energy 1.5 TeV can escape from distances beyond 0.1 light cylinder radius (Rlc). The emission surface from where photons can be emitted in the observer's direction further restricts the sites of VHE gamma-ray production. For the observation angle 57° relative to the Crab pulsar axis of rotation and the orthogonal rotation, the emission surface in the open field line region is located as close as 0.4 Rlc from the stellar surface for a dipole magnetic field, and 0.1 Rlc for a force-free magnetic field.

  12. Global Vlasov simulation on magnetospheres of astronomical objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umeda, Takayuki; Ito, Yosuke; Fukazawa, Keiichiro

    2013-01-01

    Space plasma is a collisionless, multi-scale, and highly nonlinear medium. There are various types of self-consistent computer simulations that treat space plasma according to various approximations. We develop numerical schemes for solving the Vlasov (collisionless Boltzmann) equation, which is the first-principle kinetic equation for collisionless plasma. The weak-scaling benchmark test shows that our parallel Vlasov code achieves a high performance and a high scalability. Currently, we use more than 1000 cores for parallel computations and apply the present parallel Vlasov code to various cross-scale processes in space plasma, such as a global simulation on the interaction between solar/stellar wind and magnetospheres of astronomical objects

  13. The magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ratcliffe, J.A.

    1977-01-01

    The structure of the magnetosphere, deduced from observations in space craft, is described, together with some of the phenomena that occur in it. A simple non-mathematical outline is given of some of the processes involved. The effects of the magnetosphere on the aurora, and on the magnetic field observed at the ground, are described, and the way they change during magnetospheric storms is discussed. (author)

  14. EXTENDED MAGNETOSPHERES IN PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE EVOLUTION: FROM T TAURI STARS TO THE BROWN DWARF LIMIT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez de Castro, Ana I.; Marcos-Arenal, Pablo [Grupo de Investigacion Complutense AEGORA, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2012-04-20

    Low-mass pre-main-sequence stars, i.e., T Tauri stars (TTSs), strongly radiate at high energies, from X-rays to the ultraviolet (UV). This excess radiation with respect to main-sequence cool stars (MSCSs) is associated with the accretion process, i.e., it is produced in the extended magnetospheres, in the accretion shocks on the stellar surface, and in the outflows. Although evidence of accretion shocks and outflow contribution to the high-energy excess have been recently addressed, there is not an updated revision of the magnetospheric contribution. This article addresses this issue. The UV observations of the TTSs in the well-known Taurus region have been analyzed together with the XMM-Newton observations compiled in the XEST survey. For the first time the high sensitivity of the Hubble Space Telescope UV instrumentation has allowed measurement of the UV line fluxes of TTSs to M8 type. UV- and X-ray-normalized fluxes have been determined to study the extent and properties of the TTS magnetospheres as a class. They have been compared with the atmospheres of the MSCSs. The main results from this analysis are (1) the normalized fluxes of all the tracers are correlated; this correlation is independent of the broad mass range and the hardness of the X-ray radiation field; (2) the TTS correlations are different than the MSCS correlations; (3) there is a very significant excess emission in O I in the TTSs compared with MSCSs that seems to be caused by recombination radiation from the disk atmosphere after photoionization by extreme UV radiation; the Fe II/Mg II recombination continuum has also been detected in several TTSs and most prominently in AA Tau; and (4) the normalized flux of the UV tracers anticorrelates with the strength of the X-ray flux, i.e., the stronger the X-ray surface flux is, the weaker the observed UV flux. This last behavior is counterintuitive within the framework of stellar dynamo theory and suggests that UV emission can be produced in the

  15. Double-reconnected magnetic structures driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the Earth's magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faganello, Matteo; Borgogno, Dario; Califano, Francesco; Pegoraro, Francesco

    2015-11-01

    In an almost collisionless MagnetoHydrodynamic plasma in a relatively strong magnetic field, stresses can be conveyed far from the region where they are exerted e.g., through the propagation of Alfvèn waves. The forced dynamics of line-tied magnetic structures in solar and stellar coronae is a paradigmatic case. We investigate how this action at a distance develops from the equatorial region of the Kelvin-Helmholtz unstable flanks of the Earth's magnetosphere leading to the onset, at mid latitude in both hemispheres, of correlated double magnetic field line reconnection events that can allow the solar wind plasma to enter the Earth's magnetosphere. This mid-latitude double reconnection process, first investigated in, has been confirmed here by following a large set of individual field lines using a method similar to a Poincarè map.

  16. Concepts of magnetospheric convection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasyliunas, V.M.

    1975-01-01

    Magnetospheric physics, which grew out of attempts to understand the space environment of the Earth, is becoming increasingly applicable to other systems in the Universe. Among the planets, in addition to the Earth, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and (in a somewhat different way) Venus are now known to have magnetospheres. The magnetospheres of pulsars have been regarded as an essential part of the pulsar phenomenon. Other astrophysical systems, such as supernova remnant shells or magnetic stars and binary star systems, may be describable as magnetospheres. The major concepts of magnetospheric physics thus need to be formulated in a general way not restricted to the geophysical context in which they may have originated. Magnetospheric convection has been one of the most important and fruitful concepts in the study of the Earth's magnetosphere. This paper describes the basic theoretical notions of convection in a manner applicable to magnetospheres generally and discusses the relative importance of convective corotational motions, with particular reference to the comparison of the Earth and Jupiter. (Auth.)

  17. Stellar activity for every TESS star in the Southern sky

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Ward S.; Law, Nicholas; Fors, Octavi; Corbett, Henry T.; Ratzloff, Jeff; del Ser, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Although TESS will search for Earths around more than 200,000 nearby stars, the life-impacting superflare occurrence of these stars remains poorly characterized. We monitor long-term stellar flare occurrence for every TESS star in the accessible sky at 2-minute cadence with the CTIO-based Evryscope, a combination of twenty-four telescopes, together giving instantaneous sky coverage of 8000 square degrees. In collaboration with Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array (LWA) all-sky monitoring, Evryscope also provides optical counterparts to radio flare, CME, and exoplanet-magnetosphere stellar activity searches. A Northern Evryscope will be installed at Mount Laguna Observatory, CA in collaboration with SDSU later this year, enabling stellar activity characterization for the full TESS target list and both continuous viewing zones, as well as providing 100% overlap with LWA radio activity. Targets of interest (e.g. Proxima Cen, TRAPPIST-1) are given special focus. We are currently sensitive to stellar activity down to 1% precision at g' ~ 10 and about 0.2 of a magnitude at g' ~ 15. With 2-minute cadence and a projected 5-year timeline, with 2+ years already recorded, we present preliminary results from an activity characterization of every Southern TESS target.

  18. Synchronous x-ray and radio mode switches: a rapid global transformation of the pulsar magnetosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermsen, W; Hessels, J W T; Kuiper, L; van Leeuwen, J; Mitra, D; de Plaa, J; Rankin, J M; Stappers, B W; Wright, G A E; Basu, R; Alexov, A; Coenen, T; Grießmeier, J-M; Hassall, T E; Karastergiou, A; Keane, E; Kondratiev, V I; Kramer, M; Kuniyoshi, M; Noutsos, A; Serylak, M; Pilia, M; Sobey, C; Weltevrede, P; Zagkouris, K; Asgekar, A; Avruch, I M; Batejat, F; Bell, M E; Bell, M R; Bentum, M J; Bernardi, G; Best, P; Bîrzan, L; Bonafede, A; Breitling, F; Broderick, J; Brüggen, M; Butcher, H R; Ciardi, B; Duscha, S; Eislöffel, J; Falcke, H; Fender, R; Ferrari, C; Frieswijk, W; Garrett, M A; de Gasperin, F; de Geus, E; Gunst, A W; Heald, G; Hoeft, M; Horneffer, A; Iacobelli, M; Kuper, G; Maat, P; Macario, G; Markoff, S; McKean, J P; Mevius, M; Miller-Jones, J C A; Morganti, R; Munk, H; Orrú, E; Paas, H; Pandey-Pommier, M; Pandey, V N; Pizzo, R; Polatidis, A G; Rawlings, S; Reich, W; Röttgering, H; Scaife, A M M; Schoenmakers, A; Shulevski, A; Sluman, J; Steinmetz, M; Tagger, M; Tang, Y; Tasse, C; ter Veen, S; Vermeulen, R; van de Brink, R H; van Weeren, R J; Wijers, R A M J; Wise, M W; Wucknitz, O; Yatawatta, S; Zarka, P

    2013-01-25

    Pulsars emit from low-frequency radio waves up to high-energy gamma-rays, generated anywhere from the stellar surface out to the edge of the magnetosphere. Detecting correlated mode changes across the electromagnetic spectrum is therefore key to understanding the physical relationship among the emission sites. Through simultaneous observations, we detected synchronous switching in the radio and x-ray emission properties of PSR B0943+10. When the pulsar is in a sustained radio-"bright" mode, the x-rays show only an unpulsed, nonthermal component. Conversely, when the pulsar is in a radio-"quiet" mode, the x-ray luminosity more than doubles and a 100% pulsed thermal component is observed along with the nonthermal component. This indicates rapid, global changes to the conditions in the magnetosphere, which challenge all proposed pulsar emission theories.

  19. Double-reconnected magnetic structures driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the Earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borgogno, D.; Califano, F.; Pegoraro, F.; Faganello, M.

    2015-01-01

    In an almost collisionless magnetohydrodynamic plasma in a relatively strong magnetic field, stresses can be conveyed far from the region where they are exerted, e.g., through the propagation of Alfvèn waves. The forced dynamics of line-tied magnetic structures in solar and stellar coronae (see, e.g., A. F. Rappazzo and E. N. Parker, Astrophys. J. 773, L2 (2013) and references therein) is a paradigmatic case. Here, we investigate how this action at a distance develops from the equatorial region of the Kelvin-Helmholtz unstable flanks of the Earth's magnetosphere leading to the onset, at mid latitude in both hemispheres, of correlated double magnetic field line reconnection events that can allow the solar wind plasma to enter the Earth's magnetosphere

  20. Outer magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schardt, A.W.; Behannon, K.W.; Lepping, R.P.; Carbary, J.F.; Eviatar, A.; Siscoe, G.L.

    1984-01-01

    Similarities between the Saturnian and terrestrial outer magnetosphere are examined. Saturn, like earth, has a fully developed magnetic tail, 80 to 100 RS in diameter. One major difference between the two outer magnetospheres is the hydrogen and nitrogen torus produced by Titan. This plasma is, in general, convected in the corotation direction at nearly the rigid corotation speed. Energies of magnetospheric particles extend to above 500 keV. In contrast, interplanetary protons and ions above 2 MeV have free access to the outer magnetosphere to distances well below the Stormer cutoff. This access presumably occurs through the magnetotail. In addition to the H+, H2+, and H3+ ions primarily of local origin, energetic He, C, N, and O ions are found with solar composition. Their flux can be substantially enhanced over that of interplanetary ions at energies of 0.2 to 0.4 MeV/nuc

  1. Dynamics of magnetospheric plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horwitz, J.L.

    1985-01-01

    The dynamical behavior of the magnetospheric plasmas which control the electrostatic charging of spacecraft is the result of the complex interaction of a variety of production, loss, transport, and energization mechanisms in the magnetosphere. This paper is intended to provide the spacecraft engineer with a foundation in the basic morphology and controlling processes pertaining to magnetospheric plasma dynamics in the inner magnetosphere, including the synchronous orbit region. 32 references

  2. Venus magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podgornyj, I.M.

    1983-01-01

    Some peculiarities of the structure of the Venus magnetosphere are considered. A Swedish scientist H. Alfven supposes that nebular bodies with ionospheric shelles of the type of Venus atmosphere possess induced magnetospheres with dragged magnetic tails. In the Institute of Space Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences experiments on the modelling of such magnetosphere are performed. The possibility of formation of the shock wave in the body with plasma shell in the absence of the proper magnetic shell is proved. The cosmic ''Pioneer-Venus'' equipment is used to obtain such a distribution of the magnetic field depending on the distance to Venus as it was predicted by the laboratory model

  3. Mercury's Dynamic Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imber, S. M.

    2018-05-01

    The global dynamics of Mercury's magnetosphere will be discussed, focussing on observed asymmetries in the magnetotail and on the precipitation of particles of magnetospheric origin onto the nightside planetary surface.

  4. Identifying Cassini's Magnetospheric Location Using Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) Data and Machine Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandegriff, J. D.; Smith, G. L.; Edenbaum, H.; Peachey, J. M.; Mitchell, D. G.

    2017-12-01

    We analyzed data from Cassini's Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) and Magnetometer (MAG) and attempted to identify the region of Saturn's magnetosphere that Cassini was in at a given time using machine learning. MIMI data are from the Charge-Energy-Mass Spectrometer (CHEMS) instrument and the Low-Energy Magnetospheric Measurement System (LEMMS). We trained on data where the region is known based on a previous analysis of Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) plasma data. Three magnetospheric regions are considered: Magnetosphere, Magnetosheath, and Solar Wind. MIMI particle intensities, magnetic field values, and spacecraft position are used as input attributes, and the output is the CAPS-based region, which is available from 2004 to 2012. We then use the trained classifier to identify Cassini's magnetospheric regions for times after 2012, when CAPS data is no longer available. Training accuracy is evaluated by testing the classifier performance on a time range of known regions that the classifier has never seen. Preliminary results indicate a 68% accuracy on such test data. Other techniques are being tested that may increase this performance. We present the data and algorithms used, and will describe the latest results, including the magnetospheric regions post-2012 identified by the algorithm.

  5. Pulsar magnetospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennel, C.F.; Fujimura, F.S.; Pellat, R.

    1979-01-01

    The structure of both the interior and exterior pulsar magnetospehere depends upon the strength of its plasma source near the surface of the star. We review magnetospheric models in the light of a vacuum pair-production source model proposed by Sturrock, and Ruderman and Sutherland. This model predicts the existence of a cutoff, determined by the neutron star's spin rate and magnetic field strength, beyond which coherent radio emission is no longer possible. The observed distribution of pulsar spin periods and period derivates, and the distribution of pulsars with missing radio pulses, is quantitatively consistent with the pair production threshold, when its variation of neutron star radius and moment of interia with mass is taken into account. All neutron stars observed as pulsars can have relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic wind exterior magnetospheres. The properties of the wind can be directly related to those of the pair production source. Radio pulsars cannot have relativistic plasma wave exterior magnetospheres. On the other hand, most erstwhile pulsars in the galaxy are probably halo objects that emit weak fluxes of energetic photons that can have relativistic wave exterior magnetospheres. Extinct pulsars have not been yet observed. (orig.)

  6. Terrestrial magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pande, D.C.; Agarwal, D.C.

    1982-01-01

    This paper presents a review about terrestrial magnetosphere. During the last few years considerable investigation have been carried out about the properties of Solar Wind and its interaction with planetary magnetic fields. It is therefore of high importance to accumulate all the investigations in a comprehensive form. The paper reviews the property of earth's magnetosphere, magnetosheath, magneto pause, polar cusps, bow shook and plasma sheath. (author)

  7. Saturn's outer magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schardt, A. W.; Behannon, K. W.; Carbary, J. F.; Eviatar, A.; Lepping, R. P.; Siscoe, G. L.

    1983-01-01

    Similarities between the Saturnian and terrestrial outer magnetosphere are examined. Saturn, like Earth, has a fully developed magnetic tail, 80 to 100 RS in diameter. One major difference between the two outer magnetospheres is the hydrogen and nitrogen torus produced by Titan. This plasma is, in general, convected in the corotation direction at nearly the rigid corotation speed. Energies of magnetospheric particles extend to above 500 keV. In contrast, interplanetary protons and ions above 2 MeV have free access to the outer magnetosphere to distances well below the Stormer cutoff. This access presumably occurs through the magnetotail. In addition to the H+, H2+, and H3+ ions primarily of local origin, energetic He, C, N, and O ions are found with solar composition. Their flux can be substantially enhanced over that of interplanetary ions at energies of 0.2 to 0.4 MeV/nuc.

  8. MESSENGER: Exploring Mercury's Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, James A.

    2008-01-01

    The MESSENGER mission to Mercury offers our first opportunity to explore this planet's miniature magnetosphere since Mariner 10's brief fly-bys in 1974-5. Mercury's magnetosphere is unique in many respects. The magnetosphere of Mercury is the smallest in the solar system with its magnetic field typically standing off the solar wind only - 1000 to 2000 km above the surface. For this reason there are no closed dri-fi paths for energetic particles and, hence, no radiation belts; the characteristic time scales for wave propagation and convective transport are short possibly coupling kinetic and fluid modes; magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause may erode the subsolar magnetosphere allowing solar wind ions to directly impact the dayside regolith; inductive currents in Mercury's interior should act to modify the solar In addition, Mercury's magnetosphere is the only one with its defining magnetic flux tubes rooted in a planetary regolith as opposed to an atmosphere with a conductive ionosphere. This lack of an ionosphere is thought to be the underlying reason for the brevity of the very intense, but short lived, approx. 1-2 min, substorm-like energetic particle events observed by Mariner 10 in Mercury's magnetic tail. In this seminar, we review what we think we know about Mercury's magnetosphere and describe the MESSENGER science team's strategy for obtaining answers to the outstanding science questions surrounding the interaction of the solar wind with Mercury and its small, but dynamic magnetosphere.

  9. Upper ionosphere and magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manzano, J.R.

    1989-02-01

    After a presentation of the ionospheric physics and of the earth magnetosphere morphology, generation and dynamics, the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in quiet and perturbed conditions is discussed. Some summary information about other planetary magnetospheres, particularly Venus and Jupiter magnetospheres, are finally given. 41 refs, 24 figs

  10. Report of the magnetospheric physics panel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burch, J.L.; Potemra, T.A.; Ashourabdalla, M.; Baker, D.N.; Cattell, C.A.; Chang, A.F.; Frank, L.A.; Goertz, C.K.; Kivelson, M.G.; Lee, Lou-Chuang

    1991-01-01

    Magnetospheric research is a relatively new area in the study of the Earth's environment. The present report attempts to overview past and future research on this topic. The goals of magnetospheric research are numerous, and include: understanding large scale magnetospheres of the Earth and other planets; understanding the plasma physical processes operating within the various magnetospheres; to understand how mass, energy and momentum are transmitted from the solar wind; to understand quantitatively the coupling between magnetospheres and their ionospheres; and to understand the magnetospheric mechanisms which accelerate particles to high energies, as well as the ultimate fate of these particles. The report continues on to summarize a number of proposed space missions aimed at data acquisition. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the theory and modeling of magnetospheres

  11. Jupiter's magnetosphere and radiation belts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennel, C. F.; Coroniti, F. V.

    1979-01-01

    Radioastronomy and Pioneer data reveal the Jovian magnetosphere as a rotating magnetized source of relativistic particles and radio emission, comparable to astrophysical cosmic ray and radio sources, such as pulsars. According to Pioneer data, the magnetic field in the outer magnetosphere is radially extended into a highly time variable disk-shaped configuration which differs fundamentally from the earth's magnetosphere. The outer disk region, and the energetic particles confined in it, are modulated by Jupiter's 10 hr rotation period. The entire outer magnetosphere appears to change drastically on time scales of a few days to a week. In addition to its known modulation of the Jovian decametric radio bursts, Io was found to absorb some radiation belt particles and to accelerate others, and most importantly, to be a source of neutral atoms, and by inference, a heavy ion plasma which may significantly affect the hydrodynamic flow in the magnetosphere. Another important Pioneer finding is that the Jovian outer magnetosphere generates, or permits to escape, fluxes of relativistic electrons of such intensities that Jupiter may be regarded as the dominant source of 1 to 30 MeV cosmic ray electrons in the heliosphere.

  12. Does the Magnetosphere go to Sleep?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesse, M.; Moretto, T.; Friis-Christensen, E. A.; Kuznetsova, M.; Østgaard, N.; Tenfjord, P.; Opgenoorth, H. J.

    2017-12-01

    An interesting question in magnetospheric research is related to the transition between magnetospheric configurations under substantial solar wind driving, and a putative relaxed state after the driving ceases. While it is conceivable that the latter state may be unique and only dependent on residual solar wind driving, a more likely scenario has magnetospheric memory playing a key role. Memory processes may be manifold: constraints from conservation of flux tube entropy to neutral wind inertia in the upper atmosphere may all contribute. In this presentation, we use high-resolution, global, MHD simulations to begin to shed light on this transition, as well as on the concept of a quiet state of the magnetosphere. We will discuss key elements of magnetospheric memory, and demonstrate their influence, as well as the actual memory time scale, through simulations and analytical estimates. Finally, we will point out processes with the potential to effect magnetospheric memory loss.

  13. Pulsar magnetosphere-wind or wave

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennel, C.F.

    1979-01-01

    The structure of both the interior and exterior pulsar magnetosphere depends upon the strength of its plasma source near the surface of the star. We review wave models of exterior pulsar magnetospheres in the light of a vacuum pair-production source model proposed by Sturrock, and Ruderman and Sutherland. This model predicts the existence of a cutoff, determined by the neutron star's spin rate and magnetic field strenght, beyond which coherent radio emission is no longer possible. Since the observed distribution of pulsar spin periods and period derivatives, and the distribution of pulsars with missing radio pulses, is consistent with the pair production threshold, those neutron stars observed as radio pulsars can have relativistic magnetohydrodynamic wind exterior magnetospheres, and cannot have relativistic plasma wave exterior magnetospheres. On the other hand, most erstwhile pulsars in the galaxy are probably halo objects that emit weak fluxes of energetic photons that can have relativistic wave exterior magnetospheres. Extinct pulsars have not been yet observed

  14. Ionospheric control of the magnetosphere: conductance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. J. Ridley

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that the ionosphere plays a role in determining the global state of the magnetosphere. The ionosphere allows magnetospheric currents to close, thereby allowing magnetospheric convection to occur. The amount of current which can be carried through the ionosphere is mainly determined by the ionospheric conductivity. This paper starts to quantify the nonlinear relationship between the ionospheric conductivity and the global state of the magnetosphere. It is found that the steady-state magnetosphere acts neither as a current nor as a voltage generator; a uniform Hall conductance can influence the potential pattern at low latitudes, but not at high latitude; the EUV generated conductance forces the currents to close in the sunlight, while the potential is large on the nightside; the solar generated Hall conductances cause a large asymmetry between the dawn and dusk potential, which effects the pressure distribution in the magnetosphere; a uniform polar cap potential removes some of this asymmetry; the potential difference between solar minimum and maximum is ∼11%; and the auroral precipitation can be related to the local field-aligned current through an exponential function. Key words. Ionosphere (ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions; modelling and forecasting; polar ionosphere

  15. The Magnetospheric Cusps Structure and Dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Fritz, Theodore A

    2005-01-01

    This collection of papers will address the question "What is the Magnetospheric Cusp?" and what is its role in the coupling of the solar wind to the magnetosphere as well as its role in the processes of particle transport and energization within the magnetosphere. The cusps have traditionally been described as narrow funnel-shaped regions that provide a focus of the Chapman-Ferraro currents that flow on the magnetopause, a boundary between the cavity dominated by the geomagnetic field (i.e., the magnetosphere) and the external region of the interplanetary medium. Measurements from a number of recent satellite programs have shown that the cusp is not confined to a narrow region near local noon but appears to encompass a large portion of the dayside high-latitude magnetosphere and it appears that the cusp is a major source region for the production of energetic charged particles for the magnetosphere. Audience: This book will be of interest to space science research organizations in governments and industries, ...

  16. A MODEL FOR (QUASI-)PERIODIC MULTIWAVELENGTH PHOTOMETRIC VARIABILITY IN YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kesseli, Aurora Y. [Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Petkova, Maya A.; Wood, Kenneth; Gregory, Scott G. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AD (United Kingdom); Whitney, Barbara A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 N. Charter St, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Hillenbrand, L. A. [Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Stauffer, J. R.; Morales-Calderon, M.; Rebull, L. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, CA 91125 (United States); Alencar, S. H. P., E-mail: aurorak@bu.com [Departamento de Física—ICEx—UFMG, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, 30270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2016-09-01

    We present radiation transfer models of rotating young stellar objects (YSOs) with hot spots in their atmospheres, inner disk warps, and other three-dimensional effects in the nearby circumstellar environment. Our models are based on the geometry expected from magneto-accretion theory, where material moving inward in the disk flows along magnetic field lines to the star and creates stellar hot spots upon impact. Due to rotation of the star and magnetosphere, the disk is variably illuminated. We compare our model light curves to data from the Spitzer YSOVAR project to determine if these processes can explain the variability observed at optical and mid-infrared wavelengths in young stars. We focus on those variables exhibiting “dipper” behavior that may be periodic, quasi-periodic, or aperiodic. We find that the stellar hot-spot size and temperature affects the optical and near-infrared light curves, while the shape and vertical extent of the inner disk warp affects the mid-IR light curve variations. Clumpy disk distributions with non-uniform fractal density structure produce more stochastic light curves. We conclude that magneto-accretion theory is consistent with certain aspects of the multiwavelength photometric variability exhibited by low-mass YSOs. More detailed modeling of individual sources can be used to better determine the stellar hot-spot and inner disk geometries of particular sources.

  17. Terrestrial magnetosphere and comparison with Jupiter's

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michel, F.C.

    1974-01-01

    A review of the characteristics of Jupiter's magnetosphere, with comparisons to the earth's is given. Radio observations of Jupiter indicate that energetic electrons are trapped in its magnetic field. The interaction of the trapped radiation with the satellite Io and the centrifugal instability of Jupiter's magnetosphere are discussed. Jupiter's outer magnetosphere is constantly accreting plasma at an uncertain rate. Various mechanisms for supplying ions to the outer magnetosphere are discussed, including: gravitational and centrifugal forces acting on corotating particles; field-line diffusion; photoelectron injection; excitation by Io or other satellites; and viscous interaction with the solar wind. The over-all morphology of the Jovian magnetosphere seems to be highly distorted by centrifugal forces and is easily compressed or deflected by the solar wind

  18. Ionospheric control of the magnetosphere: conductance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. J. Ridley

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that the ionosphere plays a role in determining the global state of the magnetosphere. The ionosphere allows magnetospheric currents to close, thereby allowing magnetospheric convection to occur. The amount of current which can be carried through the ionosphere is mainly determined by the ionospheric conductivity. This paper starts to quantify the nonlinear relationship between the ionospheric conductivity and the global state of the magnetosphere. It is found that the steady-state magnetosphere acts neither as a current nor as a voltage generator; a uniform Hall conductance can influence the potential pattern at low latitudes, but not at high latitude; the EUV generated conductance forces the currents to close in the sunlight, while the potential is large on the nightside; the solar generated Hall conductances cause a large asymmetry between the dawn and dusk potential, which effects the pressure distribution in the magnetosphere; a uniform polar cap potential removes some of this asymmetry; the potential difference between solar minimum and maximum is ∼11%; and the auroral precipitation can be related to the local field-aligned current through an exponential function.

    Key words. Ionosphere (ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions; modelling and forecasting; polar ionosphere

  19. Three-dimensional solutions of the magnetohydrostatic equations for rigidly rotating magnetospheres in cylindrical coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, F.; Neukirch, T.

    2018-01-01

    We present new analytical three-dimensional solutions of the magnetohydrostatic equations, which are applicable to the co-rotating frame of reference outside a rigidly rotating cylindrical body, and have potential applications to planetary magnetospheres and stellar coronae. We consider the case with centrifugal force only, and use a transformation method in which the governing equation for the "pseudo-potential" (from which the magnetic field can be calculated) becomes the Laplace partial differential equation. The new solutions extend the set of previously found solutions to those of a "fractional multipole" nature, and offer wider possibilities for modelling than before. We consider some special cases, and present example solutions.

  20. Boundary layers of the earth's outer magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eastman, T. E.; Frank, L. A.

    1984-01-01

    The magnetospheric boundary layer and the plasma-sheet boundary layer are the primary boundary layers of the earth's outer magnetosphere. Recent satellite observations indicate that they provide for more than 50 percent of the plasma and energy transport in the outer magnetosphere although they constitute less than 5 percent by volume. Relative to the energy density in the source regions, plasma in the magnetospheric boundary layer is predominantly deenergized whereas plasma in the plasma-sheet boundary layer has been accelerated. The reconnection hypothesis continues to provide a useful framework for comparing data sampled in the highly dynamic magnetospheric environment. Observations of 'flux transfer events' and other detailed features near the boundaries have been recently interpreted in terms of nonsteady-state reconnection. Alternative hypotheses are also being investigated. More work needs to be done, both in theory and observation, to determine whether reconnection actually occurs in the magnetosphere and, if so, whether it is important for overall magnetospheric dynamics.

  1. Boundary layers of the earth's outer magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eastman, T.E.; Frank, L.A.

    1984-01-01

    The magnetospheric boundary layer and the plasma-sheet boundary layer are the primary boundary layers of the earth's outer magnetosphere. Recent satellite observations indicate that they provide for more than 50 percent of the plasma and energy transport in the outer magnetosphere although they constitute less than 5 percent by volume. Relative to the energy density in the source regions, plasma in the magnetospheric boundary layer is predominantly deenergized whereas plasma in the plasma-sheet boundary layer has been accelerated. The reconnection hypothesis continues to provide a useful framework for comparing data sampled in the highly dynamic magnetospheric environment. Observations of flux transfer events and other detailed features near the boundaries have been recently interpreted in terms of nonsteady-state reconnection. Alternative hypotheses are also being investigated. More work needs to be done, both in theory and observation, to determine whether reconnection actually occurs in the magnetosphere and, if so, whether it is important for overall magnetospheric dynamics. 30 references

  2. Magnetosphere imager science definition team: Executive summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, T. P.; Gallagher, D. L.; Johnson, C. L.

    1995-01-01

    For three decades, magnetospheric field and plasma measurements have been made by diverse instruments flown on spacecraft in many different orbits, widely separated in space and time, and under various solar and magnetospheric conditions. Scientists have used this information to piece together an intricate, yet incomplete view of the magnetosphere. A simultaneous global view, using various light wavelengths and energetic neutral atoms, could reveal exciting new data and help explain complex magnetospheric processes, thus providing a clear picture of this region of space. This report summarizes the scientific rationale for such a magnetospheric imaging mission and outlines a mission concept for its implementation.

  3. Magnetosphere imager science definition team interim report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, T. P.; Johnson, C. L.

    1995-01-01

    For three decades, magnetospheric field and plasma measurements have been made by diverse instruments flown on spacecraft in may different orbits, widely separated in space and time, and under various solar and magnetospheric conditions. Scientists have used this information to piece together an intricate, yet incomplete view of the magnetosphere. A simultaneous global view, using various light wavelengths and energetic neutral atoms, could reveal exciting new data nd help explain complex magnetospheric processes, thus providing a clear picture of this region of space. This report documents the scientific rational for such a magnetospheric imaging mission and provides a mission concept for its implementation.

  4. Terrestrial aurora: astrophysical laboratory for anomalous abundances in stellar systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Roth

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The unique magnetic structure of the terrestrial aurora as a conduit of information between the ionosphere and magnetosphere can be utilized as a laboratory for physical processes at similar magnetic configurations and applied to various evolutionary phases of the solar (stellar system. The most spectacular heliospheric abundance enhancement involves the 3He isotope and selective heavy elements in impulsive solar flares. In situ observations of electromagnetic waves on active aurora are extrapolated to flaring corona in an analysis of solar acceleration processes of 3He, the only element that may resonate strongly with the waves, as well as heavy ions with specific charge-to-mass ratios, which may resonate weaker via their higher gyroharmonics. These results are applied to two observed anomalous astrophysical abundances: (1 enhanced abundance of 3He and possibly 13C in the late stellar evolutionary stages of planetary nebulae; and (2 enhanced abundance of the observed fossil element 26Mg in meteorites as a decay product of radioactive 26Al isotope due to interaction with the flare-energized 3He in the early solar system.

  5. Electric fields in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faelthammar, C.G.

    1989-12-01

    The electric field plays an important role in the complex plasma system called the magnetosphere. In spite of this, direct measurement of this quantity are still scarce except in its lowest-altitude part, i.e. the ionosphere. The large scale ionospheric electric field has been determined from measurement on the ground and in low satellite orbit. For most of the magnetosphere, our concepts of the electric field have mostly been based on theoretical considerations and extrapolations of the ionspheric electric field. Direct, in situ, electric field measurements in the outer parts of the magnetosphere have been made only relatively recently. A few satellite missions. most recently the Viking mission, have extended the direct empirical knowledge so as to include major parts of the magnetosphere. These measurements have revealed a number of unexpected features. The actual electric field has been found to have unexpectedly strong space and time variations, which reflect the dynamic nature of the system. Examples are give of measured electric fields in the plasmasphere, the plasmasheet, the neutral sheet, the magnetotail, the flanks of the magnetosphere, the dayside magnetopause and the auroral acceleration region. (author)

  6. Magnetospheric plasma physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bingham, R.

    1989-09-01

    The discovery of the earth's radiation belts in 1957 by Van Allen marked the beginning of what is now known as magnetospheric physics. In this study of plasma physics in the magnetosphere, we shall take the magnetosphere to be that part of the earth's ionized atmosphere which is formed by the interaction of the solar wind with the earth's dipole-like magnetic field. It extends from approximately 100km above the earth's surface where the proton-neutral atom collision frequency is equal to the proton gyrofrequency to about ten earth radii (R E ∼ 6380km) in the sunward direction and to several hundred earth radii in the anti-sunward direction. The collision dominated region is called the ionosphere and is sometimes considered separate from the collisionless plasma region. In the ionosphere ion-neutral collisions are dominant and one may think of the ionosphere as a frictional boundary layer ∼ 1000km thick. Other planets are also considered. (author)

  7. Impulsive Alfven coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reddy, R.V.; Watanabe, K.; Sato, T.; Watanabe, T.H.

    1994-04-01

    Basic properties of the impulsive Alfven interaction between the magnetosphere and ionosphere have been studied by means of a three-dimensional self-consistent simulation of the coupled magnetosphere and ionosphere system. It is found that the duration time of an impulsive perturbation at the magnetospheric equator, the latitudinal distribution of the Alfven propagation time along the field lines, and the ratio between the magnetospheric impedance and the ionospheric resistance is the main key factors that determine the propagation dynamics and the ionospheric responses for an impulsive MHD perturbation in the magnetosphere. (author)

  8. The inner magnetosphere imager mission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, L.; Herrmann, M.

    1993-01-01

    After 30 years of in situ measurements of the Earth's magnetosphere, scientists have assembled an incomplete picture of its global composition and dynamics. Imaging the magnetosphere from space will enable scientists to better understand the global shape of the inner magnetosphere, its components and processes. The proposed inner magnetosphere imager (IMI) mission will obtain the first simultaneous images of the component regions of the inner magnetosphere and will enable scientists to relate these global images to internal and external influences as well as local observations. To obtain simultaneous images of component regions of the inner magnetosphere, measurements will comprise: the ring current and inner plasma sheet using energetic neutral atoms; the plasmasphere using extreme ultraviolet; the electron and proton auroras using far ultraviolet (FUV) and x rays; and the geocorona using FUV. The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is performing a concept definition study of the proposed mission. NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications has placed the IMI third in its queue of intermediate-class missions for launch in the 1990's. An instrument complement of approximately seven imagers will fly in an elliptical Earth orbit with a seven Earth Radii (R E ) altitude apogee and approximately 4,800-kin altitude perigee. Several spacecraft concepts were examined for the mission. The first concept utilizes a spinning spacecraft with a despun platform. The second concept splits the instruments onto a spin-stabilized spacecraft and a complementary three-axis stabilized spacecraft. Launch options being assessed for the spacecraft range from a Delta 11 for the single and dual spacecraft concepts to dual Taurus launches for the two smaller spacecraft. This paper will address the mission objectives, the spacecraft design considerations, the results of the MSFC concept definition study, and future mission plans

  9. On the paleo-magnetospheres of Earth and Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherf, Manuel; Khodachenko, Maxim; Alexeev, Igor; Belenkaya, Elena; Blokhina, Marina; Johnstone, Colin; Tarduno, John; Lammer, Helmut; Tu, Lin; Guedel, Manuel

    2017-04-01

    The intrinsic magnetic field of a terrestrial planet is considered to be an important factor for the evolution of terrestrial atmospheres. This is in particular relevant for early stages of the solar system, in which the solar wind as well as the EUV flux from the young Sun were significantly stronger than at present-day. We therefore will present simulations of the paleo-magnetospheres of ancient Earth and Mars, which were performed for ˜4.1 billion years ago, i.e. the Earth's late Hadean eon and Mars' early Noachian. These simulations were performed with specifically adapted versions of the Paraboloid Magnetospheric Model (PMM) of the Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Moscow State University, which serves as ISO-standard for the Earth's magnetic field (see e.g. Alexeev et al., 2003). One of the input parameters into our model is the ancient solar wind pressure. This is derived from a newly developed solar/stellar wind evolution model, which is strongly dependent on the initial rotation rate of the early Sun (Johnstone et al., 2015). Another input parameter is the ancient magnetic dipole field. In case of Earth this is derived from measurements of the paleomagnetic field strength by Tarduno et al., 2015. These data from zircons are varying between 0.12 and 1.0 of today's magnetic field strength. For Mars the ancient magnetic field is derived from the remanent magnetization in the Martian crust as measured by the Mars Global Surveyor MAG/ER experiment. These data together with dynamo theory are indicating an ancient Martian dipole field strength in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 of the present-day terrestrial dipole field. For the Earth our simulations show that the paleo-magnetosphere during the late Hadean eon was significantly smaller than today, with a standoff-distance rs ranging from ˜3.4 to 8 Re, depending on the input parameters. These results also have implications for the early terrestrial atmosphere. Due to the significantly higher EUV flux, the

  10. 3-D Force-balanced Magnetospheric Configurations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorin Zaharia; Cheng, C.Z.; Maezawa, K.

    2003-01-01

    The knowledge of plasma pressure is essential for many physics applications in the magnetosphere, such as computing magnetospheric currents and deriving magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. A thorough knowledge of the 3-D pressure distribution has however eluded the community, as most in-situ pressure observations are either in the ionosphere or the equatorial region of the magnetosphere. With the assumption of pressure isotropy there have been attempts to obtain the pressure at different locations by either (a) mapping observed data (e.g., in the ionosphere) along the field lines of an empirical magnetospheric field model or (b) computing a pressure profile in the equatorial plane (in 2-D) or along the Sun-Earth axis (in 1-D) that is in force balance with the magnetic stresses of an empirical model. However, the pressure distributions obtained through these methods are not in force balance with the empirical magnetic field at all locations. In order to find a global 3-D plasma pressure distribution in force balance with the magnetospheric magnetic field, we have developed the MAG-3D code, that solves the 3-D force balance equation J x B = (upside-down delta) P computationally. Our calculation is performed in a flux coordinate system in which the magnetic field is expressed in terms of Euler potentials as B = (upside-down delta) psi x (upside-down delta) alpha. The pressure distribution, P = P(psi,alpha), is prescribed in the equatorial plane and is based on satellite measurements. In addition, computational boundary conditions for y surfaces are imposed using empirical field models. Our results provide 3-D distributions of magnetic field and plasma pressure as well as parallel and transverse currents for both quiet-time and disturbed magnetospheric conditions

  11. Global Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Mercury's Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schriver, D.; Travnicek, P. M.; Lapenta, G.; Amaya, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Richard, R. L.; Berchem, J.; Hellinger, P.

    2017-12-01

    Spacecraft observations of Mercury's magnetosphere have shown that kinetic ion and electron particle effects play a major role in the transport, acceleration, and loss of plasma within the magnetospheric system. Kinetic processes include reconnection, the breakdown of particle adiabaticity and wave-particle interactions. Because of the vast range in spatial scales involved in magnetospheric dynamics, from local electron Debye length scales ( meters) to solar wind/planetary magnetic scale lengths (tens to hundreds of planetary radii), fully self-consistent kinetic simulations of a global planetary magnetosphere remain challenging. Most global simulations of Earth's and other planet's magnetosphere are carried out using MHD, enhanced MHD (e.g., Hall MHD), hybrid, or a combination of MHD and particle in cell (PIC) simulations. Here, 3D kinetic self-consistent hybrid (ion particle, electron fluid) and full PIC (ion and electron particle) simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury's magnetosphere are carried out. Using the implicit PIC and hybrid simulations, Mercury's relatively small, but highly kinetic magnetosphere will be examined to determine how the self-consistent inclusion of electrons affects magnetic reconnection, particle transport and acceleration of plasma at Mercury. Also the spatial and energy profiles of precipitating magnetospheric ions and electrons onto Mercury's surface, which can strongly affect the regolith in terms of space weathering and particle outflow, will be examined with the PIC and hybrid codes. MESSENGER spacecraft observations are used both to initiate and validate the global kinetic simulations to achieve a deeper understanding of the role kinetic physics play in magnetospheric dynamics.

  12. Magnetospheric plasma waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shawhan, S.D.

    1977-01-01

    A brief history of plasma wave observations in the Earth's magnetosphere is recounted and a classification of the identified plasma wave phenomena is presented. The existence of plasma waves is discussed in terms of the characteristic frequencies of the plasma, the energetic particle populations and the proposed generation mechanisms. Examples are given for which plasmas waves have provided information about the plasma parameters and particle characteristics once a reasonable theory has been developed. Observational evidence and arguments by analogy to the observed Earth plasma wave processes are used to identify plasma waves that may be significant in other planetary magnetospheres. The similarities between the observed characteristics of the terrestrial kilometric radiation and radio bursts from Jupiter, Saturn and possibly Uranus are stressed. Important scientific problems concerning plasma wave processes in the solar system and beyond are identified and discussed. Models for solar flares, flare star radio outbursts and pulsars include elements which are also common to the models for magnetospheric radio bursts. Finally, a listing of the research and development in terms of instruments, missions, laboratory experiments, theory and computer simulations needed to make meaningful progress on the outstanding scientific problems of plasma wave research is given. (Auth.)

  13. Pulsar Magnetospheres and Pulsar Winds

    OpenAIRE

    Beskin, Vasily S.

    2016-01-01

    Surprisingly, the chronology of nearly 50 years of the pulsar magnetosphere and pulsar wind research is quite similar to the history of our civilization. Using this analogy, I have tried to outline the main results obtained in this field. In addition to my talk, the possibility of particle acceleration due to different processes in the pulsar magnetosphere is discussed in more detail.

  14. Inner Magnetospheric Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Dennis

    2018-01-01

    Outline - Inner Magnetosphere Effects: Historical Background; Main regions and transport processes: Ionosphere, Plasmasphere, Plasma sheet, Ring current, Radiation belt; Geomagnetic Activity: Storms, Substorm; Models.

  15. Coupled rotational dynamics of Jupiter's thermosphere and magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. G. A. Smith

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe an axisymmetric model of the coupled rotational dynamics of the thermosphere and magnetosphere of Jupiter that incorporates self-consistent physical descriptions of angular momentum transfer in both systems. The thermospheric component of the model is a numerical general circulation model. The middle magnetosphere is described by a simple physical model of angular momentum transfer that incorporates self-consistently the effects of variations in the ionospheric conductivity. The outer magnetosphere is described by a model that assumes the existence of a Dungey cycle type interaction with the solar wind, producing at the planet a largely stagnant plasma flow poleward of the main auroral oval. We neglect any decoupling between the plasma flows in the magnetosphere and ionosphere due to the formation of parallel electric fields in the magnetosphere. The model shows that the principle mechanism by which angular momentum is supplied to the polar thermosphere is meridional advection and that mean-field Joule heating and ion drag at high latitudes are not responsible for the high thermospheric temperatures at low latitudes on Jupiter. The rotational dynamics of the magnetosphere at radial distances beyond ~30 RJ in the equatorial plane are qualitatively unaffected by including the detailed dynamics of the thermosphere, but within this radial distance the rotation of the magnetosphere is very sensitive to the rotation velocity of the thermosphere and the value of the Pedersen conductivity. In particular, the thermosphere connected to the inner magnetosphere is found to super-corotate, such that true Pedersen conductivities smaller than previously predicted are required to enforce the observed rotation of the magnetosphere within ~30 RJ. We find that increasing the Joule heating at high latitudes by adding a component due to rapidly fluctuating electric fields is unable to explain the high equatorial temperatures. Adding a component of Joule

  16. Modeling Magnetospheric Fields in the Jupiter System

    OpenAIRE

    Saur, Joachim; Chané, Emmanuel; Hartkorn, Oliver

    2018-01-01

    The various processes which generate magnetic fields within the Jupiter system are exemplary for a large class of similar processes occurring at other planets in the solar system, but also around extrasolar planets. Jupiter’s large internal dynamo magnetic field generates a gigantic magnetosphere, which in contrast to Earth’s magnetosphere is strongly rotational driven and possesses large plasma sources located deeply within the magnetosphere. The combination of the latter two effects is the ...

  17. Pulsars Magnetospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timokhin, Andrey

    2012-01-01

    Current density determines the plasma flow regime. Cascades are non-stationary. ALWAYS. All flow regimes look different: multiple components (?) Return current regions should have particle accelerating zones in the outer magnetosphere: y-ray pulsars (?) Plasma oscillations in discharges: direct radio emission (?)

  18. Auroral kilometric radiation and magnetospheric substorm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morioka, Akira; Oya, Hiroshi

    1980-01-01

    The auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) and its relation to the development of the magnetospheric substorm have been studied based on the data obtained by JIKIKEN (EXOS-B) satellite. The occurrence of AKR is closely correlated to the intense UHR emission outside the plasmapause at the satellite position; the evidence clearly suggests that the development of the field aligned current system is associated with AKR generated at the upward current region and with the UHR emission at the downward current region. The drifting plasma due to the electric field that is generated in the magnetosphere at the moment of the magnetospheric substorm is derived from the frequency change of the plasma waves. The enhancement of the westward electric field in the duskside magnetosphere is detected simultaneously with the appearence of AKR. The altitude of the center of the AKR source region varies with intimate relation to the substorm activity suggesting that the generation of AKR is taking place in the region where the polar ionosphere and the magnetosphere are predominantly coupling through the precipitating or up going particles. From the fine structure of the dynamic spectra of AKR, it is suggested that the source of AKR might be closely related to the double layer type electric field along the magnetic field. (author)

  19. Interaction of Titan's atmosphere with Saturn's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartle, R.E.

    1985-01-01

    The Voyager 1 measurements made during the Titan flyby reveal that Saturn's rotating magnetospheric plasma interacts directly with Titan's neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. This results from the lack of an intrinsic magnetic field at Titan. The interaction induces a magnetosphere which deflects the flowing plasma around Titan and forms a plasma wake downstream. Within the tail of the induced magnetosphere, ions of ionospheric origin flow away from Titan. Just outside Titan's magnetosphere, a substantial ion-exosphere forms from an extensive hydrogen-nitrogen exosphere. The exospheric ions are picked up and carried downstream into the wake by the plasma flowing around Titan. Mass loading produced by the addition of exospheric ions slows the wake plasma down considerably in the vicinity of the magnetopause. 36 references

  20. Closed model of the earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piddington, J.H.

    1979-01-01

    The existence of large-scale motions within the earth's magnetosphere and that of a long magnetotail were predicted in 1960 as results of a hypothetical frictional interaction between the solar wind and the geomagnetic field. The boundary layer model of this interaction involves the flow of magnetosheath plasma in a magnetospheric boundary layer. The flow is across magnetic field lines, and so the layer must be polarized, with a space charge field nearly balancing the induction field V x B. The space charge tends to discharge through the ionosphere, thus providing some magnetic and related activity as well as the Lorentz frictional force. This closed magnetosphere model has been largely neglected in favor of the reconnection model but is now strongly supported by observational results and their interpretation as follows. (1) The evidence for the reconnection model, increasing activity with a southward interplanetary field and invasion of the polar caps by flare particles, is shown to be equally compatible with the closed field model. (2) The magnetotail grows by the motions of closed flux tubes through the dawn and dusk meridians, a process which depends on the nature of the boundary between magnetosphere and magnetosheath plasmas and perhaps also on the solar wind dynamo. Both of these features depend, in turn, on the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field. (3) Closed field lines entering the tail may be stretched to a few tens of earth radii and then contract back to the corotating magnetosphere. Others enter the long tail and are stretched to hundreds of earth radii and so are pervious to fast solar particles. (4) A new model of the magnetospheric substorm involves the entry of closed field lines into the tail and their rapid return to the corotating magnetosphere. The return is due, first, to the release of their trapped plasma as it becomes electrically polarized and, second, to mounting magnetic and plasma stresses in the inflated magnetotail

  1. Magnetosphere Modeling: From Cartoons to Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gombosi, T. I.

    2017-12-01

    Over the last half a century physics-based global computer simulations became a bridge between experiment and basic theory and now it represents the "third pillar" of geospace research. Today, many of our scientific publications utilize large-scale simulations to interpret observations, test new ideas, plan campaigns, or design new instruments. Realistic simulations of the complex Sun-Earth system have been made possible by the dramatically increased power of both computing hardware and numerical algorithms. Early magnetosphere models were based on simple E&M concepts (like the Chapman-Ferraro cavity) and hydrodynamic analogies (bow shock). At the beginning of the space age current system models were developed culminating in the sophisticated Tsyganenko-type description of the magnetic configuration. The first 3D MHD simulations of the magnetosphere were published in the early 1980s. A decade later there were several competing global models that were able to reproduce many fundamental properties of the magnetosphere. The leading models included the impact of the ionosphere by using a height-integrated electric potential description. Dynamic coupling of global and regional models started in the early 2000s by integrating a ring current and a global magnetosphere model. It has been recognized for quite some time that plasma kinetic effects play an important role. Presently, global hybrid simulations of the dynamic magnetosphere are expected to be possible on exascale supercomputers, while fully kinetic simulations with realistic mass ratios are still decades away. In the 2010s several groups started to experiment with PIC simulations embedded in large-scale 3D MHD models. Presently this integrated MHD-PIC approach is at the forefront of magnetosphere simulations and this technique is expected to lead to some important advances in our understanding of magnetosheric physics. This talk will review the evolution of magnetosphere modeling from cartoons to current systems

  2. Observations of Heavy Ions in the Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kistler, L. M.

    2017-12-01

    There are two sources for the hot ions in the magnetosphere: the solar wind and the ionosphere. The solar wind is predominantly protons, with about 4% He++ and less than 1% other high charge state heavy ions. The ionospheric outflow is also predominantly H+, but can contain a significant fraction of heavy ions including O+, N+, He+, O++, and molecular ions (NO+, N2+, O2+). The ionospheric outflow composition varies significantly both with geomagnetic activity and with solar EUV. The variability in the contribution of the two sources, the variability in the ionospheric source itself, and the transport paths of the different species are all important in determining the ion composition at a given location in the magnetosphere. In addition to the source variations, loss processes within the magnetosphere can be mass dependent, changing the composition. In particular, charge exchange is strongly species dependent, and can lead to heavy ion dominance at some energies in the inner magnetosphere. In this talk we will review the current state of our understanding of the composition of the magnetosphere and the processes that determine it.

  3. The solar wind-magentosphere energy coupling and magnetospheric disturbances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akasofu, S.I.

    1980-01-01

    The recent finding of the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function epsilon has advanced significantly our understanding of magnetosphere disturbances. It is shown that the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system responds somewhat differently to three different input energy flux levels of epsilon. As epsilon increases from 17 erg s -1 to >10 19 erg s -1 , typical responses of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system are: (1) epsilon 17 erg s -1 : an enhancement of the Ssub(q)sup(p), etc. (2) epsilon approximately 10 18 erg s -1 : substorm onset. (3) 10 18 erg s -1 19 erg s -1 : a typical substorm. (4) epsilon >10 19 erg s -1 : an abnormal growth of the ring current belt, resulting in a magnetospheric storm. It is stressed that the magnetospheric substorm results as a direct response of the magnetosphere to a rise and fall of epsilon above approximately 10 18 erg s -1 , so that it is not caused by a sudden conversion of magnetic energy accumulated prior to substorm onset. The variety of the development of the main phase of geomagnetic storms is also primarily controlled by epsilon. (author)

  4. The Earth's magnetosphere is 165 R(sub E) long: Self-consistent currents, convection, magnetospheric structure, and processes for northward interplanetary magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedder, J. A.; Lyon, J. G.

    1995-01-01

    The subject of this paper is a self-consistent, magnetohydrodynamic numerical realization for the Earth's magnetosphere which is in a quasi-steady dynamic equilibrium for a due northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Although a few hours of steady northward IMF are required for this asymptotic state to be set up, it should still be of considerable theoretical interest because it constitutes a 'ground state' for the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction. Moreover, particular features of this ground state magnetosphere should be observable even under less extreme solar wind conditions. Certain characteristics of this magnetosphere, namely, NBZ Birkeland currents, four-cell ionospheric convection, a relatively weak cross-polar potential, and a prominent flow boundary layer, are widely expected. Other characteristics, such as no open tail lobes, no Earth-connected magnetic flux beyond 155 R(sub E) downstream, magnetic merging in a closed topology at the cusps, and a 'tadpole' shaped magnetospheric boundary, might not be expected. In this paper, we will present the evidence for this unusual but interesting magnetospheric equilibrium. We will also discuss our present understanding of this singular state.

  5. Jupiter's Magnetosphere: Plasma Description from the Ulysses Flyby.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bame, S J; Barraclough, B L; Feldman, W C; Gisler, G R; Gosling, J T; McComas, D J; Phillips, J L; Thomsen, M F; Goldstein, B E; Neugebauer, M

    1992-09-11

    Plasma observations at Jupiter show that the outer regions of the Jovian magnetosphere are remarkably similar to those of Earth. Bow-shock precursor electrons and ions were detected in the upstream solar wind, as at Earth. Plasma changes across the bow shock and properties of the magnetosheath electrons were much like those at Earth, indicating that similar processes are operating. A boundary layer populated by a varying mixture of solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas was found inside the magnetopause, again as at Earth. In the middle magnetosphere, large electron density excursions were detected with a 10-hour periodicity as planetary rotation carried the tilted plasma sheet past Ulysses. Deep in the magnetosphere, Ulysses crossed a region, tentatively described as magnetically connected to the Jovian polar cap on one end and to the interplanetary magnetic field on the other. In the inner magnetosphere and lo torus, where corotation plays a dominant role, measurements could not be made because of extreme background rates from penetrating radiation belt particles.

  6. Substorms in the earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, D.N.

    1984-01-01

    Magnetospheres are plasma regions of large scale in space dominated by magnetic field effects. The earth, and many planets in our solar system, are known to have magnetospheric regions around them. Magnetospheric substorms represent the intense, rapid dissipation of energy that has been extracted from the solar wind and stored temporarily in the terrestrial magnetotail. In this paper a widely, but not universally, accepted model of substorms is described. The energy budgets, time scales, and conversion efficiencies for substorms are presented. The primary forms of substorm energy dissipation are given along with the average levels of the dissipation. Aspects of particle acceleration and precipitation, Joule heating mechanisms, ring current formation, and plasmoid escape are illustrated based on in situ observations taken from the large available data base. A brief description is given of possible analogues of substorm-like behavior in other astrophysical systems. 27 references, 12 figures

  7. GAMERA - The New Magnetospheric Code

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, J.; Sorathia, K.; Zhang, B.; Merkin, V. G.; Wiltberger, M. J.; Daldorff, L. K. S.

    2017-12-01

    The Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) code has been a main-line magnetospheric simulation code for 30 years. The code base, designed in the age of memory to memory vector ma- chines,is still in wide use for science production but needs upgrading to ensure the long term sustainability. In this presentation, we will discuss our recent efforts to update and improve that code base and also highlight some recent results. The new project GAM- ERA, Grid Agnostic MHD for Extended Research Applications, has kept the original design characteristics of the LFM and made significant improvements. The original de- sign included high order numerical differencing with very aggressive limiting, the ability to use arbitrary, but logically rectangular, grids, and maintenance of div B = 0 through the use of the Yee grid. Significant improvements include high-order upwinding and a non-clipping limiter. One other improvement with wider applicability is an im- proved averaging technique for the singularities in polar and spherical grids. The new code adopts a hybrid structure - multi-threaded OpenMP with an overarching MPI layer for large scale and coupled applications. The MPI layer uses a combination of standard MPI and the Global Array Toolkit from PNL to provide a lightweight mechanism for coupling codes together concurrently. The single processor code is highly efficient and can run magnetospheric simulations at the default CCMC resolution faster than real time on a MacBook pro. We have run the new code through the Athena suite of tests, and the results compare favorably with the codes available to the astrophysics community. LFM/GAMERA has been applied to many different situations ranging from the inner and outer heliosphere and magnetospheres of Venus, the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. We present example results the Earth's magnetosphere including a coupled ring current (RCM), the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, and the inner heliosphere.

  8. General-relativistic pulsar magnetospheric emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pétri, J.

    2018-06-01

    Most current pulsar emission models assume photon production and emission within the magnetosphere. Low-frequency radiation is preferentially produced in the vicinity of the polar caps, whereas the high-energy tail is shifted to regions closer but still inside the light cylinder. We conducted a systematic study of the merit of several popular radiation sites like the polar cap, the outer gap, and the slot gap. We computed sky maps emanating from each emission site according to a prescribed distribution function for the emitting particles made of an electron/positron mixture. Calculations are performed using a three-dimensional integration of the plasma emissivity in the vacuum electromagnetic field of a rotating and centred general-relativistic dipole. We compare Newtonian electromagnetic fields to their general-relativistic counterpart. In the latter case, light bending is also taken into account. As a typical example, light curves and sky maps are plotted for several power-law indices of the particle distribution function. The detailed pulse profiles strongly depend on the underlying assumption about the fluid motion subject to strong electromagnetic fields. This electromagnetic topology enforces the photon propagation direction directly, or indirectly, from aberration effects. We also discuss the implication of a net stellar electric charge on to sky maps. Taking into account, the electric field strongly affects the light curves originating close to the light cylinder, where the electric field strength becomes comparable to the magnetic field strength.

  9. On the mapping of ionospheric convection into the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hesse, M.; Birn, J.; Hoffman, R.A.

    1997-01-01

    Under steady state conditions and in the absence of parallel electric fields, ionospheric convection is a direct map of plasma and magnetic flux convection in the magnetosphere, and quantitative estimates can be obtained from the mapping along magnetic field lines of electrostatic ionospheric electric fields. The resulting magnetospheric electrostatic potential distribution then provides the convection electric field in various magnetospheric regions. We present a quantitative framework for the investigation of the applicability and limitations of this approach based on an analytical theory derived from first principles. Particular emphasis is on the role of parallel electric field regions and on inductive effects, such as expected during the growth and expansive phases of magnetospheric substorms. We derive quantitative estimates for the limits in which either effect leads to a significant decoupling between ionospheric and magnetospheric convection and provide an interpretation of ionospheric convection which is independent of the presence of inductive electric fields elsewhere in the magnetosphere. Finally, we present a study of the relation between average and instantaneous convection, using two periodic dynamical models. The models demonstrate and quantify the potential mismatch between the average electric fields in the ionosphere and the magnetosphere in strongly time-dependent cases that may exist even when they are governed entirely by ideal MHD

  10. From the Solar Wind to the Magnetospheric Substorm

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    E.A. Ponomarev; P.A. Sedykh; O.V. Mager

    2005-01-01

    This paper gives a brief outline of the progression from the first substorm model developed in Ref.[4] and [8] based on Kennel's ideas[3], to the present views about the mechanism by which solar wind kinetic energy is converted to electromagnetic energy at the Bow Shock and by which this energy is transferred to the magnetosphere in the form of current; about the transformation of the energy of this current to gas kinetic energy of convecting plasma tubes, and, finally, the back transformation of gas kinetic energy to electromagnetic energy in secondary magnetospheric MHD generators. The questions of the formation of the magnetospheric convection system, the nature of substorm break-up, and of the matching of currents in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system are discussed.

  11. Research in magnetospheric wave phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barfield, J.N.

    1975-01-01

    During the last 4 years a number of developments have occurred which have led to an increased understanding of the role of wave phenomena in the physical processes of the magnetosphere. While the studies span the frequency regime from millihertz to the electron gyrofrequency, the developments to be discussed in this paper have in common that they have added substantially to the understanding of the controlling processes, regions, and boundaries in the magnetosphere. The topics discussed are the increased awareness and documentation of the role of the plasmapause in micropulsation generation and propagation; the establishment of the role of ion cyclotron waves in the wave-particle interactions at the plasmapause; the discovery of magnetospheric electrostatic waves with ω = (3/2)Ω/sub -/; the discovery and preliminary identification of the source of plasmaspheric hiss; and the analysis of storm time Pc 5 waves as observed on the satellites ATS 1 and Explorer 45. (auth)

  12. Advances in magnetospheric physics, 1971--1974: energetic particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    West, H.I. Jr.

    1974-12-01

    An account is given of energetic particle research in magnetospheric physics for the time period 1971--1974. Emphasis is on relating the various aspects of energetic particles to magnetospheric processes. 458 refs. (U.S.)

  13. Stellar Physics 2: Stellar Evolution and Stability

    CERN Document Server

    Bisnovatyi-Kogan, Gennady S

    2011-01-01

    "Stellar Physics" is a an outstanding book in the growing body of literature on star formation and evolution. Not only does the author, a leading expert in the field, very thoroughly present the current state of knowledge on stellar physics, but he handles with equal care the many problems that this field of research still faces. A bibliography with well over 1000 entries makes this book an unparalleled reference source. "Stellar Evolution and Stability" is the second of two volumes and can be read, as can the first volume "Fundamental Concepts and Stellar Equilibrium," as a largely independent work. It traces in great detail the evolution of protostars towards the main sequence and beyond this to the last stage of stellar evolution, with the corresponding vast range from white dwarfs to supernovae explosions, gamma-ray bursts and black hole formation. The book concludes with special chapters on the dynamical, thermal and pulsing stability of stars. This second edition is carefully updated in the areas of pre...

  14. Nonlinear dynamics of the magnetosphere and space weather

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, A. Surjalal

    1996-01-01

    The solar wind-magnetosphere system exhibits coherence on the global scale and such behavior can arise from nonlinearity on the dynamics. The observational time series data were used together with phase space reconstruction techniques to analyze the magnetospheric dynamics. Analysis of the solar wind, auroral electrojet and Dst indices showed low dimensionality of the dynamics and accurate prediction can be made with an input/output model. The predictability of the magnetosphere in spite of the apparent complexity arises from its dynamical synchronism with the solar wind. The electrodynamic coupling between different regions of the magnetosphere yields its coherent, low dimensional behavior. The data from multiple satellites and ground stations can be used to develop a spatio-temporal model that identifies the coupling between different regions. These nonlinear dynamical models provide space weather forecasting capabilities.

  15. Substorms - Future of magnetospheric substorm-storm research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akasofu, S.I.

    1989-01-01

    Seven approaches and/or areas of magnetospheric substorm and storm science which should be emphasized in future research are briefly discussed. They are: the combining of groups of researchers who study magnetic storms and substorms in terms of magnetic reconnection with those that do not, the possible use of a magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling model to merge the groups, the development of improved input-output relationships, the complementing of satellite and ground-based observations, the need for global imaging of the magnetosphere, the complementing of observations with computer simulations, and the need to study the causes of changes in the north-south component of the IMF. 36 refs

  16. Advances in magnetospheric storm and substorm research: 1989-1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fairfield, D.H.

    1992-01-01

    Geomagnetic storms represent the magnetospheric response to fast solar wind and unusually large southward interplanetary magnetic fields that are caused by solar processes and resulting dynamics in the interplanetary medium. The solar wind/magnetosphere interaction is, however, more commonly studied via smaller, more common, magnetospheric substorms. Accumulating evidence suggests that two separate magnetospheric current systems are important during magnetospheric substorms. Currents directly driven by the solar wind/magnetosphere interaction produce magnetic field variations that make important contributions to the AE index but have little relation to the many effects traditionally associated with sudden substorm onsets. Currents driven by energy unloaded from the magnetotail form the nightside current wedge and are associated with onset effects such as auroral breakup, field dipolarization, and particle acceleration. Observations are gradually leading to a coherent picture of the interrelations among these various onset phenomena, but their cause remains a controversial question. The abrupt nature of substorm onsets suggests a magnetospheric instability, but doubt remains as to its nature and place of origin. Measurements increasingly suggest the region of 7-10 R E near midnight as the likely point of origin, but it is not clear that the long-popular tearing mode can go unstable this close to the Earth, where it may be stabilized by a small northward field component. Also the tailward flows that would be expected tailward of a near-Earth neutral line are seldom seen inside of 19 R E . The changing magnetic field configuration during substorms means that existing static models cannot be used to map phenomena between the magnetosphere and the ground at these interesting times

  17. Observations & modeling of solar-wind/magnetospheric interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoilijoki, Sanni; Von Alfthan, Sebastian; Pfau-Kempf, Yann; Palmroth, Minna; Ganse, Urs

    2016-07-01

    The majority of the global magnetospheric dynamics is driven by magnetic reconnection, indicating the need to understand and predict reconnection processes and their global consequences. So far, global magnetospheric dynamics has been simulated using mainly magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models, which are approximate but fast enough to be executed in real time or near-real time. Due to their fast computation times, MHD models are currently the only possible frameworks for space weather predictions. However, in MHD models reconnection is not treated kinetically. In this presentation we will compare the results from global kinetic (hybrid-Vlasov) and global MHD simulations. Both simulations are compared with in-situ measurements. We will show that the kinetic processes at the bow shock, in the magnetosheath and at the magnetopause affect global dynamics even during steady solar wind conditions. Foreshock processes cause an asymmetry in the magnetosheath plasma, indicating that the plasma entering the magnetosphere is not symmetrical on different sides of the magnetosphere. Behind the bow shock in the magnetosheath kinetic wave modes appear. Some of these waves propagate to the magnetopause and have an effect on the magnetopause reconnection. Therefore we find that kinetic phenomena have a significant role in the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. While kinetic models cannot be executed in real time currently, they could be used to extract heuristics to be added in the faster MHD models.

  18. Global Current Circuit Structure in a Resistive Pulsar Magnetosphere Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Yugo. E.

    2017-12-01

    Pulsar magnetospheres have strong magnetic fields and large amounts of plasma. The structures of these magnetospheres are studied using force-free electrodynamics. To understand pulsar magnetospheres, discussions must include their outer region. However, force-free electrodynamics is limited in it does not handle dissipation. Therefore, a resistive pulsar magnetic field model is needed. To break the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) condition E\\cdot B=0, Ohm’s law is used. This work introduces resistivity depending upon the distance from the star and obtain a self-consistent steady state by time integration. Poloidal current circuits form in the magnetosphere while the toroidal magnetic field region expands beyond the light cylinder and the Poynting flux radiation appears. High electric resistivity causes a large space scale poloidal current circuit and the magnetosphere radiates a larger Poynting flux than the linear increase outside of the light cylinder radius. The formed poloidal-current circuit has width, which grows with the electric conductivity. This result contributes to a more concrete dissipative pulsar magnetosphere model.

  19. Hydromagnetic wave coupling in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, D.

    1990-01-01

    The hydromagnetic wave phenomena in the magnetosphere has been an area of space physics and plasma physics where theory has been successful in explaining many features in satellite experiments and ground-based observations. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, which are composed of transverse Alven waves and compressional waves, are usually coupled in space due to an inhomogeneous plasma density and curved magnetic field lines. In addition to these effects, hot temperature plasmas invoke various ultra low frequency (ULF) wave phenomena via macroscopic wave instabilities or wave particle resonant interactions. These properties of the coupling between the two different MHD waves were analytically and numerically studied in a simplified model such as the box model with straight field lines. However, the real magnetosphere is rather close to a dipole field, even though the night side of the magnetosphere is significantly distorted from dipole geometry. The curvature of field lines plays an important role in understanding hydromagnetic wave coupling in the magnetosphere since the MHD wave propagation depends strongly on the curved magnetic fields. The study of the hydromagnetic wave properties on an inhomogeneous and curved magnetic field system by considering realistic geometry is emphasized. Most of the current theories are reviewed and a number of observations are introduced according to the wave excitation mechanism. Studies are also performed with the development of numerical models such as the two and three dimensional MHD dipole models. An attempt is made to understand and classify the hydromagnetic wave behavior in inhomogeneous and hot plasmas with respect to the energy sources and their frequency band in the magnetosphere. Therefore, various excitation mechanisms for hydromagnetic waves are examined to compare analytical and numerical results with the observations

  20. Particle Acceleration in Dissipative Pulsar Magnetospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazanas, Z.; Kalapotharakos, C.; Harding, A.; Contopoulos, I.

    2012-01-01

    Pulsar magnetospheres represent unipolar inductor-type electrical circuits at which an EM potential across the polar cap (due to the rotation of their magnetic field) drives currents that run in and out of the polar cap and close at infinity. An estimate ofthe magnitude of this current can be obtained by dividing the potential induced across the polar cap V approx = B(sub O) R(sub O)(Omega R(sub O)/c)(exp 2) by the impedance of free space Z approx eq 4 pi/c; the resulting polar cap current density is close to $n {GJ} c$ where $n_{GJ}$ is the Goldreich-Julian (GJ) charge density. This argument suggests that even at current densities close to the GJ one, pulsar magnetospheres have a significant component of electric field $E_{parallel}$, parallel to the magnetic field, a condition necessary for particle acceleration and the production of radiation. We present the magnetic and electric field structures as well as the currents, charge densities, spin down rates and potential drops along the magnetic field lines of pulsar magnetospheres which do not obey the ideal MHD condition $E cdot B = 0$. By relating the current density along the poloidal field lines to the parallel electric field via a kind of Ohm's law $J = sigma E_{parallel}$ we study the structure of these magnetospheres as a function of the conductivity $sigma$. We find that for $sigma gg OmegaS the solution tends to the (ideal) Force-Free one and to the Vacuum one for $sigma 11 OmegaS. Finally, we present dissipative magnetospheric solutions with spatially variable $sigma$ that supports various microphysical properties and are compatible with the observations.

  1. Interactions of planetary magnetospheres with icy satellite surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, A.F.; Haff, P.K.; Johnson, R.E.; Lanzerotti, L.J.

    1986-01-01

    When natural satellites and ring particles are embedded within magnetospheric plasmas, the charged particles interact with the surfaces of these solid bodies. These interactions have important implications for the surface, the atmosphere of the parent body, and the magnetosphere as a whole. Significant erosion of the surface by sputtering, as well as redeposition of sputter ejecta, can occur over geologic time. The surface can also be chemically modified. Sputter ejecta can make important contributions to the atmosphere; sputtering provides a lower limit to the atmospheric column density even for arbitrarily cold satellite surfaces. Sputter ejecta escaping from the parent body can form extensive neutral clouds within the magnetosphere. Ionization and dissociation within these neutral clouds can be dominant sources of low-energy plasma. The importance of these processes is discussed for the satellites and magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus

  2. Solar wind and its interaction with the Earth magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grib, S.A.

    1978-01-01

    A critical review is given regarding the research of the stationary and non-stationary interaction of the solar wind with the Earth magnetosphere. Highlighted is the significance of the interplanetary magnetic field in the non-stationary movement of the solar wind flux. The problem of the solar wind shock waves interaction with the ''bow wave-Earth's magnetosphere'' system is being solved. Considered are the secondary phenomena, as a result of which the depression-type wave occurs, that lowers the pressure on the Earth's maanetosphere. The law, governing the movement of the magnetosphere subsolar point during the abrupt start of a geomagnetic storm has been discovered. Stationary circumvention of the magnetosphere by the solar wind flux is well described by the gas dynamic theory of the hypersonic flux. Non-stationary interaction of the solar wind shock waves with the magnetosphere is magnetohydrodynamic. It is pointed out, that the problems under consideration are important for the forecasting of strong geomagnetic perturbations on the basis of cosmic observations

  3. Magnetosonic resonance in a dipole-like magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Leonovich

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available A theory of resonant conversion of fast magnetosonic (FMS waves into slow magnetosonic (SMS oscillations in a magnetosphere with dipole-like magnetic field has been constructed. Monochromatic FMS waves are shown to drive standing (along magnetic field lines SMS oscillations, narrowly localized across magnetic shells. The longitudinal and transverse structures, as well as spectrum of resonant SMS waves are determined. Frequencies of fundamental harmonics of standing SMS waves lie in the range of 0.1–1 mHz, and are about two orders of magnitude lower than frequencies of similar Alfvén field line resonance harmonics. This difference makes an effective interaction between these MHD modes impossible. The amplitude of SMS oscillations rapidly decreases along the field lines from the magnetospheric equator towards the ionosphere. In this context, magnetospheric SMS oscillations cannot be observed on the ground, and the ionosphere does not play any role either in their generation or dissipation. The theory developed can be used to interpret the occurrence of compressional Pc5 waves in a quiet magnetosphere with a weak ring current.

  4. Energetic Nitrogen Ions within the Inner Magnetosphere of Saturn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sittler, E. C.; Johnson, R. E.; Richardson, J. D.; Jurac, S.; Moore, M.; Cooper, J. F.; Mauk, B. H.; Smith, H. T.; Michael, M.; Paranicus, C.; Armstrong, T. P.; Tsurutani, B.; Connerney, J. E. P.

    2003-05-01

    Titan's interaction with Saturn's magnetosphere will result in the energetic ejection of atomic nitrogen atoms into Saturn's magnetosphere due to dissociation of N2 by electrons, ions, and UV photons. The ejection of N atoms into Saturn's magnetosphere will form a nitrogen torus around Saturn with mean density of about 4 atoms/cm3 with source strength of 4.5x1025 atoms/sec. These nitrogen atoms are ionized by photoionization, electron impact ionization and charge exchange reactions producing an N+ torus of 1-4 keV suprathermal ions centered on Titan's orbital position. We will show Voyager plasma observations that demonstrate presence of a suprathermal ion component within Saturn's outer magnetosphere. The Voyager LECP data also reported the presence of inward diffusing energetic ions from the outer magnetosphere of Saturn, which could have an N+ contribution. If so, when one conserves the first and second adiabatic invariant the N+ ions will have energies in excess of 100 keV at Dione's L shell and greater than 400 keV at Enceladus' L shell. Energetic charged particle radial diffusion coefficients are also used to constrain the model results. But, one must also consider the solar wind as another important source of keV ions, in the form of protons and alpha particles, for Saturn's outer magnetosphere. Initial estimates indicate that a solar wind source could dominate in the outer magnetosphere, but various required parameters for this estimate are highly uncertain and will have to await Cassini results for confirmation. We show that satellite sweeping and charged particle precipitation within the middle and outer magnetosphere will tend to enrich N+ ions relative to protons within Saturn's inner magnetosphere as they diffuse radially inward for radial diffusion coefficients that do not violate observations. Charge exchange reactions within the inner magnetosphere can be an important loss mechanism for O+ ions, but to a lesser degree for N+ ions. Initial LECP

  5. The outer magnetosphere. [composition and comparison with earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schardt, A. W.; Behannon, K. W.; Lepping, R. P.; Carbary, J. F.; Eviatar, A.; Siscoe, G. L.

    1984-01-01

    Similarities between the Saturnian and terrestrial outer magnetosphere are examined. Saturn, like earth, has a fully developed magnetic tail, 80 to 100 RS in diameter. One major difference between the two outer magnetospheres is the hydrogen and nitrogen torus produced by Titan. This plasma is, in general, convected in the corotation direction at nearly the rigid corotation speed. Energies of magnetospheric particles extend to above 500 keV. In contrast, interplanetary protons and ions above 2 MeV have free access to the outer magnetosphere to distances well below the Stormer cutoff. This access presumably occurs through the magnetotail. In addition to the H+, H2+, and H3+ ions primarily of local origin, energetic He, C, N, and O ions are found with solar composition. Their flux can be substantially enhanced over that of interplanetary ions at energies of 0.2 to 0.4 MeV/nuc.

  6. The role of scientific ballooning for exploration of the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Block, L.P.; Lazutin, L.L.; Riedler, W.

    1984-11-01

    The magnetosphere is explored in situ by satellites, but measurements near the low altitude magnetospheric boundary by rockets, balloons and groundbased instruments play a very significant role. The geomagnetic field provides a frame with anisotropic wave and particle propagation effects, enabling remote sensing of the distant magnetosphere by means of balloon-borne and groundbased instruments. Examples will be given of successful studies, with coordinated satellite and balloon observations, of substorm, pulsation and other phenomena propagating both along and across the geomagnetic field. Continued efforts with sophisticated balloon-borne instrumentations should contribute substantially to our understanding of magnetospheric physics. (Author)

  7. The earth's palaeomagnetosphere as the third type of planetary magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, T; Sakurai, T.; Yumoto, K.

    1978-01-01

    From the viewpoint of dynamical topology, planetary magnetospheres are classified into three: Types 1,2 and 3. When the rotation vector and dipole moment of a planet and the velocity vector of the solar wind are denoted as Ω,M, and V, respectively, the planetary magnetosphere with Ωparallel to M perpendicular to V is called Type 1. The magnetospheres of the present Earth, Jupiter, and Uranus at its equinoctial points belong to this type. The magnetosphere with Ωparallel to M parallel to V is called Type 2, which includes the Uranium magnetosphere at its solstitial points. The magnetosphere with Ωperpendicular M and perpendicular V is called Type 3. The Earth's palaeomagnetosphere is considered to have experienced Type 3 during excursions and transition stages of palaeomagnetic polarity reversals. In the Type 3 magnetosphere, drastic variations are expected in configurations of the dayside cusps, tail axis, neutral sheet, polar caps, and so on. A possible relation between the Type 3 palaeomagnetosphere and palaeoclimate of the Earth during polarity reversals and geomagnetic excursions is suggested. It is also suggested that the heliomagnetosphere during polarity reversals of the general field of the Sun exhibits a drastic configuration change similar to the Type 3 palaeomagnetosphere of the Earth. A relation between the perpendicular condition Ω perpendicular to M and magnetic variable stars and pulsars is briefly discussed. (author)

  8. Hydromagnetic Waves in the Magnetosphere and the Ionosphere

    CERN Document Server

    Alperovich, Leonid S

    2007-01-01

    The book deals with Ultra-Low-Frequency (ULF)-electromagnetic waves observed on Earth and in Space. These are so-called geomagnetic variations or pulsations. Alfvén's discovery related to the influence of the strong magnetic field on the conducting fluids (magnetohydrodynamics) led to development of the concept that the ULF-waves are magnetospheric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-waves. MHD-waves at their propagation gather information about the magnetosphere, ionosphere, and the ground. There are two applied aspects based on using the ULF electromagnetic oscillations. The first one is the ground-based diagnostics of the magnetosphere. This is an attempt to monitor in the real time the magnetosphere size, distance to the last closed field-lines, distribution of the cold plasma, etc. The second one is the deep electromagnetic sounding of the Earth. The basis for these studies is the capability of any electromagnetic wave to penetrate a conductor to a finite depth. The ULF-waves can reach the depth of a few hundred ...

  9. Electric fields in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falthammar, C.G.

    1989-01-01

    Electric field measurements on the satellites GEOS-1, GEOS-2, ISEE-1, and Viking have extended the empirical knowledge of electric fields in space so as to include the outer regions of the magnetosphere. While the measurements confirm some of the theoretically expected properties of the electric fields, they also reveal unexpected features and a high degree of complexity and variability. The existence of a magnetospheric dawn-to-dusk electric field, as expected on the basis of extrapolation from low altitude measurements, is confirmed in an average sense. However, the actual field exhibits large spatial and temporal variations, including strong fields of inductive origin. At the magnetopause, the average (dawn-to-dusk directed) tangential electric field component is typically obscured by irregular fluctuations of larger amplitude. The magnetic-field aligned component of the electric field, which is of particular importance for ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling and for auroral acceleration, is even now very difficult to measure directly. However, the data from electric field measurements provide further support for the conclusion, based on a variety of evidence, that a non-vanishing magnetic-field aligned electric field exists in the auroral acceleration region

  10. Mission Concept to Connect Magnetospheric Physical Processes to Ionospheric Phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dors, E. E.; MacDonald, E.; Kepko, L.; Borovsky, J.; Reeves, G. D.; Delzanno, G. L.; Thomsen, M. F.; Sanchez, E. R.; Henderson, M. G.; Nguyen, D. C.; Vaith, H.; Gilchrist, B. E.; Spanswick, E.; Marshall, R. A.; Donovan, E.; Neilson, J.; Carlsten, B. E.

    2017-12-01

    On the Earth's nightside the magnetic connections between the ionosphere and the dynamic magnetosphere have a great deal of uncertainty: this uncertainty prevents us from scientifically understanding what physical processes in the magnetosphere are driving the various phenomena in the ionosphere. Since the 1990s, the space plasma physics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been working on a concept to connect magnetospheric physical processes to auroral phenomena in the ionosphere by firing an electron beam from a magnetospheric spacecraft and optically imaging the beam spot in the ionosphere. The magnetospheric spacecraft will carry a steerable electron accelerator, a power-storage system, a plasma contactor, and instruments to measure magnetic and electric fields, plasma, and energetic particles. The spacecraft orbit will be coordinated with a ground-based network of cameras to (a) locate the electron beam spot in the upper atmosphere and (b) monitor the aurora. An overview of the mission concept will be presented, including recent enabling advancements based on (1) a new understanding of the dynamic spacecraft charging of the accelerator and plasma-contactor system in the tenuous magnetosphere based on ion emission rather than electron collection, (2) a new understanding of the propagation properties of pulsed MeV-class beams in the magnetosphere, and (3) the design of a compact high-power 1-MeV electron accelerator and power-storage system. This strategy to (a) determine the magnetosphere-to-ionosphere connections and (b) reduce accelerator- platform charging responds to one of the six emerging-technology needs called out in the most-recent National Academies Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics. [LA-UR-17-23614

  11. Wave--particle interactions in the magnetosphere and ionosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorne, R.M.

    1975-01-01

    Two distinct aspects of the interaction between waves and particles in the earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere were discussed at the Yosemite Conference on Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling; these will be briefly reviewed. Intense field-aligned currents flow between the ionosphere and magnetosphere at auroral latitudes. Under certain conditions these currents can become unstable, permitting potential drops to be established along the field lines. The present status of experimental evidence favoring such parallel electric fields is somewhat controversial. Theoretical models for their origin invoke regions of anomalous resistivity or electrostatic double layers. To date it is impossible to distinguish between these alternatives on the basis of experimental data. The nonadiabatic behavior of magnetospheric ring current particles during geomagnetic storms is largely controlled by wave-particle processes. During the storm main phase, intense fluctuating convection electric fields are responsible for injecting trapped particles into the outer radiation zone. The outer radiation zone also moves in closer to the earth following the storm time compression of the plasmapause. Simultaneous pitch angle scattering by higher-frequency plasma turbulence causes precipitation loss near the strong diffusion limit throughout the outer magnetosphere. During the storm recov []ry phase the plasmapause slowly moves out toward its prestorm location; energetic particle loss at such times appears to be dominated by cyclotron resonant scattering from electromagnetic turbulence. (auth)

  12. Polarized curvature radiation in pulsar magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, P. F.; Wang, C.; Han, J. L.

    2014-07-01

    The propagation of polarized emission in pulsar magnetosphere is investigated in this paper. The polarized waves are generated through curvature radiation from the relativistic particles streaming along curved magnetic field lines and corotating with the pulsar magnetosphere. Within the 1/γ emission cone, the waves can be divided into two natural wave-mode components, the ordinary (O) mode and the extraordinary (X) mode, with comparable intensities. Both components propagate separately in magnetosphere, and are aligned within the cone by adiabatic walking. The refraction of O mode makes the two components separated and incoherent. The detectable emission at a given height and a given rotation phase consists of incoherent X-mode and O-mode components coming from discrete emission regions. For four particle-density models in the form of uniformity, cone, core and patches, we calculate the intensities for each mode numerically within the entire pulsar beam. If the corotation of relativistic particles with magnetosphere is not considered, the intensity distributions for the X-mode and O-mode components are quite similar within the pulsar beam, which causes serious depolarization. However, if the corotation of relativistic particles is considered, the intensity distributions of the two modes are very different, and the net polarization of outcoming emission should be significant. Our numerical results are compared with observations, and can naturally explain the orthogonal polarization modes of some pulsars. Strong linear polarizations of some parts of pulsar profile can be reproduced by curvature radiation and subsequent propagation effect.

  13. Investigating dynamical complexity in the magnetosphere using various entropy measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasis, Georgios; Daglis, Ioannis A.; Papadimitriou, Constantinos; Kalimeri, Maria; Anastasiadis, Anastasios; Eftaxias, Konstantinos

    2009-09-01

    The complex system of the Earth's magnetosphere corresponds to an open spatially extended nonequilibrium (input-output) dynamical system. The nonextensive Tsallis entropy has been recently introduced as an appropriate information measure to investigate dynamical complexity in the magnetosphere. The method has been employed for analyzing Dst time series and gave promising results, detecting the complexity dissimilarity among different physiological and pathological magnetospheric states (i.e., prestorm activity and intense magnetic storms, respectively). This paper explores the applicability and effectiveness of a variety of computable entropy measures (e.g., block entropy, Kolmogorov entropy, T complexity, and approximate entropy) to the investigation of dynamical complexity in the magnetosphere. We show that as the magnetic storm approaches there is clear evidence of significant lower complexity in the magnetosphere. The observed higher degree of organization of the system agrees with that inferred previously, from an independent linear fractal spectral analysis based on wavelet transforms. This convergence between nonlinear and linear analyses provides a more reliable detection of the transition from the quiet time to the storm time magnetosphere, thus showing evidence that the occurrence of an intense magnetic storm is imminent. More precisely, we claim that our results suggest an important principle: significant complexity decrease and accession of persistency in Dst time series can be confirmed as the magnetic storm approaches, which can be used as diagnostic tools for the magnetospheric injury (global instability). Overall, approximate entropy and Tsallis entropy yield superior results for detecting dynamical complexity changes in the magnetosphere in comparison to the other entropy measures presented herein. Ultimately, the analysis tools developed in the course of this study for the treatment of Dst index can provide convenience for space weather

  14. Nonlinear dynamical modeling and prediction of the terrestrial magnetospheric activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vassiliadis, D.

    1992-01-01

    The irregular activity of the magnetosphere results from its complex internal dynamics as well as the external influence of the solar wind. The dominating self-organization of the magnetospheric plasma gives rise to repetitive, large-scale coherent behavior manifested in phenomena such as the magnetic substorm. Based on the nonlinearity of the global dynamics this dissertation examines the magnetosphere as a nonlinear dynamical system using time series analysis techniques. Initially the magnetospheric activity is modeled in terms of an autonomous system. A dimension study shows that its observed time series is self-similar, but the correlation dimension is high. The implication of a large number of degrees of freedom is confirmed by other state space techniques such as Poincare sections and search for unstable periodic orbits. At the same time a stability study of the time series in terms of Lyapunov exponents suggests that the series is not chaotic. The absence of deterministic chaos is supported by the low predictive capability of the autonomous model. Rather than chaos, it is an external input which is largely responsible for the irregularity of the magnetospheric activity. In fact, the external driving is so strong that the above state space techniques give results for magnetospheric and solar wind time series that are at least qualitatively similar. Therefore the solar wind input has to be included in a low-dimensional nonautonomous model. Indeed it is shown that such a model can reproduce the observed magnetospheric behavior up to 80-90 percent. The characteristic coefficients of the model show little variation depending on the external disturbance. The impulse response is consistent with earlier results of linear prediction filters. The model can be easily extended to contain nonlinear features of the magnetospheric activity and in particular the loading-unloading behavior of substorms

  15. Echo 7: Magnetospheric properties determined by artificial electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nemzek, R.J.

    1990-01-01

    The sounding rocket Echo 7 was launched from the Poker Flat Research Range. An on-board accelerator injected high-power electron beams into the magnetospheric tail near L = 6.5. After mirroring at the southern conjugate point, about 20 percent of the initial beam electrons returned to the North as Conjugate Echoes, where detectors (scintillators and spectrometers) on four subpayloads measured their energy and bounce time. The other 80 percent of the beam was pitch angle diffused by wave near the equatorial plane either into the conjugate atmosphere or up to mirror points above the payload. Comparison of measured values to calculations showed that the actual magnetosphere during the flight was well-described by the Tsyganenko-Usmanov model magnetosphere with a Kp value of 2- or 2+. Analysis of echo energies yielded values for the highly variable magnetospheric convection electric field

  16. Energetic charged particles in the magnetosphere of Neptune

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stone, E.C.; Cummings, A.C.; Looper, M.D.; Selesnick, R.S.; Lal, N.; McDonald, F.B.; Trainor, J.H.; Chenette, D.L.

    1989-01-01

    The Voyager 2 cosmic ray system (CRS) measured significant fluxes of energetic [approx-lt 1 megaelectron volt (MeV)] trapped electrons and protons in the magnetosphere of Neptune. The intensities at maximum near a magnetic L shell of 7, decreasing closer to the planet because of absorption by satellites and rings. In the region of the inner satellites of Neptune, the radiation belts have a complicated structure, which provides some constraints on the magnetic field geometry of the inner magnetosphere. Electron phase-space densities have a positive radial gradient, indicating that they diffuse inward from a source in the outer magnetosphere. Electron spectra from 1 to 5 MeV are generally well represented by power laws with indices near 6, which harden in the region of peak flux to power law indices of 4 to 5. Protons have significantly lower fluxes than electrons throughout the magnetosphere, with large anisotropies due to radial intensity gradients. The radiation belts resemble those of Uranus to the extent allowed by the different locations of the satellites, which limit the flux at each planet

  17. Modeling magnetospheric plasma; Proceedings of the First Huntsville Workshop on Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Plasma Models, Guntersville, AL, Oct. 14-16, 1987

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, T.E.; Waite, J.H. Jr.

    1988-01-01

    The conference presents papers on the global modeling of magnetospheric plasma processes, the modeling of the midlatitude ionosphere and plasmasphere, the modeling of the auroral zone and boundary layer, the modeling of the polar magnetosphere and ionosphere, and the modeling of the plasma sheet and ring current. Particular attention is given to the kinetic approach in magnetospheric plasma transport modeling, self-consistent neutral point current and fields from single particle dynamics, preliminary statistical survey of plasmaspheric ion properties from observations by DE 1/RIMS, and a model of auroral potential structures based on dynamics explorer plasma data. Other topics include internal shear layers in auroral dynamics, quantitative parameterization of energetic ionospheric ion outflow, and open flux merging in an expanding polarcap model

  18. The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars

    CERN Document Server

    Heyl, J S; Lloyd, D; CERN. Geneva; Heyl, Jeremy S.; Shaviv, Nir J.; Lloyd, Don

    2003-01-01

    In the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect decouples the polarization modes of photons leaving the NS surface. Both the total intensity and the intensity in each of the two modes is preserved along a ray's path through the neutron-star magnetosphere. We analyze the consequences that this effect has on aligning the observed polarization vectors across the image of the stellar surface to generate large net polarizations. Counter to previous predictions, we show that the thermal radiation of NSs should be highly polarized even in the optical. When detected, this polarization will be the first demonstration of vacuum birefringence. It could be used as a tool to prove the high magnetic field nature of AXPs and it could also be used to constrain physical NS parameters, such as $R/M$, to which the net polarization is sensitive.

  19. Particle-in-Cell Simulations of the Twisted Magnetospheres of Magnetars. I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Alexander Y.; Beloborodov, Andrei M.

    2017-08-01

    The magnetospheres of magnetars are believed to be filled with electron-positron plasma generated by electric discharge. We present a first numerical experiment demonstrating this process in an axisymmetric magnetosphere with a simple threshold prescription for pair creation, which is applicable to the inner magnetosphere with an ultrastrong field. The {e}+/- discharge occurs in response to the twisting of the closed magnetic field lines by a shear deformation of the magnetar surface, which launches electric currents into the magnetosphere. The simulation shows the formation of an electric “gap” with an unscreened electric field ({\\boldsymbol{E}}\\cdot {\\boldsymbol{B}}\

  20. Massive-Star Magnetospheres: Now in 3-D!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Richard

    Magnetic fields are unexpected in massive stars, due to the absence of a dynamo convection zone beneath their surface layers. Nevertheless, kilogauss-strength, ordered fields were detected in a small subset of these stars over three decades ago, and the intervening years have witnessed the steady expansion of this subset. A distinctive feature of magnetic massive stars is that they harbor magnetospheres --- circumstellar environments where the magnetic field interacts strongly with the star's radiation-driven wind, confining it and channelling it into energetic shocks. A wide range of observational signatures are associated with these magnetospheres, in diagnostics ranging from X-rays all the way through to radio emission. Moreover, these magnetospheres can play an important role in massive-star evolution, by amplifying angular momentum loss in the wind. Recent progress in understanding massive-star magnetospheres has largely been driven by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations. However, these have been restricted to two- dimensional axisymmetric configurations, with three-dimensional configurations possible only in certain special cases. These restrictions are limiting further progress; we therefore propose to develop completely general three-dimensional models for the magnetospheres of massive stars, on the one hand to understand their observational properties and exploit them as plasma-physics laboratories, and on the other to gain a comprehensive understanding of how they influence the evolution of their host star. For weak- and intermediate-field stars, the models will be based on 3-D MHD simulations using a modified version of the ZEUS-MP code. For strong-field stars, we will extend our existing Rigid Field Hydrodynamics (RFHD) code to handle completely arbitrary field topologies. To explore a putative 'photoionization-moderated mass loss' mechanism for massive-star magnetospheres, we will also further develop a photoionization code we have recently

  1. Corotation-driven magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents in Saturn’s magnetosphere and their relation to the auroras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. W. H. Cowley

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available We calculate the latitude profile of the equatorward-directed ionospheric Pedersen currents that are driven in Saturn’s ionosphere by partial corotation of the magnetospheric plasma. The calculation incorporates the flattened figure of the planet, a model of Saturn’s magnetic field derived from spacecraft flyby data, and angular velocity models derived from Voyager plasma data. We also employ an effective height-integrated ionospheric Pedersen conductivity of 1 mho, suggested by a related analysis of Voyager magnetic field data. The Voyager plasma data suggest that on the largest spatial scales, the plasma angular velocity declines from near-rigid corotation with the planet in the inner magnetosphere, to values of about half of rigid corotation at the outer boundary of the region considered. The latter extends to ~ 15–20 Saturn radii (RS in the equatorial plane, mapping along magnetic field lines to ~ 15° co-latitude in the ionosphere. We find in this case that the ionospheric Pedersen current peaks near the poleward (outer boundary of this region, and falls toward zero over ~ 5°–10° equator-ward of the boundary as the plasma approaches rigid corotation. The peak current near the poleward boundary, integrated in azimuth, is ~ 6 MA. The field-aligned current required for continuity is directed out of the ionosphere into the magnetosphere essentially throughout the region, with the current density peaking at ~ 10 nA m-2 at ~ 20° co-latitude. We estimate that such current densities are well below the limit requiring field-aligned acceleration of magnetospheric electrons in Saturn’s environment ( ~ 70 nAm-2, so that no significant auroral features associated with this ring of upward current is anticipated. The observed ultraviolet auroras at Saturn are also found to occur significantly closer to the pole (at ~ 10°–15° co-latitude, and show considerable temporal and local time variability, contrary to expectations for corotation

  2. Surface conductivity of Mercury provides current closure and may affect magnetospheric symmetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Janhunen

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available We study what effect a possible surface conductivity of Mercury has on the closure of magnetospheric currents by making six runs with a quasi-neutral hybrid simulation. The runs are otherwise identical but use different synthetic conductivity models: run 1 has a fully conducting planet, run 2 has a poorly conducting planet ( m and runs 3-6 have one of the hemispheres either in the dawn-dusk or day-night directions, conducting well, the other one being conducting poorly. Although the surface conductivity is not known from observations, educated guesses easily give such conductivity values that magnetospheric currents may close partly within the planet, and as the conductivity depends heavily on the mineral composition of the surface, the possibility of significant horizontal variations cannot be easily excluded. The simulation results show that strong horizontal variations may produce modest magnetospheric asymmetries. Beyond the hybrid simulation, we also briefly discuss the possibility that in the nightside there may be a lack of surface electrons to carry downward current, which may act as a further source of surface-related magnetospheric asymmetry. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (planetary magnetospheres; current systems; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions.6

  3. A New Approach to Modeling Jupiter's Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukazawa, K.; Katoh, Y.; Walker, R. J.; Kimura, T.; Tsuchiya, F.; Murakami, G.; Kita, H.; Tao, C.; Murata, K. T.

    2017-12-01

    The scales in planetary magnetospheres range from 10s of planetary radii to kilometers. For a number of years we have studied the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn by using 3-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. However, we have not been able to reach even the limits of the MHD approximation because of the large amount of computer resources required. Recently thanks to the progress in supercomputer systems, we have obtained the capability to simulate Jupiter's magnetosphere with 1000 times the number of grid points used in our previous simulations. This has allowed us to combine the high resolution global simulation with a micro-scale simulation of the Jovian magnetosphere. In particular we can combine a hybrid (kinetic ions and fluid electrons) simulation with the MHD simulation. In addition, the new capability enables us to run multi-parameter survey simulations of the Jupiter-solar wind system. In this study we performed a high-resolution simulation of Jovian magnetosphere to connect with the hybrid simulation, and lower resolution simulations under the various solar wind conditions to compare with Hisaki and Juno observations. In the high-resolution simulation we used a regular Cartesian gird with 0.15 RJ grid spacing and placed the inner boundary at 7 RJ. From these simulation settings, we provide the magnetic field out to around 20 RJ from Jupiter as a background field for the hybrid simulation. For the first time we have been able to resolve Kelvin Helmholtz waves on the magnetopause. We have investigated solar wind dynamic pressures between 0.01 and 0.09 nPa for a number of IMF values. These simulation data are open for the registered users to download the raw data. We have compared the results of these simulations with Hisaki auroral observations.

  4. Magnetosphere, exosphere, and surface of Mercury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, A.F.; Krimigis, S.M.; Johnson, R.E.; Lanzerotti, L.J.

    1987-01-01

    It is presently suggested in light of the atomic Na exosphere discovered for Mercury that this planet, like the Jupiter moon Io, is capable of maintaining a heavy ion magnetosphere. Na(+) ions from the exosphere are in this scenario accelerated to keV energies en route to making substantial contributions to the mass and energy budgets of the magnetosphere. Since Mercury's Na supply to the exosphere is primarily internal, it would appear that Mercury is losing its semivolatiles and that this process will proceed by way of photosputtering, which maintains an adequate Na-ejection rate from the planet's surface. 39 references

  5. Theory of imperfect magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, J.R.; Lee, L.C.

    1980-01-01

    Atheory of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in the presence of field-aligned potential drops is formulated within the framework of magnetohydrodynamic equations. Our formulation allows the magnetosphere as well as the ionosphere to respond self-consistently to the parallel potential drop along auroral field lines. Equipotential contours are distorted into a V-shaped structure near the convection reversal boundary and S-shaped on the equatorward side, each gives rise to an inverted V precipitation band. The loading effect of the imperfect coupling results in a valley in the electric field profile which occurs equatorward of the convection reversal boundary

  6. Corotating Magnetic Reconnection Site in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao, Z. H.; Coates, A. J.; Ray, L. C.; Rae, I. J.; Jones, G. H.; Owen, C. J.; Dunn, W. R.; Lewis, G. R. [UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Dorking RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); Grodent, D.; Radioti, A.; Gérard, J.-C. [Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Planétaire, STAR institute, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège (Belgium); Dougherty, M. K. [Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Department of Physics, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom); Guo, R. L. [Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Pu, Z. Y. [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing (China); Waite, J. H., E-mail: z.yao@ucl.ac.uk [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

    2017-09-10

    Using measurements from the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn’s magnetosphere, we propose a 3D physical picture of a corotating reconnection site, which can only be driven by an internally generated source. Our results demonstrate that the corotating magnetic reconnection can drive an expansion of the current sheet in Saturn’s magnetosphere and, consequently, can produce Fermi acceleration of electrons. This reconnection site lasted for longer than one of Saturn’s rotation period. The long-lasting and corotating natures of the magnetic reconnection site at Saturn suggest fundamentally different roles of magnetic reconnection in driving magnetospheric dynamics (e.g., the auroral precipitation) from the Earth. Our corotating reconnection picture could also potentially shed light on the fast rotating magnetized plasma environments in the solar system and beyond.

  7. Stellarator-Spheromak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moroz, P.E.

    1997-03-01

    A novel concept for magnetic plasma confinement, Stellarator-Spheromak (SSP), is proposed. Numerical analysis with the classical-stellarator-type outboard stellarator windings demonstrates a number of potential advantages of SSP for controlled nuclear fusion. Among the main ones are: simple and compact magnet coil configuration, absence of material structures (e.g. magnet coils or conducting walls) in the center of the torus, high rotational transform, and a possibility of MHD equilibria with very high β (pressure/magnetic pressure) of the confined plasma

  8. Problems related to macroscopic electric fields in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faelthammar, C.

    1977-01-01

    The macroscopic electric fields in the magnetosphere originate from internal as well as external sources. The fields are intimately coupled with the dynamics of magnetospheric plasma convection. They also depend on the complicated electrical properties of the hot collisionless plasma. Macroscopic electric fields are responsible for some important kinds of energization of charged particles that take place in the magnetosphere and affect not only particles of auroral energy but also, by multistep processes, trapped high-energy particles. A particularly interesting feature of magnetospheric electric fields is that they can have substantial components along the geomagnetic field, as has recently been confirmed by observations. Several physical mechanisms have been identified by which such electric fields can be supported even when collisions between particles are negligible. Comments are made on the magnetic mirror effect, anomalous resistivity, the collisionless thermoelectric effect, and electric double layers, emphasizing key features and differences and their significance in the light of recent observational data

  9. Modelling Mercury's magnetosphere and plasma entry through the dayside magnetopause

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massetti, S.; Orsini, S.; Milillo, A.; Mura, A.

    2007-09-01

    Owing to the next space mission Messenger (NASA) and BepiColombo (ESA/JAXA), there is a renewed interest in modelling the Mercury's environment. The geometry of the Mercury's magnetosphere, as well as its response to the solar wind conditions, is one of the major issues. The weak magnetic field of the planet and the increasing weight of the IMF BX component at Mercury's orbit, introduce critical differences with respect to the Earth's case, such as a strong north-south asymmetry and a significant solar wind precipitation into the dayside magnetosphere even for non-negative IMF BZ. With the aim of analysing the interaction between the solar wind and Mercury's magnetosphere, we have developed an empirical-analytical magnetospheric model starting from the Toffoletto-Hill TH93 code. Our model has been tuned to reproduce the key features of the Mariner 10 magnetic data, and to mimic the magnetic field topology obtained by the self-consistent hybrid simulation developed by Kallio and Janhunen [Solar wind and magnetospheric ion impact on Mercury's magnetosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 1877, doi: 10.1029/2003GL017842]. The new model has then been used to study the effect of the magnetic reconnection on the magnetosheath plasma entry through the open areas of the dayside magnetosphere (cusps), which are expected to be one of the main sources of charged particles circulating inside the magnetosphere. We show that, depending on the Alfvén speeds on both sides of the magnetopause discontinuity, the reconnection process would be able to accelerate solar wind protons up to few tens of keV: part of these ions can hit the surface and then trigger, via ion-sputtering, the refilling of the planetary exosphere. Finally, we show that non-adiabatic effects are expected to develop in the cusp regions as the energy gained by injected particles increases. The extent of these non-adiabatic regions is shown to be also modulated by upstream IMF condition.

  10. Gamma-Ray Pulsar Light Curves as Probes of Magnetospheric Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harding, A. K.

    2016-01-01

    The large number of gamma-ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope since its launch in 2008 dwarfs the handful that were previously known. The variety of observed light curves makes possible a tomography of both the ensemble-averaged field structure and the high-energy emission regions of a pulsar magnetosphere. Fitting the gamma-ray pulsar light curves with model magnetospheres and emission models has revealed that most of the high-energy emission, and the particles acceleration, takes place near or beyond the light cylinder, near the current sheet. As pulsar magnetosphere models become more sophisticated, it is possible to probe magnetic field structure and emission that are self-consistently determined. Light curve modeling will continue to be a powerful tool for constraining the pulsar magnetosphere physics.

  11. Evaluation of recent quantitative magnetospheric magnetic field models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, R.J.

    1976-01-01

    Recent quantitative magnetospheric field models contain many features not found in earlier models. Magnetopause models which include the effects of the dipole tilt were presented. More realistic models of the tail field include tail currents which close on the magnetopause, cross-tail currents of finite thickness, and cross-tail current models which model the position of the neutral sheet as a function of tilt. Finally, models have attempted to calculate the field of currents distributed in the inner magnetosphere. As the purpose of a magnetospheric model is to provide a mathematical description of the field that reasonably reproduces the observed magnetospheric field, several recent models were compared with the observed ΔB(B/sub observed/--B/sub main field/) contours. Models containing only contributions from magnetopause and tail current systems are able to reproduce the observed quiet time field only in an extremely qualitative way. The best quantitative agreement between models and observations occurs when currents distributed in the inner magnetosphere are added to the magnetopause and tail current systems. However, the distributed current models are valid only for zero tilt. Even the models which reproduce the average observed field reasonably well may not give physically reasonable field gradients. Three of the models evaluated contain regions in the near tail in which the field gradient reverses direction. One region in which all the models fall short is that around the polar cusp, though most can be used to calculate the position of the last closed field line reasonably well

  12. The aurora and the magnetosphere - The Chapman Memorial Lecture. [dynamo theory development, 1600-present

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akasofu, S.-I.

    1974-01-01

    Review of recent progress in magnetospheric physics, in particular, in understanding the magnetospheric substorm. It is shown that a number of magnetospheric phenomena can now be understood by viewing the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction as an MHD dynamo; auroral phenomena are powered by the dynamo. Also, magnetospheric responses to variations of the north-south and east-west components of the interplanetary magnetic field have been identified. The magnetospheric substorm is entirely different from the responses of the magnetosphere to the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field. It may be associated with the formation of a neutral line within the plasma sheet and with an enhanced reconnection along the line. A number of substorm-associated phenomena can be understood by noting that the new neutral line formation is caused by a short-circuiting of a part of the magnetotail current.

  13. Possibility of detecting magnetospheric radio bursts from Uranus and Neptune

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennel, C.F.; Maggs, J.E.

    1976-01-01

    It is known that Earth, Jupiter and Saturn are sources of intense sporadic bursts of electromagnetic radiation, known as magnetospheric radio bursts. These bursts are here described. It is thought that the similarities in the power flux spectra, together with the burst occurrence patterns, suggest a common physical origin for these bursts in all three planets. The common mechanism may be noise amplification by field aligned currents, since it has been shown that the Earth's MRBs are associated with bright auroral arcs that involve intense field aligned currents. Such currents result from the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere and should be a general feature of the interaction between the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. If MRBs are produced by solar wind-magnetosphere interaction their total radiated power might scale with the solar wind input into the magnetosphere, and it has been suggested that the frequency of emission scales with the polar magnetic field strength of a planet. The intensity of MRBs is here scaled to the solar wind input and the frequency of emission to the polar field strength with a view to estimating the possibility of detecting MRBs from Uranus and Neptune. It is found that scaling of MRB power to the solar wind-magnetosphere dissipation power is probably a reasonable hypothesis. It is suggested that detection of MRB bursts from Uranus and Neptune might be a reasonable radioastronomy objective on future missions to the outer Solar System. (U.K.)

  14. Magnetic reconnection in the terrestrial magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldman, W.C.

    1984-01-01

    An overview is given of quantitative comparisons between measured phenomena in the terrestrial magnetosphere thought to be associated with magnetic reconnection, and related theoretical predictions based on Petschek's simple model. Although such a comparison cannot be comprehensive because of the extended nature of the process and the relatively few in situ multipoint measurements made to date, the agreement is impressive where comparisons have been possible. This result leaves little doubt that magnetic reconnection does indeed occur in the terrestrial magnetosphere. The maximum reconnection rate, expressed in terms of the inflow Mach number, M/sub A/, is measured to be M/sub A/ = 0.2 +- 0.1

  15. Magnetospheric structure of rotation powered pulsars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arons, J. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA) California Univ., Livermore, CA (USA). Inst. of Geophysics and Planetary Physics)

    1991-01-07

    I survey recent theoretical work on the structure of the magnetospheres of rotation powered pulsars, within the observational constraints set by their observed spindown, their ability to power synchrotron nebulae and their ability to produce beamed collective radio emission, while putting only a small fraction of their energy into incoherent X- and gamma radiation. I find no single theory has yet given a consistent description of the magnetosphere, but I conclude that models based on a dense outflow of pairs from the polar caps, permeated by a lower density flow of heavy ions, are the most promising avenue for future research. 106 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

  16. Magnetosphere as an Alfven maser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trakhtengerts, V.Yu.

    1979-01-01

    The Earth magnetosphere is considered as an Alfven maser. The operation mechanism of such a maser is duscussed. The main fact of this mechanism is ''overpopulation'' of the Earth radiation belt with particles moving with cross velocities. The cross velocity particles excess results in the excitation of cyclotron instability in the radiation belt and in the self-arbitrary increase of Alfven waves. At late the theory of cyclotron instability of radiation belts has been universally developed. On the basis of ideas on magnetosphere maser on cyclotron resonance it was possible to explain many geophysical phenomena such as periodical spillings out of particles from the radiation belts, pulsing polar lights, oscillations of magnetic force tubes etc. It is proposed to carry out active cosmic experiments to understand deeper the processes occuring in radiation belts

  17. Recent investigation at INPE in magnetospheric physics and geomagnetism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzales, W.D.; Trivedi, N.B.

    1984-01-01

    During recent years the following research activities related to the earth's magnetosphere have been intensified: a) studies on electric field and energy transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere; b) studies on high latitude magnetospheric electric fields and on their penetration into the plasmasphere; c) measurements of atmospheric-large scale-electric fields, related to the low latitude magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling and to the local atmospheric electrodynamics, using detectors on board stratospheric balloons; and d) measurements of atmospheric X-rays, related to the process of energetic particle precipitation at the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly, using detectors also on board stratospheric balloons. Similarly, the following research activities related to geomagnetism are being pursued: a) studies on the variability of the geomagnetic field and on the dynamics of the equatorial electrojet from local geomagnetic field measurements; b) studies on terrestrial electromagnetic induction through local measurements of the geo-electromagnetic field; and c) studies on the influence of geomagnetic activity on particle precipitation at the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly. (Author) [pt

  18. ON THE GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF PULSAR FORCE-FREE MAGNETOSPHERE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrova, S. A.

    2013-01-01

    The dipolar magnetic field structure of a neutron star is modified by the plasma originating in the pulsar magnetosphere. In the simplest case of a stationary axisymmetric force-free magnetosphere, a self-consistent description of the fields and currents is given by the well-known pulsar equation. Here we revise the commonly used boundary conditions of the problem in order to incorporate the plasma-producing gaps and to provide a framework for a truly self-consistent treatment of the pulsar magnetosphere. A generalized multipolar solution of the pulsar equation is found, which, as compared to the customary split monopole solution, is suggested to better represent the character of the dipolar force-free field at large distances. In particular, the outer gap location entirely inside the light cylinder implies that beyond the light cylinder the null and critical lines should be aligned and become parallel to the equator at a certain altitude. Our scheme of the pulsar force-free magnetosphere, which will hopefully be followed by extensive analytic and numerical studies, may have numerous implications for different fields of pulsar research.

  19. Laboratory simulation of energetic flows of magnetospheric planetary plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaikhislamov, I F; Posukh, V G; Melekhov, A V; Boyarintsev, E L; Zakharov, Yu P; Prokopov, P A; Ponomarenko, A G

    2017-01-01

    Dynamic interaction of super-sonic counter-streaming plasmas moving in dipole magnetic dipole is studied in laboratory experiment. First, a quasi-stationary flow is produced by plasma gun which forms a magnetosphere around the magnetic dipole. Second, explosive plasma expanding from inner dipole region outward is launch by laser beams focused at the surface of the dipole cover. Laser plasma is energetic enough to disrupt magnetic field and to sweep through the background plasma for large distances. Probe measurements showed that far from the initially formed magnetosphere laser plasma carries within itself a magnetic field of the same direction but order of magnitude larger in value than the vacuum dipole field at considered distances. Because no compression of magnetic field at the front of laser plasma was observed, the realized interaction is different from previous experiments and theoretical models of laser plasma expansion into uniform magnetized background. It was deduced based on the obtained data that laser plasma while expanding through inner magnetosphere picks up a magnetized shell formed by background plasma and carries it for large distances beyond previously existing magnetosphere. (paper)

  20. Magnetospheric Response Associated With Multiple Atmospheric Reflections of Precipitated Electrons in Aurora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khazanov, G. V.; Merkin, V. G.; Zesta, E.; Sibeck, D. G.; Grubbs, G. A., II; Chu, M.; Wiltberger, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    The magnetosphere and ionosphere are strongly coupled by precipitating electrons during storm times. Therefore, first principle simulations of precipitating electron fluxes are required to understand storm time variations of ionospheric conductances and related electric fields. As has been discussed by Khazanov et al. [2015 - 2017], the first step in such simulations is initiation of electron precipitation from the Earth's plasma sheet via wave particle interaction processes into both magnetically conjugate points, and the step 2 is the follow up of multiple atmospheric reflections of electron fluxes formed at the boundary between the ionosphere and magnetosphere of two magnetically conjugate points. To demonstrate this effect on the global magnetospheric response the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry global magnetosphere model coupled with the Rice Convection Model of the inner magnetosphere has been used and run for the geomagnetic storm of 17 March 2013.

  1. STELLAR ATMOSPHERES, ATMOSPHERIC EXTENSION, AND FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS: WEIGHING STARS USING THE STELLAR MASS INDEX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neilson, Hilding R.; Lester, John B. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4 (Canada); Baron, Fabien; Norris, Ryan; Kloppenborg, Brian, E-mail: neilson@astro.utoronto.ca [Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5060, Atlanta, GA 30302-5060 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    One of the great challenges of understanding stars is measuring their masses. The best methods for measuring stellar masses include binary interaction, asteroseismology, and stellar evolution models, but these methods are not ideal for red giant and supergiant stars. In this work, we propose a novel method for inferring stellar masses of evolved red giant and supergiant stars using interferometric and spectrophotometric observations combined with spherical model stellar atmospheres to measure what we call the stellar mass index, defined as the ratio between the stellar radius and mass. The method is based on the correlation between different measurements of angular diameter, used as a proxy for atmospheric extension, and fundamental stellar parameters. For a given star, spectrophotometry measures the Rosseland angular diameter while interferometric observations generally probe a larger limb-darkened angular diameter. The ratio of these two angular diameters is proportional to the relative extension of the stellar atmosphere, which is strongly correlated to the star’s effective temperature, radius, and mass. We show that these correlations are strong and can lead to precise measurements of stellar masses.

  2. Global Scale Periodic Responses in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Xianzhe; Kivelson, Margaret G.

    2017-10-01

    Despite having an axisymmetric internal magnetic field, Saturn’s magnetosphere exhibits periodic modulations in a variety of properties at periods close to the planetary rotation period. While the source of the periodicity remains unidentified, it is evident from Cassini observations that much of Saturn’s magnetospheric structure and dynamics is dominated by global-scale responses to the driving source of the periodicity. We have developed a global MHD model in which a rotating field-aligned current system is introduced by imposing vortical flows in the high-latitude ionosphere in order to simulate the magnetospheric periodicities. The model has been utilized to quantitatively characterize various periodic responses in the magnetosphere, such as the displacement of the magnetopause and bow shock and flapping of the tail plasma sheet, all of which show quantitative agreement with Cassini observations. One of our model predictions is periodic release of plasmoids in the tail that occurs preferentially in the midnight-to-dawn local time sector during each rotation cycle. Here we present detailed analysis of the periodic responses seen in our simulations focusing on the properties of plasmoids predicted by the model, including their spatial distribution, occurrence frequency, and mass loss rate. We will compare these modeled parameters with published Cassini observations, and discuss their implications for interpreting in-situ measurements.

  3. The fundamentals of stellar astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collins, G.W. II.

    1989-01-01

    A broad overview of theoretical stellar astrophysics is presented in a textbook intended for graduate students. Chapters are devoted to fundamental principles, assumptions, theorems, and polytropes; energy sources and sinks; the flow of energy through the star and the construction of stellar models; the theory of stellar evolution; relativistic stellar structure; the structure of distorted stars; stellar pulsation and oscillation. Also discussed are the flow of radiation through the stellar atmosphere, the solution of the radiative-transfer equation, the environment of the radiation field, the construction of a stellar model atmosphere, the formation and shape of spectral lines, LTE breakdown, illuminated and extended stellar atmospheres, and the transfer of polarized radiation. Diagrams, graphs, and sample problems are provided. 164 refs

  4. Penetration of magnetosonic waves into the magnetosphere: influence of a transition layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Leonovich

    Full Text Available We have constructed a theory for the penetration of magnetosonic waves from the solar wind into the magnetosphere through a transition layer in a plane-stratified model for the medium. In this model the boundary layer is treated as a region, inside of which the parameters of the medium vary from values characteristic for the magnetosphere, to values typical of the solar wind. It is shown that if such a layer has sufficiently sharp boundaries, then magnetosonic eigen-oscillations can be excited inside of it. The boundaries of such a layer are partially permeable for magnetosonic waves. Therefore, if the eigen-oscillations are not sustained by an external source, they will be attenuated, because some of the energy is carried away by the oscillations that penetrate the solar wind and the magnetosphere. It is shown that about 40% of the energy flux of the waves incident on the transition layer in the magnetotail region penetrate to the magnetosphere’s interior. This energy flux suffices to sustain the stationary convection of magnetospheric plasma. The total energy input to the magnetosphere during a time interval of the order of the substorm growth phase time is comparable with the energetics of an average substorm.

    Key words. Magnetospheric physics (MHD waves and instabilities; solar wind–magnetosphere interactions – Space plasma physics (kinetic and MHD theory

  5. Penetration of magnetosonic waves into the magnetosphere: influence of a transition layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Leonovich

    2003-05-01

    Full Text Available We have constructed a theory for the penetration of magnetosonic waves from the solar wind into the magnetosphere through a transition layer in a plane-stratified model for the medium. In this model the boundary layer is treated as a region, inside of which the parameters of the medium vary from values characteristic for the magnetosphere, to values typical of the solar wind. It is shown that if such a layer has sufficiently sharp boundaries, then magnetosonic eigen-oscillations can be excited inside of it. The boundaries of such a layer are partially permeable for magnetosonic waves. Therefore, if the eigen-oscillations are not sustained by an external source, they will be attenuated, because some of the energy is carried away by the oscillations that penetrate the solar wind and the magnetosphere. It is shown that about 40% of the energy flux of the waves incident on the transition layer in the magnetotail region penetrate to the magnetosphere’s interior. This energy flux suffices to sustain the stationary convection of magnetospheric plasma. The total energy input to the magnetosphere during a time interval of the order of the substorm growth phase time is comparable with the energetics of an average substorm.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (MHD waves and instabilities; solar wind–magnetosphere interactions – Space plasma physics (kinetic and MHD theory

  6. Interplanetary Magnetic Field Control of the Entry of Solar Energetic Particles into the Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, R. L.; El-Alaoui, M.; Ashour-Abdalla, M.; Walker, R. J.

    2002-01-01

    We have investigated the entry of energetic ions of solar origin into the magnetosphere as a function of the interplanetary magnetic field orientation. We have modeled this entry by following high energy particles (protons and 3 He ions) ranging from 0.1 to 50 MeV in electric and magnetic fields from a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind. For the most part these particles entered the magnetosphere on or near open field lines except for some above 10 MeV that could enter directly by crossing field lines due to their large gyroradii. The MHD simulation was driven by a series of idealized solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. It was found that the flux of particles in the magnetosphere and transport into the inner magnetosphere varied widely according to the IMF orientation for a constant upstream particle source, with the most efficient entry occurring under southward IMF conditions. The flux inside the magnetosphere could approach that in the solar wind implying that SEPs can contribute significantly to the magnetospheric energetic particle population during typical SEP events depending on the state of the magnetosphere.

  7. Ensemble downscaling in coupled solar wind-magnetosphere modeling for space weather forecasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, M J; Horbury, T S; Wicks, R T; McGregor, S L; Savani, N P; Xiong, M

    2014-06-01

    Advanced forecasting of space weather requires simulation of the whole Sun-to-Earth system, which necessitates driving magnetospheric models with the outputs from solar wind models. This presents a fundamental difficulty, as the magnetosphere is sensitive to both large-scale solar wind structures, which can be captured by solar wind models, and small-scale solar wind "noise," which is far below typical solar wind model resolution and results primarily from stochastic processes. Following similar approaches in terrestrial climate modeling, we propose statistical "downscaling" of solar wind model results prior to their use as input to a magnetospheric model. As magnetospheric response can be highly nonlinear, this is preferable to downscaling the results of magnetospheric modeling. To demonstrate the benefit of this approach, we first approximate solar wind model output by smoothing solar wind observations with an 8 h filter, then add small-scale structure back in through the addition of random noise with the observed spectral characteristics. Here we use a very simple parameterization of noise based upon the observed probability distribution functions of solar wind parameters, but more sophisticated methods will be developed in the future. An ensemble of results from the simple downscaling scheme are tested using a model-independent method and shown to add value to the magnetospheric forecast, both improving the best estimate and quantifying the uncertainty. We suggest a number of features desirable in an operational solar wind downscaling scheme. Solar wind models must be downscaled in order to drive magnetospheric models Ensemble downscaling is more effective than deterministic downscaling The magnetosphere responds nonlinearly to small-scale solar wind fluctuations.

  8. Electromagnetic field for an open magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heikkila, W.J.

    1984-01-01

    The boundary-layer-dominated models of the earth EM field developed by Heikkila (1975, 1978, 1982, and 1983) and Heikkila et al. (1979) to account for deficiencies in the electric-field descriptions of quasi-steady-state magnetic-field-reconnection models (such as that of Cowley, 1980) are characterized, reviewing the arguments and indicating the most important implications. The mechanisms of boundary-layer formation and field direction reversal are explained and illustrated with diagrams, and it is inferred that boundary-layer phenomena rather than magnetic reconnection may be the cause of large-scale magnetospheric circulation, convection, plasma-sheet formation and sunward convection, and auroras, the boundary layer acting basically as a viscous process mediating solar-wind/magnetosphere interactions. 23 references

  9. Magnetized Kelvin-Helmholtz instability: theory and simulations in the Earth's magnetosphere context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faganello, Matteo; Califano, Francesco

    2017-12-01

    The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, proposed a long time ago for its role in and impact on the transport properties at magnetospheric flanks, has been widely investigated in the Earth's magnetosphere context. This review covers more than fifty years of theoretical and numerical efforts in investigating the evolution of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices and how the rich nonlinear dynamics they drive allow solar wind plasma bubbles to enter into the magnetosphere. Special care is devoted to pointing out the main advantages and weak points of the different plasma models that can be adopted for describing the collisionless magnetospheric medium and in underlying the important role of the three-dimensional geometry of the system.

  10. Particle acceleration in pulsar magnetospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, K.B.

    1978-10-01

    The structure of pulsar magnetospheres and the acceleration mechanism for charged particles in the magnetosphere was studied, using a pulsar model which required large acceleration of the particles near the surface of the star. A theorem was developed which showed that particle acceleration cannot be expected when the angle between the magnetic field lines and the rotation axis is constant (e.g. radial field lines). If this angle is not constant, however, acceleration must occur. The more realistic model of an axisymmetric neutron star with a strong dipole magnetic field aligned with the rotation axis was investigated. In this case, acceleration occurred at large distances from the surface of the star. The magnitude of the current can be determined using the model presented. In the case of nonaxisymmetric systems, the acceleration is expected to occur nearer to the surface of the star

  11. Three-dimensional magnetospheric equilibrium with isotropic pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, C.Z.

    1995-05-01

    In the absence of the toroidal flux, two coupled quasi two-dimensional elliptic equilibrium equations have been derived to describe self-consistent three-dimensional static magnetospheric equilibria with isotropic pressure in an optimal (Ψ,α,χ) flux coordinate system, where Ψ is the magnetic flux function, χ is a generalized poloidal angle, α is the toroidal angle, α = φ - δ(Ψ,φ,χ) is the toroidal angle, δ(Ψ,φ,χ) is periodic in φ, and the magnetic field is represented as rvec B = ∇Ψ x ∇α. A three-dimensional magnetospheric equilibrium code, the MAG-3D code, has been developed by employing an iterative metric method. The main difference between the three-dimensional and the two-dimensional axisymmetric solutions is that the field-aligned current and the toroidal magnetic field are finite for the three-dimensional case, but vanish for the two-dimensional axisymmetric case. With the same boundary flux surface shape, the two-dimensional axisymmetric results are similar to the three-dimensional magnetosphere at each local time cross section

  12. Side-band mutual interactions in the magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, D. C. D.; Helliwell, R. A.; Bell, T. F.

    1980-01-01

    Sideband mutual interactions between VLF waves in the magnetosphere are investigated. Results of an experimental program involving the generation of sidebands by means of frequency shift keying are presented which indicate that the energetic electrons in the magnetosphere can interact only with sidebands generated by signals with short modulation periods. Using the value of the memory time during which electrons interact with the waves implied by the above result, it is estimated that the length of the electron interaction region in the magnetosphere is between 4000 and 2000 km. Sideband interactions are found to be similar to those between constant-frequency signals, exhibiting suppression and energy coupling. Results from a second sideband transmitting program show that for most cases the coherence bandwidth of sidebands is about 50 Hz. Sideband mutual interactions are then explained by the overlap of the ranges of the parallel velocity of the electrons which the sidebands organize, and the wave intensity in the interaction region is estimated to be 2.5-10 milli-gamma, in agreement with satellite measurements.

  13. Geometric corrections due to inhomogeneous field in the magnetospheric double current layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callebaut, D.K.; Van den Buys, A.M.

    1985-01-01

    The case of oblique incidence and of a slope in the magnetic field for plane parallel models of the magnetospheric double layer is considered. The two models are the Magnetospheric Double Layer (MDL) and the Magnetospheric Double Current Layer (MDCL). The latter is more appropriate but due to some approximations it gives sometimes incorrect results. An improved model uses a triple current layer. (R.P.)

  14. Time-dependent Models of Magnetospheric Accretion onto Young Stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robinson, C. E.; Espaillat, C. C. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Owen, J. E. [Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Adams, F. C., E-mail: connorr@bu.edu [Physics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2017-04-01

    Accretion onto Classical T Tauri stars is thought to take place through the action of magnetospheric processes, with gas in the inner disk being channeled onto the star’s surface by the stellar magnetic field lines. Young stars are known to accrete material in a time-variable manner, and the source of this variability remains an open problem, particularly on the shortest (∼day) timescales. Using one-dimensional time-dependent numerical simulations that follow the field line geometry, we find that for plausibly realistic young stars, steady-state transonic accretion occurs naturally in the absence of any other source of variability. However, we show that if the density in the inner disk varies smoothly in time with ∼day-long timescales (e.g., due to turbulence), this complication can lead to the development of shocks in the accretion column. These shocks propagate along the accretion column and ultimately hit the star, leading to rapid, large amplitude changes in the accretion rate. We argue that when these shocks hit the star, the observed time dependence will be a rapid increase in accretion luminosity, followed by a slower decline, and could be an explanation for some of the short-period variability observed in accreting young stars. Our one-dimensional approach bridges previous analytic work to more complicated multi-dimensional simulations and observations.

  15. Time-dependent Models of Magnetospheric Accretion onto Young Stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robinson, C. E.; Espaillat, C. C.; Owen, J. E.; Adams, F. C.

    2017-01-01

    Accretion onto Classical T Tauri stars is thought to take place through the action of magnetospheric processes, with gas in the inner disk being channeled onto the star’s surface by the stellar magnetic field lines. Young stars are known to accrete material in a time-variable manner, and the source of this variability remains an open problem, particularly on the shortest (∼day) timescales. Using one-dimensional time-dependent numerical simulations that follow the field line geometry, we find that for plausibly realistic young stars, steady-state transonic accretion occurs naturally in the absence of any other source of variability. However, we show that if the density in the inner disk varies smoothly in time with ∼day-long timescales (e.g., due to turbulence), this complication can lead to the development of shocks in the accretion column. These shocks propagate along the accretion column and ultimately hit the star, leading to rapid, large amplitude changes in the accretion rate. We argue that when these shocks hit the star, the observed time dependence will be a rapid increase in accretion luminosity, followed by a slower decline, and could be an explanation for some of the short-period variability observed in accreting young stars. Our one-dimensional approach bridges previous analytic work to more complicated multi-dimensional simulations and observations.

  16. Magnetospheric Plasma Physics : the Impact of Jim Dungey’s Research

    CERN Document Server

    Southwood, David; Mitton, Simon

    2015-01-01

    This book makes good background reading for much of modern magnetospheric physics. Its origin was a Festspiel for Professor Jim Dungey, former professor in the Physics Department at Imperial College on the occasion of his 90th birthday, 30 January 2013. Remarkably, although he retired 30 years ago, his pioneering and, often, maverick work in the 50’s through to the 70’s on solar terrestrial physics is probably more widely appreciated today than when he retired. Dungey was a theoretical plasma physicist. The book covers how his reconnection model of the magnetosphere evolved to become the standard model of solar-terrestrial coupling. Dungey’s open magnetosphere model now underpins a holistic picture explaining not only the magnetic and plasma structure of the magnetosphere, but also its dynamics which can be monitored in real time. The book also shows how modern day simulation of solar terrestrial coupling can reproduce the real time evolution of the solar terrestrial system in ways undreamt of in 1961 w...

  17. Thick Escaping Magnetospheric Ion Layer in Magnetopause Reconnection with MMS Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagai, T.; Kitamura, N.; Hasagawa, H.; Shinohara, I.; Yokota, S.; Saito, Y.; Nakamura, R.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C.; Moore, T. E.; hide

    2016-01-01

    The structure of asymmetric magnetopause reconnection is explored with multiple point and high-time-resolution ion velocity distribution observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. On 9 September 2015, reconnection took place at the magnetopause, which separated the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere with a density ratio of 25:2. The magnetic field intensity was rather constant, even higher in the asymptotic magnetosheath. The reconnected field line region had a width of approximately 540 km. In this region, streaming and gyrating ions are discriminated. The large extension of the reconnected field line region toward the magnetosheath can be identified where a thick layer of escaping magnetospheric ions was formed. The scale of the magnetosheath side of the reconnected field line region relative to the scale of its magnetospheric side was 4.5:1.

  18. Magnetospheric storm dynamics in terms of energy output rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prigancova, A.; Feldstein, Ya.I.

    1992-01-01

    Using hourly values of both the global magnetospheric disturbance characteristic DR, and AE index of auroral ionospheric currents during magnetic storm intervals, the energy output rate dynamics is evaluated for a magnetic storm main/recovery phase and a whole storm interval. The magnetospheric response to the solar wind energy input rate under varying interplanetary and magnetospheric conditions is considered from the temporal variability point of view. The peculiarities of the response are traced separately. As far as quantitative characteristics of energy output rate are concerned, the time dependence pattern of the ring current decay parameter is emphasized to be fairly important. It is pointed out that more insight into the plasma processes, especially at L = 3 - 5, is needed for adequate evidence of the dependence. (Author)

  19. Improving magnetosphere in situ observations using solar sails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsay, Khashayar; Schaub, Hanspeter; Schiff, Conrad; Williams, Trevor

    2018-01-01

    Past and current magnetosphere missions employ conventional spacecraft formations for in situ observations of the geomagnetic tail. Conventional spacecraft flying in inertially fixed Keplerian orbits are only aligned with the geomagnetic tail once per year, since the geomagnetic tail is always aligned with the Earth-Sun line, and therefore, rotates annually. Solar sails are able to artificially create sun-synchronous orbits such that the orbit apse line remains aligned with the geomagnetic tail line throughout the entire year. This continuous presence in the geomagnetic tail can significantly increase the science phase for magnetosphere missions. In this paper, the problem of solar sail formation design is explored using nonlinear programming to design optimal two-craft, triangle, and tetrahedron solar sail formations, in terms of formation quality and formation stability. The designed formations are directly compared to the formations used in NASA's Magnetospheric Multi-Scale mission.

  20. Terrestrial VLF transmitter injection into the magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, M. B.; Inan, U. S.

    2012-08-01

    Very Low Frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) radio waves emitted from ground sources (transmitters and lightning) strongly impact the radiation belts, driving electron precipitation via whistler-electron gyroresonance, and contributing to the formation of the slot region. However, calculations of the global impacts of VLF waves are based on models of trans-ionospheric propagation to calculate the VLF energy reaching the magnetosphere. Limited comparisons of these models to individual satellite passes have found that the models may significantly (by >20 dB) overestimate amplitudes of ground based VLF transmitters in the magnetosphere. To form a much more complete empirical picture of VLF transmitter energy reaching the magnetosphere, we present observations of the radiation pattern from a number of ground-based VLF transmitters by averaging six years of data from the DEMETER satellite. We divide the slice at ˜700 km altitude above a transmitter into pixels and calculate the average field for all satellite passes through each pixel. There are enough data to see 25 km features in the radiation pattern, including the modal interference of the subionospheric signal mapped upwards. Using these data, we deduce the first empirical measure of the radiated power into the magnetosphere from these transmitters, for both daytime and nighttime, and at both the overhead and geomagnetically conjugate region. We find no detectable variation of signal intensity with geomagnetic conditions at low and mid latitudes (L ionospheric heating by one VLF transmitter which modifies the trans-ionospheric absorption of signals from other transmitters passing through the heated region.

  1. Magnetic field in the magnetosphere. Numerical simulation of the magnetospheric magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mal'kov, M.V.

    1993-01-01

    The last version of the empirical model of the magnetospheric magnetic field (Tsyganenko, 1989) is considered. Total number of data used for construction of the model contains 36682 average vector values of the field. This number of data is obtained by satellite measurements at distances of r=4-66 R e (R e is the Earth radius). 5 figs., 2 tabs

  2. Compact stellarators as reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyon, J.F.; Valanju, P.; Zarnstorff, M.C.; Hirshman, S.; Spong, D.A.; Strickler, D.; Williamson, D.E.; Ware, A.

    2001-01-01

    Two types of compact stellarators are examined as reactors: two- and three-field-period (M=2 and 3) quasi-axisymmetric devices with volume-average =4-5% and M=2 and 3 quasi-poloidal devices with =10-15%. These low-aspect-ratio stellarator-tokamak hybrids differ from conventional stellarators in their use of the plasma-generated bootstrap current to supplement the poloidal field from external coils. Using the ARIES-AT model with B max =12T on the coils gives Compact Stellarator reactors with R=7.3-8.2m, a factor of 2-3 smaller R than other stellarator reactors for the same assumptions, and neutron wall loadings up to 3.7MWm -2 . (author)

  3. Outstanding Issues and Future Directions of Inner Magnetospheric Research (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, P. C.

    2009-12-01

    Several research areas of the inner magnetosphere and ionosphere (MI) system have reached a state, where the coupling mechanisms can no longer be treated as boundary conditions or ad-hoc assumptions in our physical models. It is nothing new that our community has become increasingly aware of the necessity to use global measurements from multiple observation platforms and missions, in order to understand both the system as a whole as well as its individual subsystems. In this presentation we briefly review the current status and outstanding issues of inner MI research. We attempt to establish a working definition of the term "Systems Approach", then present observational tools and techniques that enable such an approach. Physical modeling plays a central role not only in understanding the mechanisms at work, but also in determining the key quantities to be measured. We conclude by discussing questions relevant to future directions. Are there new techniques that need more attention? Should multi-platform observations be included as a default component already at the mission-level in the future? Is solar minimum uninteresting from an MI perspective? Should we actively compare to magnetospheres of other planets? Examples of outstanding issues in inner MI research include the circulation of ionospheric plasma from low to high latitudes and its escape to the magnetosphere, where it is energized by magnetospheric processes and becomes a part of the plasma pressure that in turn affects the ionospheric and magnetospheric electric field. The electric field, in turn, plays a controlling role in the transport of both magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma, which is intimately linked with ionospheric conductance. The conductance, in turn, is controlled by thermospheric chemistry coupled with plasma flow and heating and magnetospheric precipitation and Joule heating. Several techniques have emerged as important tools: auroral imaging, inversions of ENA images to retrieve the

  4. Coupled storm-time magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere simulations including microscopic ionospheric turbulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkin, V. G.; Wiltberger, M. J.; Zhang, B.; Liu, J.; Wang, W.; Dimant, Y. S.; Oppenheim, M. M.; Lyon, J.

    2017-12-01

    During geomagnetic storms the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system becomes activated in ways that are unique to disturbed conditions. This leads to emergence of physical feedback loops that provide tighter coupling between the system elements, often operating across disparate spatial and temporal scales. One such process that has recently received renewed interest is the generation of microscopic ionospheric turbulence in the electrojet regions (electrojet turbulence, ET) that results from strong convective electric fields imposed by the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction. ET leads to anomalous electron heating and generation of non-linear Pedersen current - both of which result in significant increases in effective ionospheric conductances. This, in turn, provides strong non-linear feedback on the magnetosphere. Recently, our group has published two studies aiming at a comprehensive analysis of the global effects of this microscopic process on the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system. In one study, ET physics was incorporated in the TIEGCM model of the ionosphere-thermosphere. In the other study, ad hoc corrections to the ionospheric conductances based on ET theory were incorporated in the conductance module of the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) global magnetosphere model. In this presentation, we make the final step toward the full coupling of the microscopic ET physics within our global coupled model including LFM, the Rice Convection Model (RCM) and TIEGCM. To this end, ET effects are incorporated in the TIEGCM model and propagate throughout the system via thus modified TIEGCM conductances. The March 17, 2013 geomagnetic storm is used as a testbed for these fully coupled simulations, and the results of the model are compared with various ionospheric and magnetospheric observatories, including DMSP, AMPERE, and Van Allen Probes. Via these comparisons, we investigate, in particular, the ET effects on the global magnetosphere indicators such as the

  5. Ionosphere-Magnetosphere Energy Interplay in the Regions of Diffuse Aurora

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khazanov, G. V.; Glocer, A.; Sibeck, D. G.; Tripathi, A. K.; Detweiler, L.G.; Avanov, L. A.; Singhal, R. P.

    2016-01-01

    Both electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves and whistler mode chorus waves resonate with electrons of the Earths plasma sheet in the energy range from tens of eV to several keV and produce the electron diffuse aurora at ionospheric altitudes. Interaction of these superthermal electrons with the neutral atmosphere leads to the production of secondary electrons (E500600 eV) and, as a result, leads to the activation of lower energy superthermal electron spectra that can escape back to the magnetosphere and contribute to the thermal electron energy deposition processes in the magnetospheric plasma. The ECH and whistler mode chorus waves, however, can also interact with the secondary electrons that are coming from both of the magnetically conjugated ionospheres after they have been produced by initially precipitated high-energy electrons that came from the plasma sheet. After their degradation and subsequent reflection in magnetically conjugate atmospheric regions, both the secondary electrons and the precipitating electrons with high (E600 eV) initial energies will travel back through the loss cone, become trapped in the magnetosphere, and redistribute the energy content of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Thus, scattering of the secondary electrons by ECH and whistler mode chorus waves leads to an increase of the fraction of superthermal electron energy deposited into the core magnetospheric plasma.

  6. Stellar magnetic activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schrijver, C.J.

    1986-01-01

    The stellar emission in the chromospheric Ca II H+K lines is compared with the coronal soft X-ray emission, measuring the effects of non-radiative heating in the outer atmosphere at temperatures differing two orders of magnitude. The comparison of stellar flux densities in Ca II H+K and X-rays is extended to fluxes from the transition-region and the high-temperature chromosphere. The stellar magnetic field is probably generated in the differentially rotating convective envelope. The relation between rotation rate and the stellar level of activity measured in chromospheric, transition-region, and coronal radiative diagnostics is discovered. X-ray observations of the binary λ Andromedae are discussed. The departure of M-type dwarfs from the main relations, and the implications for the structure of the chromospheres of these stars are discussed. Variations of the average surface flux densities of the Sun during the 11-year activity cycle agree with flux-flux relations derived for other cool stars, suggesting that the interpretation of the stellar relations may be furthered by studying the solar analogue in more detail. (Auth.)

  7. Crafoord Symposium on Magnetospheric Physics : Achievements and Prospects

    CERN Document Server

    Fälthammar, C-G

    1990-01-01

    This book contains the proceedings of the 1989 Crafoord Symposium organized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The scientific field for the Crafoord Prize of 1989 was decided in 1988 by the Academy to be Magnetospheric Physics. On September 27,1989 the Academy awarded the 1989 Crafoord Prize to Professor J. A. Van Allen, Iowa City, USA "for his pioneer work in space research, in particular for the discovery of the high energy charged particles that are trapped in the Earth's magnetic field and form the radiation belts -often called the Van Allen belts - around the Earth". The subject for the Crafoord Symposium, which was held on September 28-29 at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, was Magnetospheric Physics, Achievements and Prospects. Some seventy of the world's leading scientists in magnetospheric physics (see list of participants) were invited to the Symposium. The program contained only invited papers. After the ?resentation of the Crafoord Prize Laureate, Prof. J . A. Van Allen, ...

  8. The AMPTE program's contribution to studies of the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sibeck, D.G.

    1990-01-01

    The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) program provided important information on the behavior of clouds of plasma artificially injected into the solar wind and the earth's magnetosphere. Now that the releases are over, data from the satellites are being analyzed to investigate the processes by which the ambient solar wind mass, momentum, and energy are transferred to the magnetosphere. Work in progress at APL indicates that the solar wind is much more inhomogeneous than previously believed, that the solar wind constantly buffets the magnetosphere, and that ground observers may remotely sense these interactions as geomagnetic pulsations. 8 refs

  9. Surface conductivity of Mercury provides current closure and may affect magnetospheric symmetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Janhunen

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available We study what effect a possible surface conductivity of Mercury has on the closure of magnetospheric currents by making six runs with a quasi-neutral hybrid simulation. The runs are otherwise identical but use different synthetic conductivity models: run 1 has a fully conducting planet, run 2 has a poorly conducting planet ( $sigma{=}10^{-8} Omega^{-1}$ m$^{-1}$ and runs 3-6 have one of the hemispheres either in the dawn-dusk or day-night directions, conducting well, the other one being conducting poorly. Although the surface conductivity is not known from observations, educated guesses easily give such conductivity values that magnetospheric currents may close partly within the planet, and as the conductivity depends heavily on the mineral composition of the surface, the possibility of significant horizontal variations cannot be easily excluded. The simulation results show that strong horizontal variations may produce modest magnetospheric asymmetries. Beyond the hybrid simulation, we also briefly discuss the possibility that in the nightside there may be a lack of surface electrons to carry downward current, which may act as a further source of surface-related magnetospheric asymmetry.

    Key words. Magnetospheric physics (planetary magnetospheres; current systems; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions.6

  10. A New Standard Pulsar Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contopoulos, Ioannis; Kalapotharakos, Constantinos; Kazanas, Demosthenes

    2014-01-01

    In view of recent efforts to probe the physical conditions in the pulsar current sheet, we revisit the standard solution that describes the main elements of the ideal force-free pulsar magnetosphere. The simple physical requirement that the electric current contained in the current layer consists of the local electric charge moving outward at close to the speed of light yields a new solution for the pulsar magnetosphere everywhere that is ideal force-free except in the current layer. The main elements of the new solution are as follows: (1) the pulsar spindown rate of the aligned rotator is 23% larger than that of the orthogonal vacuum rotator; (2) only 60% of the magnetic flux that crosses the light cylinder opens up to infinity; (3) the electric current closes along the other 40%, which gradually converges to the equator; (4) this transfers 40% of the total pulsar spindown energy flux in the equatorial current sheet, which is then dissipated in the acceleration of particles and in high-energy electromagnetic radiation; and (5) there is no separatrix current layer. Our solution is a minimum free-parameter solution in that the equatorial current layer is electrostatically supported against collapse and thus does not require a thermal particle population. In this respect, it is one more step toward the development of a new standard solution. We discuss the implications for intermittent pulsars and long-duration gamma-ray bursts. We conclude that the physical conditions in the equatorial current layer determine the global structure of the pulsar magnetosphere.

  11. sunstardb: A Database for the Study of Stellar Magnetism and the Solar-stellar Connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egeland, Ricky

    2018-05-01

    The “solar-stellar connection” began as a relatively small field of research focused on understanding the processes that generate magnetic fields in stars and sometimes lead to a cyclic pattern of long-term variability in activity, as demonstrated by our Sun. This area of study has recently become more broadly pertinent to questions of exoplanet habitability and exo-space weather, as well as stellar evolution. In contrast to other areas of stellar research, individual stars in the solar-stellar connection often have a distinct identity and character in the literature, due primarily to the rarity of the decades-long time-series that are necessary for studying stellar activity cycles. Furthermore, the underlying stellar dynamo is not well understood theoretically, and is thought to be sensitive to several stellar properties, e.g., luminosity, differential rotation, and the depth of the convection zone, which in turn are often parameterized by other more readily available properties. Relevant observations are scattered throughout the literature and existing stellar databases, and consolidating information for new studies is a tedious and laborious exercise. To accelerate research in this area I developed sunstardb, a relational database of stellar properties and magnetic activity proxy time-series keyed by individual named stars. The organization of the data eliminates the need for the problematic catalog cross-matching operations inherent when building an analysis data set from heterogeneous sources. In this article I describe the principles behind sunstardb, the data structures and programming interfaces, as well as use cases from solar-stellar connection research.

  12. Terrestrial magnetospheric imaging: Numerical modeling of low energy neutral atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, K.R.; Funsten, H.O.; McComas, D.J.; Scime, E.E.; Thomsen, M.F.

    1993-01-01

    Imaging of the terrestrial magnetosphere can be performed by detection of low energy neutral atoms (LENAs) that are produced by charge exchange between magnetospheric plasma ions and cold neutral atoms of the Earth's geocorona. As a result of recent instrumentation advances it is now feasible to make energy-resolved measurements of LENAs from less than I key to greater than 30 key. To model expected LENA fluxes at a spacecraft, we initially used a simplistic, spherically symmetric magnetospheric plasma model. 6 We now present improved calculations of both hydrogen and oxygen line-of-sight LENA fluxes expected on orbit for various plasma regimes as predicted by the Rice University Magnetospheric Specification Model. We also estimate expected image count rates based on realistic instrument geometric factors, energy passbands, and image accumulation intervals. The results indicate that presently proposed LENA instruments are capable of imaging of storm time ring current and potentially even quiet time ring current fluxes, and that phenomena such as ion injections from the tail and subsequent drifts toward the dayside magnetopause may also be deduced

  13. On the penetration of solar wind inhomogeneities into the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maksimov, V.P.; Senatorov, V.N.

    1980-01-01

    Laboratory experiments were used as a basis to study the process of interaction between solar wind inhomogeneities and the Earth's magnetosphere. The given inhomogeneity represents a lump of plasma characterized by an increased concentration of particles (nsub(e) approximately 20-30 cm -3 ), a discrete form (characteristic dimensions of the lump are inferior to the magnetosphere diameter) and the velocity v approximately 350 km/s. It is shown that there is the possibility of penetration of solar wind inhomogeneities inside the Earth's magnetosphere because of the appearance in the inhomogeneity of an electric field of transverse polarization. The said process is a possible mechanism of the formation of the magnetopshere entrance layer

  14. Modeling Jovian Magnetospheres Beyond the Solar System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Peter K. G.

    2018-06-01

    Low-frequency radio observations are believed to represent one of the few means of directly probing the magnetic fields of extrasolar planets. However, a half-century of low-frequency planetary observations within the Solar System demonstrate that detailed, physically-motivated magnetospheric models are needed to properly interpret the radio data. I will present recent work in this area focusing on the current state of the art: relatively high-frequency observations of relatively massive objects, which are now understood to have magnetospheres that are largely planetary in nature. I will highlight the key challenges that will arise in future space-based observations of lower-mass objects at lower frequencies.

  15. Electron–Positron Pair Flow and Current Composition in the Pulsar Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brambilla, Gabriele; Kalapotharakos, Constantinos; Timokhin, Andrey N.; Harding, Alice K.; Kazanas, Demosthenes

    2018-05-01

    We perform ab initio particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a pulsar magnetosphere with electron–positron plasma produced only in the regions close to the neutron star surface. We study how the magnetosphere transitions from the vacuum to a nearly force-free configuration. We compare the resulting force-free-like configuration with those obtained in a PIC simulation where particles are injected everywhere as well as with macroscopic force-free simulations. We find that, although both PIC solutions have similar structure of electromagnetic fields and current density distributions, they have different particle density distributions. In fact, in the injection from the surface solution, electrons and positrons counterstream only along parts of the return current regions and most of the particles leave the magnetosphere without returning to the star. We also find that pair production in the outer magnetosphere is not critical for filling the whole magnetosphere with plasma. We study how the current density distribution supporting the global electromagnetic configuration is formed by analyzing particle trajectories. We find that electrons precipitate to the return current layer inside the light cylinder and positrons precipitate to the current sheet outside the light cylinder by crossing magnetic field lines, contributing to the charge density distribution required by the global electrodynamics. Moreover, there is a population of electrons trapped in the region close to the Y-point. On the other hand, the most energetic positrons are accelerated close to the Y-point. These processes can have observational signatures that, with further modeling effort, would help to distinguish this particular magnetosphere configuration from others.

  16. Quasiperiodic ULF-pulsations in Saturn's magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Kleindienst

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Recent magnetic field investigations made onboard the Cassini spacecraft in the magnetosphere of Saturn show the existence of a variety of ultra low frequency plasma waves. Their frequencies suggest that they are presumably not eigenoscillations of the entire magnetospheric system, but excitations confined to selected regions of the magnetosphere. While the main magnetic field of Saturn shows a distinct large scale modulation of approximately 2 nT with a periodicity close to Saturn's rotation period, these ULF pulsations are less obvious superimposed oscillations with an amplitude generally not larger than 3 nT and show a package-like structure. We have analyzed these wave packages and found that they are correlated to a certain extent with the large scale modulation of the main magnetic field. The spatial localization of the ULF wave activity is represented with respect to local time and Kronographic coordinates. For this purpose we introduce a method to correct the Kronographic longitude with respect to a rotation period different from its IAU definition. The observed wave packages occur in all magnetospheric regions independent of local time, elevation, or radial distance. Independent of the longitude correction applied the wave packages do not occur in an accentuated Kronographic longitude range, which implies that the waves are not excited or confined in the same selected longitude ranges at all times or that their lifetime leads to a variable phase with respect to the longitudes where they have been exited.

  17. Modelling of the ring current in Saturn's magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Giampieri

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The existence of a ring current inside Saturn's magnetosphere was first suggested by Smith et al. (1980 and Ness et al. (1981, 1982, in order to explain various features in the magnetic field observations from the Pioneer 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Connerney et al. (1983 formalized the equatorial current model, based on previous modelling work of Jupiter's current sheet and estimated its parameters from the two Voyager data sets. Here, we investigate the model further, by reconsidering the data from the two Voyager spacecraft, as well as including the Pioneer 11 flyby data set. First, we obtain, in closed form, an analytic expression for the magnetic field produced by the ring current. We then fit the model to the external field, that is the difference between the observed field and the internal magnetic field, considering all the available data. In general, through our global fit we obtain more accurate parameters, compared to previous models. We point out differences between the model's parameters for the three flybys, and also investigate possible deviations from the axial and planar symmetries assumed in the model. We conclude that an accurate modelling of the Saturnian disk current will require taking into account both of the temporal variations related to the condition of the magnetosphere, as well as non-axisymmetric contributions due to local time effects. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (current systems; planetary magnetospheres; plasma sheet

  18. Energetic magnetospheric protons in the plasma depletion layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuselier, S.A.

    1992-01-01

    Interplanetary magnetic field draping against the Earth's dayside subsolar magnetopause creates a region of reduced plasma density and increased magnetic field called the plasma depletion layer. In this region, leakage of energetic ions from the Earth's magnetosphere onto magnetic field lines in the plasma depletion layer can be studied without interference from ions accelerated at the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock. Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment/Charge Composition Explorer (AMPTE/CCE) observations for 13 plasma depletion layer events are used to determine the characteristics of energetic protons between a few keV/e and ∼100keV/e leaked from the magnetosphere. Results indicate that the leaked proton distributions resemble those in the magnetosphere except that they have lower densities and temperatures and much higher velocities parallel (or antiparallel) and perpendicular to the magnetic field. Compared to the low-energy magnetosheath proton distributions present in the depletion layer, the leaked energetic proton distributions typically have substantially higher flow velocities along the magnetic field indicate that the leaked energetic proton distributions to contribute to the energetic proton population seen upstream and downstream from the quasi-parallel bow shock. However, their contribution is small compared to the contribution from acceleration of protons at the bow shock because the leaked proton densities are on the order of 10 times smaller than the energetic proton densities typically observed in the vicinity of the quasi-parallel bow shock

  19. Outer Magnetospheric Boundaries Cluster Results

    CERN Document Server

    Paschmann, Goetz; Schwartz, S J

    2006-01-01

    When the stream of plasma emitted from the Sun (the solar wind) encounters Earth's magnetic field, it slows down and flows around it, leaving behind a cavity, the magnetosphere. The magnetopause is the surface that separates the solar wind on the outside from the Earth's magnetic field on the inside. Because the solar wind moves at supersonic speed, a bow shock must form ahead of the magnetopause that acts to slow the solar wind to subsonic speeds. Magnetopause, bow shock and their environs are rich in exciting processes in collisionless plasmas, such as shock formation, magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration and wave-particle interactions. They are interesting in their own right, as part of Earth's environment, but also because they are prototypes of similar structures and phenomena that are ubiquitous in the universe, having the unique advantage that they are accessible to in situ measurements. The boundaries of the magnetosphere have been the target of direct in-situ measurements since the beginning ...

  20. Discontinuities and the magnetospheric phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajaram, R.; Kalra, G.L.; Tandon, J.N.

    1978-01-01

    Wave coupling at contact discontinuities has an important bearing on the transmission of waves from the solar wind into the magnetosphere across the cusp region of the solar wind-magnetosphere boundary and on the propagation of geomagnetic pulsations in the polar exosphere. Keeping this in view, the problems of wave coupling across a contact discontinuity in a collisionless plasma, described by a set of double adiabatic fluid equations, is examined. The magnetic field is taken normal to the interface and it is shown that total reflection is not possible for any angle of incidence. The Alfven and the magneto-acoustic waves are not coupled. The transmission is most efficient for small density discontinuities. Inhibition of the transmission of the Alfven wave by the sharp density gradients above the F2-peak in the polar exosphere appears to account for the decrease in the pulsation amplitude, on the ground, as the poles are approached from the auroral zone. (author)

  1. Neoclassical transport in stellarators - a comparison of conventional stellarator/torsatrons with the advanced stellarator, Wendelstein 7X

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beidler, C D [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany)

    1991-01-01

    A general expression for the magnitude of a stellarator's magnetic field, in terms of a Fourier decomposition, is too complicated to lend itself easily to analytic transport calculations. The great majority of stellarator-type devices, however, may be accurately described if one retains only those harmonics with m=0 and m=1. In the long-mean-free-path regime an analytical approximation to the particle's bounce-averaged kinetic equation can then be found. Using a numerical solution of this equation, it is possible to calculate the particle and heat fluxes due to helical-ripple transport in stellarators throughout the entire long-mean-free-path regime. 3 figs.

  2. Two-stream instability in pulsar magnetospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Usov, V.V.

    1987-01-01

    If the electron-positron plasma flow from the pulsar environment is stationary, the two-stream instability does not have enough time to develop in the pulsar magnetosphere. In that case the outflowing electron-positron plasma gathers into separate clouds. The clouds move along magnetic field lines and disperse as they go farther from the pulsar. At a distance of about 10 to the 8th cm from the pulsar surface, the high-energy particles of a given cloud catch up with the low-energy particles that belong to the cloud going ahead of it. In this region of a pulsar magnetosphere, the energy distribution of plasma particles is two-humped, and a two-stream instability may develop. The growth rate of the instability is quite sufficient for its development. 17 references

  3. Some recent results from European sounding rocket and satellite observations of the hot magnetospheric plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hultqvist, B.

    1979-03-01

    A brief summary of some recent results from European studies of the hot magnetospheric plasma is presented. The material is organized in four main sections: 1) Observations of keV auroral electrons. 2) Observation of the hot ion component of the magnetospheric plasma. 3) Sudden changes of the distribution of the hot plasma in the dayside magnetosphere. 4) Banded electron cyclotron harmonic instability in the magnetosphere - a first comparison of theory and experiment. (E.R.)

  4. Introduction to the thematic series "Coupling of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Z. H.; Murphy, K. R.; Rae, I. J.; Balan, N.

    2017-12-01

    This thematic series contains 4 papers mostly presented at the 2016 AOGS meeting in Beijing. The four papers investigate four key regions in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling process: mid-tail magnetosphere, near-Earth magnetosphere, inner magnetosphere, and the polar ground region. Guo et al. (Geosci Lett 4:18, 2017) study the current system in reconnection region using 2.5D particle-in-cell simulations. Yao et al. (Geosci Lett 4:8, 2017) use conjugate measurements from ground auroral imagers and in situ THEMIS spacecraft to reveal the mechanism for the wave-like auroral structures prior to substorm onset. Zhang et al. (Geosci Lett 4:20, 2017) investigate the profiles of resonance zone and resonant frequency in the Landau resonance between radiation belt electrons and magnetosonic waves and between protons and cyclotron waves. Rae et al. (Geosci Lett 4:23, 2017) determine the relative timing between sudden increases in amplitude, or onsets, of different ultra-low-frequency wave bands during substorms.

  5. On the significance of magnetospheric research for progress in astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faelthammar, C-G.; Akasofu, S-I.; Alfen, H.

    1978-04-01

    Recent discoveries by means of in situ measurements have led to a substantial revision of our picture of the magnetosphere and parts of the heliosphere. This concerns such essential aspects as the character and distribution of electric fields and currents, the ways in which charged particles are energized, and the chemical composition of the magnetospheric plasma. This revision reflects the fact that even in fundamental respects, real cosmical plasmas behave in different ways than predicted by the idealized models that have traditionally been used in magnetospheric physics as well as in astrophysics. The new understanding of the general properties of cosmical plasma that has been, and continues to be, provided by in situ measurements gives us a much improved basis on which to interpret astrophysical observations

  6. The magnetosphere under weak solar wind forcing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. J. Farrugia

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available The Earth's magnetosphere was very strongly disturbed during the passage of the strong shock and the following interacting ejecta on 21–25 October 2001. These disturbances included two intense storms (Dst*≈−250 and −180 nT, respectively. The cessation of this activity at the start of 24 October ushered in a peculiar state of the magnetosphere which lasted for about 28 h and which we discuss in this paper. The interplanetary field was dominated by the sunward component [B=(4.29±0.77, −0.30±0.71, 0.49±0.45 nT]. We analyze global indicators of geomagnetic disturbances, polar cap precipitation, ground magnetometer records, and ionospheric convection as obtained from SuperDARN radars. The state of the magnetosphere is characterized by the following features: (i generally weak and patchy (in time low-latitude dayside reconnection or reconnection poleward of the cusps; (ii absence of substorms; (iii a monotonic recovery from the previous storm activity (Dst corrected for magnetopause currents decreasing from ~−65 to ~−35 nT, giving an unforced decreased of ~1.1 nT/h; (iv the probable absence of viscous-type interaction originating from the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH instability; (v a cross-polar cap potential of just 20–30 kV; (vi a persistent, polar cap region containing (vii very weak, and sometimes absent, electron precipitation and no systematic inter-hemisphere asymmetry. Whereas we therefore infer the presence of a moderate amount of open flux, the convection is generally weak and patchy, which we ascribe to the lack of solar wind driver. This magnetospheric state approaches that predicted by Cowley and Lockwood (1992 but has never yet been observed.

  7. Trajectory traces of charged particles in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ejiri, M.

    1978-01-01

    The characteristic enhancements of ring current particles with energies of about 1--1000keV, associated with magnetospheric substorms, were observed by Explorer 45 (S 3 -A) around the plasmapause in the afternoon to midnight region and showed the characteristic structure called a 'noise' in the proton spectrograms. This paper examines the time developing characteristics of newly injected particles in the magnetosphere under a recently proposed convection electric field and a dipole magnetic field. Approximate equations of a bounce period, a second adiabatic invariant, and a bounce-averaged azimuthal velocity are given with an error of less than about 10 -3 for all pitch angles. The complete set of flow patterns of 90 0 pitch angles is also described by means of inflection lines through whicch radial and/or azimuthal drifts change their directions and where particle velocities show their local minima, i.e., the flow becomes sluggish. These particle tracings in the magnetosphere, from which time dependent particle fronts can be constructed, give the basic concept and mechanics to explain the complex and dynamical properties of the magnetic storm time particle enhancements

  8. The influence of solar wind variability on magnetospheric ULF wave power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pokhotelov, D.; Rae, I.J.; Mann, I.R.

    2015-01-01

    Magnetospheric ultra-low frequency (ULF) oscillations in the Pc 4-5 frequency range play an important role in the dynamics of Earth's radiation belts, both by enhancing the radial diffusion through incoherent interactions and through the coherent drift-resonant interactions with trapped radiation belt electrons. The statistical distributions of magnetospheric ULF wave power are known to be strongly dependent on solar wind parameters such as solar wind speed and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. Statistical characterisation of ULF wave power in the magnetosphere traditionally relies on average solar wind-IMF conditions over a specific time period. In this brief report, we perform an alternative characterisation of the solar wind influence on magnetospheric ULF wave activity through the characterisation of the solar wind driver by its variability using the standard deviation of solar wind parameters rather than a simple time average. We present a statistical study of nearly one solar cycle (1996-2004) of geosynchronous observations of magnetic ULF wave power and find that there is significant variation in ULF wave powers as a function of the dynamic properties of the solar wind. In particular, we find that the variability in IMF vector, rather than variabilities in other parameters (solar wind density, bulk velocity and ion temperature), plays the strongest role in controlling geosynchronous ULF power. We conclude that, although time-averaged bulk properties of the solar wind are a key factor in driving ULF powers in the magnetosphere, the solar wind variability can be an important contributor as well. This highlights the potential importance of including solar wind variability especially in studies of ULF wave dynamics in order to assess the efficiency of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.

  9. Artificial Neural Network L* from different magnetospheric field models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Y.; Koller, J.; Zaharia, S. G.; Jordanova, V. K.

    2011-12-01

    The third adiabatic invariant L* plays an important role in modeling and understanding the radiation belt dynamics. The popular way to numerically obtain the L* value follows the recipe described by Roederer [1970], which is, however, slow and computational expensive. This work focuses on a new technique, which can compute the L* value in microseconds without losing much accuracy: artificial neural networks. Since L* is related to the magnetic flux enclosed by a particle drift shell, global magnetic field information needed to trace the drift shell is required. A series of currently popular empirical magnetic field models are applied to create the L* data pool using 1 million data samples which are randomly selected within a solar cycle and within the global magnetosphere. The networks, trained from the above L* data pool, can thereby be used for fairly efficient L* calculation given input parameters valid within the trained temporal and spatial range. Besides the empirical magnetospheric models, a physics-based self-consistent inner magnetosphere model (RAM-SCB) developed at LANL is also utilized to calculate L* values and then to train the L* neural network. This model better predicts the magnetospheric configuration and therefore can significantly improve the L*. The above neural network L* technique will enable, for the first time, comprehensive solar-cycle long studies of radiation belt processes. However, neural networks trained from different magnetic field models can result in different L* values, which could cause mis-interpretation of radiation belt dynamics, such as where the source of the radiation belt charged particle is and which mechanism is dominant in accelerating the particles. Such a fact calls for attention to cautiously choose a magnetospheric field model for the L* calculation.

  10. The electromagnetic field for an open magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikkila, W. J.

    1984-01-01

    The boundary-layer-dominated models of the earth EM field developed by Heikkila (1975, 1978, 1982, and 1983) and Heikkila et al. (1979) to account for deficiencies in the electric-field descriptions of quasi-steady-state magnetic-field-reconnection models (such as that of Cowley, 1980) are characterized, reviewing the arguments and indicating the most important implications. The mechanisms of boundary-layer formation and field direction reversal are explained and illustrated with diagrams, and it is inferred that boundary-layer phenomena rather than magnetic reconnection may be the cause of large-scale magnetospheric circulation, convection, plasma-sheet formation and sunward convection, and auroras, the boundary layer acting basically as a viscous process mediating solar-wind/magnetosphere interactions.

  11. Models for stellar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cram, L.E.; Woods, D.T.

    1982-01-01

    We study the response of certain spectral signatures of stellar flares (such as Balmer line profiles and the broad-band continuum) to changes in atmospheric structure which might result from physical processes akin to those thought to occur in solar flares. While each physical process does not have a unique signature, we can show that some of the observed properties of stellar flares can be explained by a model which involves increased pressures and temperatures in the flaring stellar chromosphere. We suggest that changes in stellar flare area, both with time and with depth in the atmosphere, may play an important role in producing the observed flare spectrum

  12. Effects of Energetic Ion Outflow on Magnetospheric Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C.; Lund, E. J.; Menz, A.; Nowrouzi, N.

    2016-12-01

    There are two dominant regions of energetic ion outflow: the nightside auroral region and the dayside cusp. Processes in these regions can accelerate ions up to keV energies. Outflow from the nightside has direct access to the plasma sheet, while outflow from the cusp is convected over the polar cap and into the lobes. The cusp population can enter the plasma sheet from the lobe, with higher energy ions entering further down the tail than lower energy ions. During storm times, the O+ enhanced plasma sheet population is convected into the inner magnetosphere. The plasma that does not get trapped in the inner magnetosphere convects to the magnetopause where reconnection is taking place. An enhanced O+ population can change the plasma mass density, which may have the effect of decreasing the reconnection rate. In addition O+ has a larger gyroradius than H+ at the same velocity or energy. Because of this, there are larger regions where the O+ is demagnetized, which can lead to larger acceleration because the O+ can move farther in the direction of the electric field. In this talk we will review results from Cluster, Van Allen Probes, and MMS, on how outflow from the two locations affects magnetospheric dynamics. We will discuss whether enhanced O+ from either population has an effect on the reconnection rate in the tail or at the magnetopause. We will discuss how the two populations impact the inner magnetosphere during storm times. And finally, we will discuss whether either population plays a role in triggering substorms, particularly during sawtooth events.

  13. Energy coupling function and solar wind-magnetosphere dynamo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, J.R.; Lee, L.C.

    1979-01-01

    The power delivered by the solar wind dynamo to the open magnetosphere is calculated based on the concept of field line reconnection, independent of the MHD steady reconnection theories. By recognizing a previously overlooked geometrical relationship between the reconnection electric field and the magnetic field, the calculated power is shown to be approximately proportional to the Akasofu-Perreault energy coupling function for the magnetospheric substorm. In addition to the polar cap potential, field line reconnection also gives rise to parallel electric fields on open field lines in the high-latitude cusp and the polar cap reions

  14. Experimental aspects of ion acceleration and transport in the Earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, D.T.

    1985-01-01

    Major particle population within the Earth's magnetosphere have been studied via ion acceleration processes. Experimental advances over the past ten to fifteen years have demonstrated the complexity of the processes. A review is given here for areas where composition experiments have expanded perception on magnetospheric phenomena. 64 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  15. Stellar structure and evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kippernhahn, R.; Weigert, A.

    1990-01-01

    This book introduces the theory of the internal structure of stars and their evolution in time. It presents the basic physics of stellar interiors, methods for solving the underlying equations, and the most important results necessary for understanding the wide variety of stellar types and phenomena. The evolution of stars is discussed from their birth through normal evolution to possibly spectacular final stages. Chapters on stellar oscillations and rotation are included

  16. Near-Field Cosmology with Resolved Stellar Populations Around Local Volume LMC Stellar-Mass Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Sand, David J.; Willman, Beth; Brodie, Jean P.; Crnojevic, Denija; Forbes, Duncan; Hargis, Jonathan R.; Peter, Annika; Pucha, Ragadeepika; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Spekkens, Kristine; Strader, Jay

    2018-06-01

    We discuss our ongoing observational program to comprehensively map the entire virial volumes of roughly LMC stellar mass galaxies at distances of ~2-4 Mpc. The MADCASH (Magellanic Analog Dwarf Companions And Stellar Halos) survey will deliver the first census of the dwarf satellite populations and stellar halo properties within LMC-like environments in the Local Volume. Our results will inform our understanding of the recent DES discoveries of dwarf satellites tentatively affiliated with the LMC/SMC system. This program has already yielded the discovery of the faintest known dwarf galaxy satellite of an LMC stellar-mass host beyond the Local Group, based on deep Subaru+HyperSuprimeCam imaging reaching ~2 magnitudes below its TRGB, and at least two additional candidate satellites. We will summarize the survey results and status to date, highlighting some challenges encountered and lessons learned as we process the data for this program through a prototype LSST pipeline. Our program will examine whether LMC stellar mass dwarfs have extended stellar halos, allowing us to assess the relative contributions of in-situ stars vs. merger debris to their stellar populations and halo density profiles. We outline the constraints on galaxy formation models that will be provided by our observations of low-mass galaxy halos and their satellites.

  17. Electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves stimulated by modest magnetospheric compressions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, B. J.; Hamilton, D. C.

    1993-01-01

    AMPTE/CCE magnetic field and particle data are used to test the suggestion that increased hot proton temperature anisotropy resulting from convection during magnetospheric compression is responsible for the enhancement in Pc 1 emission via generation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the dayside outer equatorial magnetosphere. The relative increase in magnetic field is used to gauge the strength of the compression, and an image dipole model is used to estimate the motion of the plasma during compression. Proton data are used to analyze the evolution of the proton distribution and the corresponding changes in EMIC wave activity expected during the compression. It is suggested that enhancements in dynamic pressure pump the energetic proton distributions in the outer magnetosphere, driving EMIC waves. Waves are expected to be generated most readily close to the magnetopause, and transient pressure pulses may be associated with bursts of EMIC waves, which would be observed on the ground in association with ionospheric transient signatures.

  18. The influence of solar wind variability on magnetospheric ULF wave power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Pokhotelov

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Magnetospheric ultra-low frequency (ULF oscillations in the Pc 4–5 frequency range play an important role in the dynamics of Earth's radiation belts, both by enhancing the radial diffusion through incoherent interactions and through the coherent drift-resonant interactions with trapped radiation belt electrons. The statistical distributions of magnetospheric ULF wave power are known to be strongly dependent on solar wind parameters such as solar wind speed and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF orientation. Statistical characterisation of ULF wave power in the magnetosphere traditionally relies on average solar wind–IMF conditions over a specific time period. In this brief report, we perform an alternative characterisation of the solar wind influence on magnetospheric ULF wave activity through the characterisation of the solar wind driver by its variability using the standard deviation of solar wind parameters rather than a simple time average. We present a statistical study of nearly one solar cycle (1996–2004 of geosynchronous observations of magnetic ULF wave power and find that there is significant variation in ULF wave powers as a function of the dynamic properties of the solar wind. In particular, we find that the variability in IMF vector, rather than variabilities in other parameters (solar wind density, bulk velocity and ion temperature, plays the strongest role in controlling geosynchronous ULF power. We conclude that, although time-averaged bulk properties of the solar wind are a key factor in driving ULF powers in the magnetosphere, the solar wind variability can be an important contributor as well. This highlights the potential importance of including solar wind variability especially in studies of ULF wave dynamics in order to assess the efficiency of solar wind–magnetosphere coupling.

  19. Evolution of Eigenmodes of the Mhd-Waveguide in the Outer Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuiko, Daniil

    EVOLUTION OF EIGENMODES OF THE MHD-WAVEGUIDE IN THE OUTER MAGNETOSPHERE Mazur V.A., Chuiko D.A. Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Irkutsk, Russia. Geomagnetic field and plasma inhomogeneties in the outer equatorial part of the magnetosphere al-lows for existence of a channel with low Alfven speeds, which spans from the nose to the far flanks of the magnetosphere, in the morning as well as in the evening sectors. This channel plays a role of a waveguide for fast magnetosonic waves. When an eigenmode travels along the waveguide (i.e. in the azimuthal direction) it undergoes certain evolution. The parameters of the waveguide are changing along the way of wave’s propagation and the eigenmode “adapts” to these parameters. Conditions of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability are changing due to the increment in the solar wind speed along the magnetopause. The conditions of the solar wind hydromagnetic waves penetration to the magnetosphere are changing due to the same increment. As such, the process of the penetration turns to overreflection regime, which abruptly increases the pump level of the magnetospheric waveguide. There is an Alfven resonance deep within the magnetosphere, which corresponds to the propagation of the fast mode along the waveguide. Oscillation energy dissipation takes place in the vicinity of the Alfven resonance. Alfven resonance is a standing Alfven wave along the magnetic field lines, so it reaches the ionosphere and the Earth surface, when the fast modes of the waveguide, localized in the low Alfven speed channel cannot be observed on Earth. The evolution of the waveguide oscillation propagating from the nose to the far tail is theoretically investigated in this work with consideration of all aforementioned effects. The spatial structure var-iation character, spectral composition and amplitude along the waveguide are found.

  20. Generation mechanisms for magnetic-field-aligned electric fields in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faelthammar, C.-G.

    1977-09-01

    Magnetic-field-aligned electric fields in the magnetosphere can be generated in several different ways, and in this review some possible mechanisms are presented. Observational data now available indicates that more than one of the mechanisms mentioned are operative in the magnetosphere but it is not yet possible to evaluate their relative importance. (author)

  1. Double-helix stellarator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moroz, P.E.

    1997-09-01

    A new stellarator configuration, the Double-Helix Stellarator (DHS), is introduced. This novel configuration features a double-helix center post as the only helical element of the stellarator coil system. The DHS configuration has many unique characteristics. One of them is the extreme low plasma aspect ratio, A ∼ 1--1.2. Other advantages include a high enclosed volume, appreciable rotational transform, and a possibility of extreme-high-β MHD equilibria. Moreover, the DHS features improved transport characteristics caused by the absence of the magnetic field ripple on the outboard of the torus. Compactness, simplicity and modularity of the coil system add to the DHS advantages for fusion applications

  2. Magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents in Jupiter's middle magnetosphere: effect of magnetosphere-ionosphere decoupling by field-aligned auroral voltages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. D. Nichols

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available We consider the effect of field-aligned voltages on the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling current system associated with the breakdown of rigid corotation of equatorial plasma in Jupiter's middle magnetosphere. Previous analyses have assumed perfect mapping of the electric field and flow along equipotential field lines between the equatorial plane and the ionosphere, whereas it has been shown that substantial field-aligned voltages must exist to drive the field-aligned currents associated with the main auroral oval. The effect of these field-aligned voltages is to decouple the flow of the equatorial and ionospheric plasma, such that their angular velocities are in general different from each other. In this paper we self-consistently include the field-aligned voltages in computing the plasma flows and currents in the system. A third order differential equation is derived for the ionospheric plasma angular velocity, and a power series solution obtained which reduces to previous solutions in the limit that the field-aligned voltage is small. Results are obtained to second order in the power series, and are compared to the original zeroth order results with no parallel voltage. We find that for system parameters appropriate to Jupiter the effect of the field-aligned voltages on the solutions is small, thus validating the results of previously-published analyses.

  3. Auroral phenomenology and magnetospheric processes earth and other planets

    CERN Document Server

    Keiling, Andreas; Bagenal, Fran; Karlsson, Tomas

    2013-01-01

    Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series. Many of the most basic aspects of the aurora remain unexplained. While in the past terrestrial and planetary auroras have been largely treated in separate books, Auroral Phenomenology and Magnetospheric Processes: Earth and Other Planets takes a holistic approach, treating the aurora as a fundamental process and discussing the phenomenology, physics, and relationship with the respective planetary magnetospheres in one volume. While there are some behaviors common in auroras of the diffe

  4. Electromagnetic and Radiative Properties of Neutron Star Magnetospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jason G.

    2014-05-01

    Magnetospheres of neutron stars are commonly modeled as either devoid of plasma in "vacuum'' models or filled with perfectly conducting plasma with negligible inertia in "force-free'' models. While numerically tractable, neither of these idealized limits can simultaneously account for both the plasma currents and the accelerating electric fields that are needed to explain the morphology and spectra of high-energy emission from pulsars. In this work we improve upon these models by considering the structure of magnetospheres filled with resistive plasma. We formulate Ohm's Law in the minimal velocity fluid frame and implement a time-dependent numerical code to construct a family of resistive solutions that smoothly bridges the gap between the vacuum and force-free magnetosphere solutions. We further apply our method to create a self-consistent model for the recently discovered intermittent pulsars that switch between two distinct states: an "on'', radio-loud state, and an "off'', radio-quiet state with lower spin-down luminosity. Essentially, we allow plasma to leak off open field lines in the absence of pair production in the "off'' state, reproducing observed differences in spin-down rates. Next, we examine models in which the high-energy emission from gamma-ray pulsars comes from reconnecting current sheets and layers near and beyond the light cylinder. The reconnected magnetic field provides a reservoir of energy that heats particles and can power high-energy synchrotron radiation. Emitting particles confined to the sheet naturally result in a strong caustic on the skymap and double peaked light curves for a broad range of observer angles. Interpulse bridge emission likely arises from interior to the light cylinder, along last open field lines that traverse the space between the polar caps and the current sheet. Finally, we apply our code to solve for the magnetospheric structure of merging neutron star binaries. We find that the scaling of electromagnetic

  5. The Magellanic Analog Dwarf Companions and Stellar Halos (MADCASH) Survey: Near-Field Cosmology with Resolved Stellar Populations Around Local Volume LMC Stellar-Mass Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Sand, David J.; Willman, Beth; Brodie, Jean P.; Crnojevic, Denija; Peter, Annika; Price, Paul A.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Spekkens, Kristine; Strader, Jay

    2017-01-01

    We discuss the first results of our observational program to comprehensively map nearly the entire virial volumes of roughly LMC stellar mass galaxies at distances of ~2-4 Mpc. The MADCASH (Magellanic Analog Dwarf Companions And Stellar Halos) survey will deliver the first census of the dwarf satellite populations and stellar halo properties within LMC-like environments in the Local Volume. These will inform our understanding of the recent DES discoveries of dwarf satellites tentatively affiliated with the LMC/SMC system. We will detail our discovery of the faintest known dwarf galaxy satellite of an LMC stellar-mass host beyond the Local Group, based on deep Subaru+HyperSuprimeCam imaging reaching ~2 magnitudes below its TRGB. We will summarize the survey results and status to date, highlighting some challenges encountered and lessons learned as we process the data for this program through a prototype LSST pipeline. Our program will examine whether LMC stellar mass dwarfs have extended stellar halos, allowing us to assess the relative contributions of in-situ stars vs. merger debris to their stellar populations and halo density profiles. We outline the constraints on galaxy formation models that will be provided by our observations of low-mass galaxy halos and their satellites.

  6. Understanding the Magnetosphere: The Counter-intuitive Simplicity of Cosmic Electrodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasyliūnas, V. M.

    2008-12-01

    Planetary magnetospheres exhibit an amazing variety of phenomena, unlimited in complexity if followed into endlessly fine detail. The challenge of theory is to understand this variety and complexity, ultimately by seeing how the observed effects follow from the basic equations of physics (a point emphasized by Eugene Parker). The basic equations themselves are remarkably simple, only their consequences being exceedingly complex (a point emphasized by Fred Hoyle). In this lecture I trace the development of electrodynamics as an essential ingredient of magnetospheric physics, through the three stages it has undergone to date. Stage I is the initial application of MHD concepts and constraints (sometimes phrased in equivalent single-particle terms). Stage II is the classical formulation of self-consistent coupling between magnetosphere and ionosphere. Stage III is the more recent recognition that properly elucidating time sequence and cause-effect relations requires Maxwell's equations combined with the unique constraints of large-scale plasma. Problems and controversies underlie the transition from each stage to the following. For each stage, there are specific observed aspects of the magnetosphere that can be understood at its level; also, each stage implies a specific way to formulate unresolved questions (particularly important in this age of extensive multi-point observations and ever-more-detailed numerical simulations).

  7. Space weather: Why are magnetospheric physicists interested in solar explosive phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koskinen, H. E. J.; Pulkkinen, T. I.

    That solar activity drives magnetospheric dynamics has for a long time been the basis of solar-terrestrial physics. Numerous statistical studies correlating sunspots, 10.7 cm radiation, solar flares, etc., with various magnetospheric and geomagnetic parameters have been performed. However, in studies of magnetospheric dynamics the role of the Sun has often remained in the background and only the actual solar wind impinging the magnetosphere has gained most of the attention. During the last few years a new applied field of solar-terrestrial physics, space weather, has emerged. The term refers to variable particle and field conditions in our space environment, which may be hazardous to space-borne or ground-based technological systems and can endanger human life and health. When the modern society is becoming increasingly dependent on space technology, the need for better modelling and also forecasting of space weather becomes urgent. While for post analysis of magnetospheric phenomena it is quite sufficient to include observations from the magnetospheric boundaries out to L1 where SOHO is located, these observations do not provide enough lead-time to run space weather forecasting models and to distribute the forecasts to potential customers. For such purposes we need improved physical understanding and models to predict which active processes on the Sun will impact the magnetosphere and what their expected consequences are. An important change of view on the role of the Sun as the origin of magnetospheric disturbances has taken place during last 10--20 years. For a long time, the solar flares were thought to be the most geoeffective solar phenomena. Now the attention has shifted much more towards coronal mass ejections and the SOHO coronal observations seem to have turned the epoch irreversibly. However, we are not yet ready to make reliable perdictions of the terrestrial environment based on CME observations. From the space weather viewpoint, the key questions are

  8. PNST: half-course colloquium - Hendaye, 14-16 March 2016. Summaries and list of participants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aboudarham, Jean; Alexandrova, Olga; Amsif, Kader; Andre, Nicolas; Astafyeva, Elvira; Auchere, Frederic; Aunai, Nicolas; Baudin, Frederic; Belmont, Gerard; Benacquista, Remi; Berthomier, Matthieu; Biree, Lionel; Blanc, Michel; Bommier, Veronique; Bourdarie, Sebastien; Breuillard, Hugo; Brun, Allan Sacha; Buchlin, Eric; Canu, Patrick; Cara, Antoine; Carley, Eoin; Cecconi, Baptiste; Celestin, Sebastien; Chane-Yook, Martine; Chaufray, Jean-Yves; Cherniak, Iurii; Chevalier, Christiane; Coisson, Pierdavide; Corbard, Thierry; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, Nicole; Dalmasse, Kevin; Dandouras, Iannis; Dargent, Jeremy; Delcourt, Dominique; Dintrans, Boris; Dubau, Jacques; Dudok De Wit, Thierry; Emeriau-Viard, Constance; Esteban Hernandez, Rosa; Fabbro, Vincent; Farges, Thomas; Faurobert, Marianne; Fontaine, Dominique; Froment, Clara; Fruit, Gabriel; Gabriel, Alan; Galmiche, Aurelien; Galtier, Sebastien; Gelly, Bernard; Genot, Vincent; Gordino, Miguel; Grappin, Roland; Gravet, Romanic; Griton, Lea; Gruet, Marina; Guennou, Chloe; Guillemant, Stanislas; Hassler, Don; Henri, Pierre; Herrera, Damien; Hulot, Gauthier; Hung, Ching Pui; Ihaddadene, Kevin; Janvier, Miho; Jouve, Laurene; Kacem, Issaad; Klein, Karl-Ludwig; Koutroumpa, Dimitra; Krasnosselskikh, Vladimir; Kretzschmar, Matthieu; Lamy, Laurent; Lavraud, Benoit; Lazaro, Didier; Le Chat, Gaetan; Le Contel, Olivier; Leblanc, Francois; Leclercq, Ludivine; Lembege, Bertrand; Lemorton, Joel; Lilensten, Jean; Lion, Sonny; Lopez Ariste, Arturo; Louis, Corentin; Maksimovic, Milan; Marchaudon, Aurelie; Masson, Sophie; Mazelle, Christian; Mirioni, Laurent; Moncuquet, Michel; Montagud, Victor; Morbidelli, Alessandro; Mottez, Fabrice; Musset, Sophie; Nicolas, Loic; Oza, Apurva; Palin, Laurianne; Pariat, Etienne; Perrone, Denise; Pincon, Jean-Louis; Pinto, Rui; Pitout, Frederic; Plotnikov, Illya; Prado, Jean-Yves; Quemerais, Eric; Renaud, Catherine; Retino, Alessandro; Reville, Victor; Roudier, Thierry; Rouillard, Alexis; Rozelot, Jean-Pierre; Sahraoui, Fouad; Salas Matamoros, Carolina; Sanchez-Diaz, Eduardo; Sarria, David; Savoini, Philippe; Schmieder, Brigitte; Sicard-Piet, Angelica; Solomon, Jacques; Steckiewicz, Morgane; Strugarek, Antoine; Turc, Lucile; Varela, Jacobo; Verdini, Andrea; Vernisse, Yoann; Vial, Jean-Claude; Vilmer, Nicole; Zakharenkova, Irina; Zaouar, Naima; Zarka, Philippe; Zucca, Pietro; Zuccarello, Francesco

    2016-03-01

    This colloquium was organized at the half-course of the French 'Sun-Earth' national programme (PNST); it was intended for all researchers and students in the domain of magnetized plasmas in solar and terrestrial environments. It also concerns solar and stellar magnetism and planetary plasmas which are at the interfaces between PNST, stellar physics and planetology. The colloquium is organized around 7 main themes: simulations and numerical tools; new missions and instrumentation (ground and space); couplings between plasma envelopes (i.e. interior/corona/solar wind, solar wind/magnetosphere, magnetosphere/ionosphere/high atmosphere); multi-scale energy transport and turbulence (i.e. Sun, solar wind, magnetospheres, ion and electronic scales, dynamo); particle acceleration mechanisms and plasma heating (i.e. corona and solar winds, magnetospheres, energetic particles); eruptive or impulsive activity in plasmas (i.e. corona, terrestrial and planetary magnetospheres); Sun-Earth relations and space meteorology (i.e. observation/forecasting of solar activity, space environment, geomagnetic conditions, irradiance variability)

  9. Field line projections of 6300 AA auroral emissions into the outer magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shepherd, M.M.

    1979-07-01

    An empirical magnetospheric model is employed to project auroral intensity boundaries into the magnetosphere. The auroral data are in the form of instantaneous maps of 6300AA emission, acquired with the ISIS-II spacecraft and correspond to fluxes of low energy electrons. These are specific to a particular universal time and date. The magnetospheric model used is a purely empirical one, designed by Mead and Fairfield (1975) from 44.76 x 10 6 magnetic measurements made by 4 IMP satellites. Their model includes the dipole tilt as a variable, and permits selection from four different disturbance levels, so is particularly suited to these data. In a general way, the auroral projections agree with what is expected, giving some confidence in this application of the model. But a number of features appear that were not predicted, and which should permit new insights into the relationship of specific auroral boundaries to the structure of the magnetosphere. (author)

  10. PC index as a proxy of the solar wind energy that entered into the magnetosphere and energy accumulated in the magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troshichev, Oleg; Sormakov, Dmitry

    The PC index has been approved by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (Merida, Mexico, 2013) as a new international index of magnetic activity. Application of the PC index as a proxy of a solar wind energy that entered into the magnetosphere determines a principal distinction of the PC index from AL and Dst indices, which are regarded as characteristics of the energy that realized in magnetosphere in form of substorms and magnetic storms. This conclusion is based on results of analysis of relationships between the polar cap magnetic activity (PC-index) and parameters of the solar wind, on the one hand, relationships between changes of PC and development of magnetospheric substorms (AL-index) and magnetic storms (Dst-index), on the other hand. In this study the relationships between the PC and Dst indices in course of more than 200 magnetic storms observed in epoch of solar maximum (1998-2004) have been examined for different classes of storms separated by their kind and intensity. Results of statistical analysis demonstrate that depression of geomagnetic field starts to develop as soon as PC index steadily excess the threshold level ~1.5 mV/m; the storm intensity (DstMIN) follows, with delay ~ 1 hour, the maximum of PC in course of the storm. Main features of magnetic storms are determined, irrespective of their class and intensity, by the accumulated-mean PC value (PCAM): storm is developed as long as PCAM increases, comes to maximal intensity when PCAM attains the maximum, and starts to decay as soon as PCAM value displays decline. The run of “anomalous” magnetic storm on January 21-22, 2005, lasting many hours (with intensity of ≈ -100 nT) under conditions of northward or close to zero BZ component, is perfectly governed by behavior of the accumulated-mean PCAM index and, therefore, this storm should be regarded as an ordinary phenomenon. The conclusion is made that the PC index provides the unique on-line information on solar wind

  11. Global fully kinetic models of planetary magnetospheres with iPic3D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, D.; Sanna, L.; Amaya, J.; Zitz, A.; Lembege, B.; Markidis, S.; Schriver, D.; Walker, R. J.; Berchem, J.; Peng, I. B.; Travnicek, P. M.; Lapenta, G.

    2016-12-01

    We report on the latest developments of our approach to model planetary magnetospheres, mini magnetospheres and the Earth's magnetosphere with the fully kinetic, electromagnetic particle in cell code iPic3D. The code treats electrons and multiple species of ions as full kinetic particles. We review: 1) Why a fully kinetic model and in particular why kinetic electrons are needed for capturing some of the most important aspects of the physics processes of planetary magnetospheres. 2) Why the energy conserving implicit method (ECIM) in its newest implementation [1] is the right approach to reach this goal. We consider the different electron scales and study how the new IECIM can be tuned to resolve only the electron scales of interest while averaging over the unresolved scales preserving their contribution to the evolution. 3) How with modern computing planetary magnetospheres, mini magnetosphere and eventually Earth's magnetosphere can be modeled with fully kinetic electrons. The path from petascale to exascale for iPiC3D is outlined based on the DEEP-ER project [2], using dynamic allocation of different processor architectures (Xeon and Xeon Phi) and innovative I/O technologies.Specifically results from models of Mercury are presented and compared with MESSENGER observations and with previous hybrid (fluid electrons and kinetic ions) simulations. The plasma convection around the planets includes the development of hydrodynamic instabilities at the flanks, the presence of the collisionless shocks, the magnetosheath, the magnetopause, reconnection zones, the formation of the plasma sheet and the magnetotail, and the variation of ion/electron plasma flows when crossing these frontiers. Given the full kinetic nature of our approach we focus on detailed particle dynamics and distribution at locations that can be used for comparison with satellite data. [1] Lapenta, G. (2016). Exactly Energy Conserving Implicit Moment Particle in Cell Formulation. arXiv preprint ar

  12. Fast Flows in the Magnetotail and Energetic Particle Transport: Multiscale Coupling in the Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Y.; Wang, X.; Fok, M. C. H.; Buzulukova, N.; Perez, J. D.; Chen, L. J.

    2017-12-01

    The interaction between the Earth's inner and outer magnetospheric regions associated with the tail fast flows is calculated by coupling the Auburn 3-D global hybrid simulation code (ANGIE3D) to the Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere/Ionosphere (CIMI) model. The global hybrid code solves fully kinetic equations governing the ions and a fluid model for electrons in the self-consistent electromagnetic field of the dayside and night side outer magnetosphere. In the integrated computation model, the hybrid simulation provides the CIMI model with field data in the CIMI 3-D domain and particle data at its boundary, and the transport in the inner magnetosphere is calculated by the CIMI model. By joining the two existing codes, effects of the solar wind on particle transport through the outer magnetosphere into the inner magnetosphere are investigated. Our simulation shows that fast flows and flux ropes are localized transients in the magnetotail plasma sheet and their overall structures have a dawn-dusk asymmetry. Strong perpendicular ion heating is found at the fast flow braking, which affects the earthward transport of entropy-depleted bubbles. We report on the impacts from the temperature anisotropy and non-Maxwellian ion distributions associated with the fast flows on the ring current and the convection electric field.

  13. Recent successes and emerging challenges for coordinated satellite/ground-based magnetospheric exploration and modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelopoulos, Vassilis

    With the availability of a distributed constellation of spacecraft (THEMIS, Geotail, Cluster) and increased capability ground based arrays (SuperDARN, THEMIS/GBOs), it is now pos-sible to infer simply from timing significant information regarding mapping of magnetospheric phenomena. Optical, magnetometer and radar data can pinpoint the location and nature of onset signatures. On the other hand, magnetic field modeling constrained by physical bound-aries (such as the isotropy boundary) the measured magnetic field and total pressure values at a distibuted network of satellites has proven to do a much better job at correlating ionospheric precipitation and diffuse auroral boundaries to magnetospheric phenomena, such as the inward boundary of the dipolarization fronts. It is now possible to routinely compare in-situ measured phase space densities of ion and electron distributions during ionosphere -magnetosphere con-junctions, in the absense of potential drops. It is also possible to not only infer equivalent current systems from the ground, but use reconstruction of the ionospheric current system from space to determine the full electrodynamics evolution of the ionosphere and compare with radars. Assimilation of this emerging ground based and global magnetospheric panoply into a self consistent magnetospheric model will likely be one of the most fruitful endeavors in magnetospheric exploration during the next few years.

  14. Ripple transport in helical-axis advanced stellarators - a comparison with classical stellarator/torsatrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beidler, C.D.; Hitchon, W.N.G.

    1993-08-01

    Calculations of the neoclassical transport rates due to particles trapped in the helical ripples of a stellarator's magnetic field are carried out, based on solutions of the bounce-averaged kinetic equation. These calculations employ a model for the magnetic field strength, B, which is an accurate approximation to the actual B for a wide variety of stellarator-type devices, among which are Helical-Axis Advanced Stellarators (Helias) as well as conventional stellarators and torsatrons. Comparisons are carried out in which it is shown that the Helias concept leads to significant reductions in neoclassical transport rates throughout the entire long-mean-free-path regime, with the reduction being particularly dramatic in the ν -1 regime. These findings are confirmed by numerical simulations. Further, it is shown that the behavior of deeply trapped particles in Helias can be fundamentally different from that in classical stellarator/torsatrons; as a consequence, the beneficial effects of a radial electric field on the transport make themselves felt at lower collision frequency than is usual. (orig.)

  15. Convection and stellar oscillations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarslev, Magnus Johan

    2017-01-01

    for asteroseismology, because of the challenges inherent in modelling turbulent convection in 1D stellar models. As a result of oversimplifying the physics near the surface, theoretical calculations systematically overestimate the oscillation frequencies. This has become known as the asteroseismic surface effect. Due...... to lacking better options, this frequency difference is typically corrected for with ad-hoc formulae. The topic of this thesis is the improvement of 1D stellar convection models and the effects this has on asteroseismic properties. The source of improvements is 3D simulations of radiation...... atmospheres to replace the outer layers of stellar models. The additional turbulent pressure and asymmetrical opacity effects in the atmosphere model, compared to convection in stellar evolution models, serve to expand the atmosphere. The enlarged acoustic cavity lowers the pulsation frequencies bringing them...

  16. Stellarator Research Opportunities: A report of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gates, David A. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Anderson, David [University of Wisconsin-Madison

    2017-06-01

    This document is the product of a stellarator community workshop, organized by the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee and referred to as Stellcon, that was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2016, hosted by MIT. The workshop was widely advertised, and was attended by 40 scientists from 12 different institutions including national labs, universities and private industry, as well as a representative from the Department of Energy. The final section of this document describes areas of community wide consensus that were developed as a result of the discussions held at that workshop. Areas where further study would be helpful to generate a consensus path forward for the US stellarator program are also discussed. The program outlined in this document is directly responsive to many of the strategic priorities of FES as articulated in “Fusion Energy Sciences: A Ten-Year Perspective (2015-2025)” [2]. The natural disruption immunity of the stellarator directly addresses “Elimination of transient events that can be deleterious to toroidal fusion plasma confinement devices” an area of critical importance for the U.S. fusion energy sciences enterprise over the next decade. Another critical area of research “Strengthening our partnerships with international research facilities,” is being significantly advanced on the W7-X stellarator in Germany and serves as a test-bed for development of successful international collaboration on ITER. This report also outlines how materials science as it relates to plasma and fusion sciences, another critical research area, can be carried out effectively in a stellarator. Additionally, significant advances along two of the Research Directions outlined in the report; “Burning Plasma Science: Foundations - Next-generation research capabilities”, and “Burning Plasma Science: Long pulse - Sustainment of Long-Pulse Plasma Equilibria” are proposed.

  17. Stellarator Research Opportunities: A Report of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gates, D. A.; Anderson, D.; Anderson, S.; Zarnstorff, M.; Spong, D. A.; Weitzner, H.; Neilson, G. H.; Ruzic, D.; Andruczyk, D.; Harris, J. H.; Mynick, H.; Hegna, C. C.; Schmitz, O.; Talmadge, J. N.; Curreli, D.; Maurer, D.; Boozer, A. H.; Knowlton, S.; Allain, J. P.; Ennis, D.; Wurden, G.; Reiman, A.; Lore, J. D.; Landreman, M.; Freidberg, J. P.; Hudson, S. R.; Porkolab, M.; Demers, D.; Terry, J.; Edlund, E.; Lazerson, S. A.; Pablant, N.; Fonck, R.; Volpe, F.; Canik, J.; Granetz, R.; Ware, A.; Hanson, J. D.; Kumar, S.; Deng, C.; Likin, K.; Cerfon, A.; Ram, A.; Hassam, A.; Prager, S.; Paz-Soldan, C.; Pueschel, M. J.; Joseph, I.; Glasser, A. H.

    2018-02-01

    This document is the product of a stellarator community workshop, organized by the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee and referred to as Stellcon, that was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2016, hosted by MIT. The workshop was widely advertised, and was attended by 40 scientists from 12 different institutions including national labs, universities and private industry, as well as a representative from the Department of Energy. The final section of this document describes areas of community wide consensus that were developed as a result of the discussions held at that workshop. Areas where further study would be helpful to generate a consensus path forward for the US stellarator program are also discussed. The program outlined in this document is directly responsive to many of the strategic priorities of FES as articulated in "Fusion Energy Sciences: A Ten-Year Perspective (2015-2025)" [1]. The natural disruption immunity of the stellarator directly addresses "Elimination of transient events that can be deleterious to toroidal fusion plasma confinement devices" an area of critical importance for the US fusion energy sciences enterprise over the next decade. Another critical area of research "Strengthening our partnerships with international research facilities," is being significantly advanced on the W7-X stellarator in Germany and serves as a test-bed for development of successful international collaboration on ITER. This report also outlines how materials science as it relates to plasma and fusion sciences, another critical research area, can be carried out effectively in a stellarator. Additionally, significant advances along two of the Research Directions outlined in the report; "Burning Plasma Science: Foundations - Next-generation research capabilities", and "Burning Plasma Science: Long pulse - Sustainment of Long-Pulse Plasma Equilibria" are proposed.

  18. Habitability in different Milky Way stellar environments: a stellar interaction dynamical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Torres, Juan J; Pichardo, Bárbara; Lake, George; Segura, Antígona

    2013-05-01

    Every Galactic environment is characterized by a stellar density and a velocity dispersion. With this information from literature, we simulated flyby encounters for several Galactic regions, numerically calculating stellar trajectories as well as orbits for particles in disks; our aim was to understand the effect of typical stellar flybys on planetary (debris) disks in the Milky Way Galaxy. For the solar neighborhood, we examined nearby stars with known distance, proper motions, and radial velocities. We found occurrence of a disturbing impact to the solar planetary disk within the next 8 Myr to be highly unlikely; perturbations to the Oort cloud seem unlikely as well. Current knowledge of the full phase space of stars in the solar neighborhood, however, is rather poor; thus we cannot rule out the existence of a star that is more likely to approach than those for which we have complete kinematic information. We studied the effect of stellar encounters on planetary orbits within the habitable zones of stars in more crowded stellar environments, such as stellar clusters. We found that in open clusters habitable zones are not readily disrupted; this is true if they evaporate in less than 10(8) yr. For older clusters the results may not be the same. We specifically studied the case of Messier 67, one of the oldest open clusters known, and show the effect of this environment on debris disks. We also considered the conditions in globular clusters, the Galactic nucleus, and the Galactic bulge-bar. We calculated the probability of whether Oort clouds exist in these Galactic environments.

  19. Magnetosphere - Ionosphere - Thermosphere (MIT) Coupling at Jupiter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, J. N.; Ray, L. C.; Achilleos, N.

    2017-12-01

    Jupiter's upper atmospheric temperature is considerably higher than that predicted by Solar Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) heating alone. Simulations incorporating magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling effects into general circulation models have, to date, struggled to reproduce the observed atmospheric temperatures under simplifying assumptions such as azimuthal symmetry and a spin-aligned dipole magnetic field. Here we present the development of a full three-dimensional thermosphere model coupled in both hemispheres to an axisymmetric magnetosphere model. This new coupled model is based on the two-dimensional MIT model presented in Yates et al., 2014. This coupled model is a critical step towards to the development of a fully coupled 3D MIT model. We discuss and compare the resulting thermospheric flows, energy balance and MI coupling currents to those presented in previous 2D MIT models.

  20. The “Building Blocks” of Stellar Halos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyle A. Oman

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The stellar halos of galaxies encode their accretion histories. In particular, the median metallicity of a halo is determined primarily by the mass of the most massive accreted object. We use hydrodynamical cosmological simulations from the apostle project to study the connection between the stellar mass, the metallicity distribution, and the stellar age distribution of a halo and the identity of its most massive progenitor. We find that the stellar populations in an accreted halo typically resemble the old stellar populations in a present-day dwarf galaxy with a stellar mass ∼0.2–0.5 dex greater than that of the stellar halo. This suggests that had they not been accreted, the primary progenitors of stellar halos would have evolved to resemble typical nearby dwarf irregulars.

  1. Identification of the different magnetic field contributions during a geomagnetic storm in magnetospheric and ground observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Alberti

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available We used the empirical mode decomposition (EMD to investigate the time variation of the magnetospheric and ground-based observations of the Earth's magnetic field during both quiet and disturbed periods. We found two timescale variations in magnetospheric data which are associated with different magnetospheric current systems and the characteristic diurnal orbital variation, respectively. On the ground we identified three timescale variations related to the solar-wind–magnetosphere high-frequency interactions, the ionospheric processes, and the internal dynamics of the magnetosphere. This approach is able to identify the different physical processes involved in solar-wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. In addition, the large-timescale contribution can be used as a local index for the identification of the intensity of a geomagnetic storm on the ground.

  2. On the electric field model for an open magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhi; Ashour-Abdalla, Maha; Walker, Raymond J.

    1993-01-01

    We have developed a new canonical separator line type magnetospheric magnetic field and electric field model for use in magnetospheric calculations, we determine the magnetic and electric field by controlling the reconnection rate at the subsolar magnetopause. The model is applicable only for purely southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We have obtained a more realistic magnetotail configuration by applying a stretch transformation to an axially symmetric field solution. We also discuss the Stern singularity in which there is an electric field singlarity in the canonical separate line models for B(sub y) not = to 0 by using a new technique that solves for the electric field along a field line directly instead of determining it by a potential mapping. The singularity not only causes an infinite electric field on the polar cap, but also causes the boundary conditions at plus infinity and minus infinity in the solar wind to contradict each other. This means that the canonical separator line models do not represent the open magnetosphere well, except for the case of purely southward IMF.

  3. Results of investigation of magnetohydrodynamic flow round the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erkaev, N.V.

    1988-01-01

    Review of the main results of the study on the Earth magnetosphere quasi-stationary magnetohydrodynamic flow-around by the solar wind is given. The principle attenuation is paid to the problem of magnetic and electric fields calculation in the transition layer and at the magnetosphere boundary. Analysis of kinematic approximation and linear diffusion model is conducted. Existence condition for the magnetic barrier region, where kinematic approximation is inapplicable, is determined. Main properties of the solution - gasokinetic pressure decrease and magnetic pressure increase up to maximum at the numerical integration results of magnetohydrodynamic equations within the magnetic barrier range. Calculation problem of reconnection field at the magnetic barrier background is considered as the next step. It is shown, that the introduction of Petchek reconnection model into the problem solution general diagram allows to obtain at the magnetosphere boundary the values of electric and magnetic fields, compatible with the experiment. Problems, linked with choice of reconnection line direction and Petchek condition generalization for the case of the crossed field reconnection, are considered

  4. Constraining the Stellar Mass Function in the Galactic Center via Mass Loss from Stellar Collisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas Rubin

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The dense concentration of stars and high-velocity dispersions in the Galactic center imply that stellar collisions frequently occur. Stellar collisions could therefore result in significant mass loss rates. We calculate the amount of stellar mass lost due to indirect and direct stellar collisions and find its dependence on the present-day mass function of stars. We find that the total mass loss rate in the Galactic center due to stellar collisions is sensitive to the present-day mass function adopted. We use the observed diffuse X-ray luminosity in the Galactic center to preclude any present-day mass functions that result in mass loss rates >10-5M⨀yr−1 in the vicinity of ~1″. For present-day mass functions of the form, dN/dM∝M-α, we constrain the present-day mass function to have a minimum stellar mass ≲7M⨀ and a power-law slope ≳1.25. We also use this result to constrain the initial mass function in the Galactic center by considering different star formation scenarios.

  5. Calculation of the Initial Magnetic Field for Mercury's Magnetosphere Hybrid Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexeev, Igor; Parunakian, David; Dyadechkin, Sergey; Belenkaya, Elena; Khodachenko, Maxim; Kallio, Esa; Alho, Markku

    2018-03-01

    Several types of numerical models are used to analyze the interactions of the solar wind flow with Mercury's magnetosphere, including kinetic models that determine magnetic and electric fields based on the spatial distribution of charges and currents, magnetohydrodynamic models that describe plasma as a conductive liquid, and hybrid models that describe ions kinetically in collisionless mode and represent electrons as a massless neutralizing liquid. The structure of resulting solutions is determined not only by the chosen set of equations that govern the behavior of plasma, but also by the initial and boundary conditions; i.e., their effects are not limited to the amount of computational work required to achieve a quasi-stationary solution. In this work, we have proposed using the magnetic field computed by the paraboloid model of Mercury's magnetosphere as the initial condition for subsequent hybrid modeling. The results of the model have been compared to measurements performed by the Messenger spacecraft during a single crossing of the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere. The selected orbit lies in the terminator plane, which allows us to observe two crossings of the bow shock and the magnetopause. In our calculations, we have defined the initial parameters of the global magnetospheric current systems in a way that allows us to minimize paraboloid magnetic field deviation along the trajectory of the Messenger from the experimental data. We have shown that the optimal initial field parameters include setting the penetration of a partial interplanetary magnetic field into the magnetosphere with a penetration coefficient of 0.2.

  6. Magnetospheric pulsations: Models and observations of compressional waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Xiaoming.

    1989-01-01

    The first part of the dissertation models ultralow frequency (ULF) waves in a simplified geometry in order to understand the physics of the mode coupling between the compressional and shear Alfven waves in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. Wave mode coupling occurs when a field line resonant frequency (defined by the shear Alfven mode) matches the global mode frequency (defined by the compressional mode). Large wave amplitudes occur near the resonant field line. Although the wave amplitude of the global mode is small away from resonant field lines, significant wave energy is stored in the wave mode due to its large scale nature. It serves as a reservoir to continuously feed energy to resonant field lines. This mechanism may explain why some field line resonances can last for times longer than that predicted from the ionospheric Joule dissipation. A nonmonotonic Alfven velocity divides the magnetosphere into two or more cavities by the local maxima of the Alfven velocity. The global mode is typically localized in one of the cavities except at some preferred frequencies, the global mode can extend through more than one cavity. This may explain ULF wave excitations in the low latitude magnetosphere. The second part of the dissertation is devoted to study compressional waves in the outer magnetosphere using magnetic field and plasma data. Statistical information on the distribution of compressional Pc 5 waves in the outer magnetosphere is obtained. Large amplitude, long period compressional Pc 5 pulsations are found very common near the magnetic equator. They are polarized mainly in a meridian plane with comparable compressional and transverse amplitudes. Close correlation between compressional wave amplitude and plasma β is also found. Several case studies show that compressional waves are quenched in the region where β < 1

  7. Magnetospheric signature of some F layer positive storms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, N.J.; Mayr, H.G.; Grebowsky, J.M.; Harris, I.; Tulunay, Y.K.

    1981-01-01

    Calculations using a self-consistent model of the global thermosphere-ionosphere system perturbed by high-latitude thermospheric heating show that the resultant electron density disturbances within the mid-latitude F layer can propagate upward along magnetic field lines to the equator. The F layer disturbances described by the model calculations correspond to the evolution of enhancements or reductions in electron density that is called the positive or negative phase of an F layer storm. We deduce that the positive phase of dayside F layer storms is initiated when high-latitude thermospheric heating generates equatorward winds. These winds raise the mid-latitude F layer along the geomagnetic field B through momentum transfer from neutral atoms to F layer ons that pull electrons with them. For Lapprox.3 or less the upward movement of ionospheric plasma results in ionization increases at all altitudes along B from the F2 maximum to the equator. An increase in the average magnitude of the equatorial dawn-dusk magnetospheric electric field retards the dayside development of a positive storm phase by drifting plasma away from mid-latitude field lines along which the electron density is increasing. During an F layer storm in June 1972, instruments on Explorer 45 and Ariel 4 detected dayside electron density enhancements simultaneously at 550 km over mid-latitudes and near the equatorial plane in the magnetosphere. These in situ measurements support the model prediction that disturbances in the magnetospheric plasma near the equator can arise through interactions occuring at lower altitudes along a magnetic field line. Our study demonstrates that some storm time enhancements of dayside magnetospheric plasma near Lapprox.2--3 may be signatures of the positive phase of an F layer storm

  8. On the detection of magnetospheric radio bursts from Uranus and Neptune

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennel, C.F.; Maggs, J.E.

    1975-11-01

    Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn are sources of intense but sporadic bursts of electromagnetic radiation or magnetospheric radio bursts (MRB). The similarity of the differential power flux spectra of the MRB from all three planets is examined. The intensity of the MRB is scaled for the solar wind power input into a planetary magnetosphere. The possibility of detecting MRB from Uranus and Neptune is considered

  9. Principles of Stellar Interferometry

    CERN Document Server

    Glindemann, Andreas

    2011-01-01

    Over the last decade, stellar interferometry has developed from a specialist tool to a mainstream observing technique, attracting scientists whose research benefits from milliarcsecond angular resolution. Stellar interferometry has become part of the astronomer’s toolbox, complementing single-telescope observations by providing unique capabilities that will advance astronomical research. This carefully written book is intended to provide a solid understanding of the principles of stellar interferometry to students starting an astronomical research project in this field or to develop instruments and to astronomers using interferometry but who are not interferometrists per se. Illustrated by excellent drawings and calculated graphs the imaging process in stellar interferometers is explained starting from first principles on light propagation and diffraction wave propagation through turbulence is described in detail using Kolmogorov statistics the impact of turbulence on the imaging process is discussed both f...

  10. Multi-fluid simulations of the coupled solar wind-magnetosphere-ionsphere system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, J.

    2011-12-01

    This paper will review recent work done with the multi-fluid version of the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (MF-LFM) global MHD simulation code. We will concentrate on O+ outflow from the ionosphere and its importance for magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) coupling and also the importance of ionospheric conditions in determining the outflow. While the predominant method of coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere is electrodynamic, it has become apparent the mass flows from the ionosphere into the magnetosphere can have profound effects on both systems. The earliest models to attempt to incorporate this effect used very crude clouds of plasma near the Earth. The earliest MF-LFM results showed that depending on the details of the outflow - where, how much, how fast - very different magnetospheric responses could be found. Two approaches to causally driven models for the outflow have been developed for use in global simulations, the Polar Wind Outflow Model (PWOM), started at the Univ. of Michigan, and the model used by Bill Lotko and co-workers at Dartmouth. We will give a quick review of this model which is based on the empirical relation between outflow fluence and Poynting flux discovered by Strangeway. An additional factor used in this model is the precipitating flux of electrons, which is presumed to correlate with the scale height of the upwelling ions. parameters such as outflow speed and density are constrained by the total fluence. The effects of the outflow depend on the speed. Slower outflow tends to land in the inner magnetosphere increasing the strength of the ring current. Higher speed flow out in the tail. Using this model, simulations have shown that solar wind dynamic pressure has a profound effect on the amount of fluence. The most striking result has been the simulation of magnetospheric sawtooth events. We will discuss future directions for this research, emphasizing the need for better physical models for the outflow process and its coupling to the

  11. Statistical analyses in the study of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, D.N.

    1985-01-01

    Statistical analyses provide a valuable method for establishing initially the existence (or lack of existence) of a relationship between diverse data sets. Statistical methods also allow one to make quantitative assessments of the strengths of observed relationships. This paper reviews the essential techniques and underlying statistical bases for the use of correlative methods in solar wind-magnetosphere coupling studies. Techniques of visual correlation and time-lagged linear cross-correlation analysis are emphasized, but methods of multiple regression, superposed epoch analysis, and linear prediction filtering are also described briefly. The long history of correlation analysis in the area of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling is reviewed with the assessments organized according to data averaging time scales (minutes to years). It is concluded that these statistical methods can be very useful first steps, but that case studies and various advanced analysis methods should be employed to understand fully the average response of the magnetosphere to solar wind input. It is clear that many workers have not always recognized underlying assumptions of statistical methods and thus the significance of correlation results can be in doubt. Long-term averages (greater than or equal to 1 hour) can reveal gross relationships, but only when dealing with high-resolution data (1 to 10 min) can one reach conclusions pertinent to magnetospheric response time scales and substorm onset mechanisms

  12. Advanced stellarator power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, R.L.

    1994-01-01

    The stellarator is a class of helical/toroidal magnetic fusion devices. Recent international progress in stellarator power plant conceptual design is reviewed and comparisons in the areas of physics, engineering, and economics are made with recent tokamak design studies

  13. Magnetosphere of Uranus: plasma sources, convection, and field configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voigt, G.; Hill, T.W.; Dessler, A.J.

    1983-01-01

    At the time of the Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus, the planetary rotational axis will be roughly antiparallel to the solar wind flow. If Uranus has a magnetic dipole moment that is approximately aligned with its spin axis, and if the heliospheric shock has not been encountered, we will have the rare opportunity to observe a ''pole-on'' magnetosphere as discussed qualitatively by Siscoe. Qualitative arguments based on analogy with Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn suggest that the magnetosphere of Uranus may lack a source of plasma adequate to produce significant internal currents, internal convection, and associated effects. In order to provide a test of this hypothesis with the forthcoming Voyager measurements, we have constructed a class of approximately self-consistent quantitative magnetohydrostatic equilibrium configurations for a pole-on magnetosphere with variable plasma pressure parameters. Given a few simplifying assumptions, the geometries of the magnetic field and of the tail current sheet can be computed for a given distribution of trapped plasma pressure. The configurations have a single funnel-shaped polar cusp that points directly into the solar wind and a cylindrical tail plasma sheet whose currents close within the tail rather than on the tail magnetopause, and whose length depends on the rate of decrease of thermal plasma pressure down the tail. Interconnection between magnetospheric and interplanetary fields results in a highly asymmetric tail-field configuration. These features were predicted qualtitatively by Siscoe; the quantitative models presented here may be useful in the interpretation of Voyager encounter results

  14. Compact stellarator coils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pomphrey, N.; Berry, L.A.; Boozer, A.H.

    2001-01-01

    Experimental devices to study the physics of high-beta (β>∼4%), low aspect ratio (A<∼4.5) stellarator plasmas require coils that will produce plasmas satisfying a set of physics goals, provide experimental flexibility, and be practical to construct. In the course of designing a flexible coil set for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment, we have made several innovations that may be useful in future stellarator design efforts. These include: the use of Singular Value Decomposition methods for obtaining families of smooth current potentials on distant coil winding surfaces from which low current density solutions may be identified; the use of a Control Matrix Method for identifying which few of the many detailed elements of the stellarator boundary must be targeted if a coil set is to provide fields to control the essential physics of the plasma; the use of Genetic Algorithms for choosing an optimal set of discrete coils from a continuum of potential contours; the evaluation of alternate coil topologies for balancing the tradeoff between physics objective and engineering constraints; the development of a new coil optimization code for designing modular coils, and the identification of a 'natural' basis for describing current sheet distributions. (author)

  15. Use of the stellarator expansion to investigate plasma equilibrium in modular stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anania, G.; Johnson, J.L.; Weimer, K.E.

    1982-11-01

    A numerical code utilizing a large-aspect ratio, small-helical-distortion expansion is developed and used to investigate the effect of plasma currents on stellarator equilibrium. Application to modular stellarator configurations shows that a large rotational transform, and hence large coil deformation, is needed to achieve high-beta equilibria

  16. Effects of construction and operation of a satellite power system upon the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiu, Y.T.; Luhmann, J.G.; Schulz, M.; Cornwall, J.M.

    1979-01-01

    This is the final report of an initial assessment of magnetospheric effects of the construction and operation of a satellite power system. This assessment effort is based on application of present scientific knowledge rather than on original scientific research. As such, it appears that mass and energy injections of the system are sufficient to modify the magnetosphere substantially, to the extent of possibly requiring mitigation measures for space systems but not to the extent of causing major redirection of efforts and concepts. The scale of the SPS is so unprecedentedly large, however, that these impressions require verification (or rejection) by in-depth assessment based on scientific treatment of the principal issues. Indeed, it is perhaps appropriate to state that present ignorance far exceeds present knowledge in regard to SPS magnetospheric effects, even though we only seek to define the approximate limits of magnetospheric modifications here

  17. Stellar CME candidates: towards a stellar CME-flare relation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevi Moschou, Sofia; Drake, Jeremy J.; Cohen, Ofer; Alvarado-Gomez, Julian D.; Garraffo, Cecilia

    2018-06-01

    For decades the Sun has been the only star that allowed for direct CME observations. Recently, with the discovery of multiple extrasolar systems, it has become imperative that the role of stellar CMEs be assessed in the context of exoplanetary habitability. Solar CMEs and flares show a higher association with increasing flaring energy, with strong flares corresponding to large and fast CMEs. As argued in earlier studies, extrasolar environments around active stars are potentially dominated by CMEs, as a result of their extreme flaring activity. This has strong implications for the energy budget of the system and the atmospheric erosion of orbiting planets.Nevertheless, with current instrumentation we are unable to directly observe CMEs in even the closest stars, and thus we have to look for indirect techniques and observational evidence and signatures for the eruption of stellar CMEs. There are three major observational techniques for tracing CME signatures in other stellar systems, namely measuring Type II radio bursts, Doppler shifts in UV/optical lines or transient absorption in the X-ray spectrum. We present observations of the most probable stellar CME candidates captured so far and examine the different observational techniques used together with their levels of uncertainty. Assuming that they were CMEs, we try to asses their kinematic and energetic characteristics and place them in an extension of the well-established solar CME-flare energy scaling law. We finish by discussing future observations for direct measurements.

  18. The aurora at quite magnetospheric conditions: Repeatability and dipole tilt angle dependence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oznovich, I.; Eastes, R.W.; Huffman, R.E.; Tur, M.; Glaser, I.

    1993-01-01

    Is there a magnetospheric ground state? Do the position and size of the auroral oval depend on the magnetic dipole tilt angle at quiet magnetospheric conditions? In order to address these questions, northern hemisphere images of the aurora at 1356 Angstrom, obtained by Polar BEAR at solar minimum (beginning of 1987), were related to high temporal resolution IPM 8 measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field, to solar wind velocity, and to the ground-based activity index Kp. The first problem was addressed by a two-dimensional correlation study of the repeatability of auroral emissions in corrected geomagnetic space at conditions of minimum energy transfer from the magnetosphere. The correlation measure of auroral images was 0.6-0.85. Error simulations indicate that given the uncertainties in pixel position and intensity, the maximum expected value of the correlation measure is 0.65-0.9. The notion of a ground state magnetosphere is therefore supported by this data. Repeatability was found at the same level regardless of time or reconfigurations of the magnetosphere between images and independent of magnetic time sector. The second problem was addressed by relating latitudinal shifts of the aurora with dipole tilt angle without resorting to auroral boundary specification. This data indicate that the latitude of the continuous aurora is related to the dipole tilt angle at quiet magnetospheric conditions. In the winter hemisphere a 10 degrees increase in the dipole tilt angle causes a 1 degree decrease (increase) in the latitude of auroral emissions at noon (midnight). The magnetic local time distribution of the latitudinal shifts with dipole tilt angle support a simple model in which the dipole tilt angle determines the position of the center of the auroral circle along the magnetic meridian 1320-0120 MLT (for IMF B y positive) and does not affect its radius. 22 refs., 8 figs

  19. A Cumulant-based Analysis of Nonlinear Magnetospheric Dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Jay R.; Wing, Simon

    2004-01-01

    Understanding magnetospheric dynamics and predicting future behavior of the magnetosphere is of great practical interest because it could potentially help to avert catastrophic loss of power and communications. In order to build good predictive models it is necessary to understand the most critical nonlinear dependencies among observed plasma and electromagnetic field variables in the coupled solar wind/magnetosphere system. In this work, we apply a cumulant-based information dynamical measure to characterize the nonlinear dynamics underlying the time evolution of the Dst and Kp geomagnetic indices, given solar wind magnetic field and plasma input. We examine the underlying dynamics of the system, the temporal statistical dependencies, the degree of nonlinearity, and the rate of information loss. We find a significant solar cycle dependence in the underlying dynamics of the system with greater nonlinearity for solar minimum. The cumulant-based approach also has the advantage that it is reliable even in the case of small data sets and therefore it is possible to avoid the assumption of stationarity, which allows for a measure of predictability even when the underlying system dynamics may change character. Evaluations of several leading Kp prediction models indicate that their performances are sub-optimal during active times. We discuss possible improvements of these models based on this nonparametric approach

  20. Dynamics of electrons and heavy ions in Mercury's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ip, W.H.

    1987-01-01

    The present investigation of Mercury magnetosphere processes employs simple models for the adiabatic acceleration and convection of equatorially mirroring charged particles, as well as the current sheet acceleration effect and the acceleration of such exospheric ions as that of Na(+) by both electric and magnetic magnetospheric fields near Mercury's surface. The large gyroradii of such heavy ions as those of Na allow surface reimpact as well as magnetopause-interception losses to occur; gyromotion-derived kinetic energy could in the case of the latter process account for the loss of as many as half of the planet's exospheric ions. 27 references

  1. Stellar wind theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Summers, D.

    1980-01-01

    The theory of stellar winds as given by the equations of classical fluid dynamics is considered. The equations of momentum and energy describing a steady, spherically symmetric, heat-conducting, viscous stellar wind are cast in a dimensionless form which involves a thermal conduction parameter E and a viscosity parameter γ. An asymptotic analysis is carried out, for fixed γ, in the cases E→O and E→infinity (corresponding to small and large thermal conductivity, respectively), and it is found that it is possible to construct critical solutions for the wind velocity and temperature over the entire flow. The E→O solution represents a wind which emanates from the star at low, subsonic speeds, accelerates through a sonic point, and then approaches a constant asymptotic speed, with its temperature varying as r/sup -4/3/ at large distances r from the star; the E→infinity solution represents a wind which, after reaching an approximately constant speed, with temperature varying as r/sup -2/7/, decelerates through a diffuse shock and approaches a finite pressure at infinity. A categorization is made of all critical stellar wind solutions for given values of γ and E, and actual numerical examples are given. Numerical solutions are obtained by integrating upstream 'from infinity' from initial values of the flow parameters given by appropriate asymptotic expansions. The role of viscosity in stellar wind theory is discussed, viscous and inviscid stellar wind solutions are compared, and it is suggested that with certain limitations, the theory presented may be useful in analyzing winds from solar-type stars

  2. Stellarator fusion neutronics research in Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimin, S.; Cross, R.C.

    1997-01-01

    The new status of the H-INF Heliac Stellaralor as a National Facility and the signed international Implementing Agreement on 'Collaboration in the Development of the Stellarator Concept' represents a significant encouragement for further fusion research in Australia. In this report the future of fusion research in Australia is discussed with special attention being paid to the importance of Stellarator power plant studies and in particular stellarator fusion neutronics. The main differences between tokamak and stellarator neutronics analyses are identified, namely the neutron wall loading, geometrical modelling and total heating in in-vessel reactor components including toroidal field (TF) coils. Due to the more complicated nature of stellarator neutronics analyses, simplified approaches to fusion neutronics already developed for tokamaks are expected to be even more important and widely used for designing a Conceptual Stellarator Power Plant

  3. Whistler instability in a magnetospheric duct

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talukdar, I.; Tripathi, V.K.; Jain, V.K.

    1989-01-01

    A whistler wave propagating through a preformed magnetospheric duct is susceptible to growth/amplification by an electron beam. The interaction is non-local and could be of Cerenkov or slow-cyclotron type. First-order perturbation theory is employed to obtain the growth rate for flat and Gaussian beam densities. (author)

  4. The Magnetospheric Boundary in Cataclysmic Variables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hellier Coel

    2014-01-01

    During outbursts, when the accretion flow increases by orders of magnitude, the disk pushes the magnetosphere inwards, and appears to feed field lines over a much greater range of magnetic azimuth. The non-equilibrium outburst behaviour shows an even richer phenomenology than in quiescence, adding DNOs and QPOs into the mix.

  5. Analysis of multidimensional measurements of electromagnetic waves in the Earth's magnetosphere

    OpenAIRE

    Pechal, Radim

    2011-01-01

    Title: Analysis of multidimensional measurements of electromagnetic waves in the Earth's magnetosphere Author: Radim Pechal Department: Department of Surface and Plasma Science Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Lubomír Přech, Dr. Supervisor's e-mail address: Abstract: The thesis introduces into basic knowledge of waves in plasma, especially waves in the Earth's magnetosphere. There are mentioned some space projects focused on chorus waves. The second part of this thesis is a la...

  6. Dawn-dusk asymmetry in particles of solar wind origin within the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. J. Stubbs

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Solar wind/magnetosheath plasma in the magnetosphere can be identified using a component that has a higher charge state, lower density and, at least soon after their entry into the magnetosphere, lower energy than plasma from a terrestrial source. We survey here observations taken over 3 years of He2+ ions made by the Magnetospheric Ion Composition Sensor (MICS of the Charge and Mass Magnetospheric Ion Composition Experiment (CAMMICE instrument aboard POLAR. The occurrence probability of these solar wind ions is then plotted as a function of Magnetic Local Time (MLT and invariant latitude (7 for various energy ranges. For all energies observed by MICS (1.8–21.4 keV and all solar wind conditions, the occurrence probabilities peaked around the cusp region and along the dawn flank. The solar wind conditions were filtered to see if this dawnward asymmetry is controlled by the Svalgaard-Mansurov effect (and so depends on the BY component of the interplanetary magnetic field, IMF or by Fermi acceleration of He2+ at the bow shock (and so depends on the IMF ratio BX /BY . It is shown that the asymmetry remained persistently on the dawn flank, suggesting it was not due to effects associated with direct entry into the magnetosphere. This asymmetry, with enhanced fluxes on the dawn flank, persisted for lower energy ions (below a "cross-over" energy of about 23 keV but reversed sense to give higher fluxes on the dusk flank at higher energies. This can be explained by the competing effects of gradient/curvature drifts and the convection electric field on ions that are convecting sunward on re-closed field lines. The lower-energy He2+ ions E × B drift dawnwards as they move earthward, whereas the higher energy ions curvature/ gradient drift towards dusk. The convection electric field in the tail is weaker for northward IMF. Ions then need less energy to drift to the dusk flank, so that the cross-over energy, at which the asymmetry changes sense, is reduced

  7. The Galactic stellar disc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feltzing, S; Bensby, T

    2008-01-01

    The study of the Milky Way stellar discs in the context of galaxy formation is discussed. In particular, we explore the properties of the Milky Way disc using a new sample of about 550 dwarf stars for which we have recently obtained elemental abundances and ages based on high-resolution spectroscopy. For all the stars we also have full kinematic information as well as information about their stellar orbits. We confirm results from previous studies that the thin and the thick discs have distinct abundance patterns. But we also explore a larger range of orbital parameters than what has been possible in our previous studies. Several new results are presented. We find that stars that reach high above the Galactic plane and have eccentric orbits show remarkably tight abundance trends. This implies that these stars formed out of well-mixed gas that had been homogenized over large volumes. We find some evidence that suggest that the event that most likely caused the heating of this stellar population happened a few billion years ago. Through a simple, kinematic exploration of stars with super-solar [Fe/H], we show that the solar neighbourhood contains metal-rich, high velocity stars that are very likely associated with the thick disc. Additionally, the HR1614 moving group and the Hercules and Arcturus stellar streams are discussed and it is concluded that, probably, a large fraction of the groups and streams so far identified in the disc are the result of evolution and interactions within the stellar disc rather than being dissolved stellar clusters or engulfed dwarf galaxies.

  8. Quasisymmetry equations for conventional stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustovitov, V.D.

    1994-11-01

    General quasisymmetry condition, which demands the independence of B 2 on one of the angular Boozer coordinates, is reduced to two equations containing only geometrical characteristics and helical field of a stellarator. The analysis is performed for conventional stellarators with a planar circular axis using standard stellarator expansion. As a basis, the invariant quasisymmetry condition is used. The quasisymmetry equations for stellarators are obtained from this condition also in an invariant form. Simplified analogs of these equations are given for the case when averaged magnetic surfaces are circular shifted torii. It is shown that quasisymmetry condition can be satisfied, in principle, in a conventional stellarator by a proper choice of two satellite harmonics of the helical field in addition to the main harmonic. Besides, there appears a restriction on the shift of magnetic surfaces. Thus, in general, the problem is closely related with that of self-consistent description of a configuration. (author)

  9. A case study testing the cavity mode model of the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. V. Sarafopoulos

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Based on a case study we test the cavity mode model of the magnetosphere, looking for eigenfrequencies via multi-satellite and multi-instrument measurements. Geotail and ACE provide information on the interplanetary medium that dictates the input parameters of the system; the four Cluster satellites monitor the magnetopause surface waves; the POLAR (L=9.4 and LANL 97A (L=6.6 satellites reveal two in-situ monochromatic field line resonances (FLRs with T=6 and 2.5 min, respectively; and the IMAGE ground magnetometers demonstrate latitude dependent delays in signature arrival times, as inferred by Sarafopoulos (2004b. Similar dispersive structures showing systematic delays are also extensively scrutinized by Sarafopoulos (2005 and interpreted as tightly associated with the so-called pseudo-FLRs, which show almost the same observational characteristics with an authentic FLR. In particular for this episode, successive solar wind pressure pulses produce recurring ionosphere twin vortex Hall currents which are identified on the ground as pseudo-FLRs. The BJN ground magnetometer records the pseudo-FLR (alike with the other IMAGE station responses associated with an intense power spectral density ranging from 8 to 12 min and, in addition, two discrete resonant lines with T=3.5 and 7 min. In this case study, even though the magnetosphere is evidently affected by a broad-band compressional wave originated upstream of the bow shock, nevertheless, we do not identify any cavity mode oscillation within the magnetosphere. We fail, also, to identify any of the cavity mode frequencies proposed by Samson (1992.

    Keywords. Magnetospheric physics (Magnetosphereionosphere interactions; Solar wind-magnetosphere interactions; MHD waves and instabilities

  10. Propagation of microwaves in pulsar magnetospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bodo, G; Ferrari, A [Turin Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Fisica Generale; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Turin (Italy). Lab. di Cosmo-Geofisica); Massaglia, S [Turin Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Fisica Generale; Cambridge Univ. (UK). Inst. of Astronomy)

    1981-12-01

    We discuss the dispersion relation of linearly-polarized waves, propagating along a strong background magnetic field embedded in an electron-positron plasma. The results are then applied to the study of the propagation conditions of coherent curvature radio radiation inside neutron stars magnetospheres, as produced by electric discharges following current pulsar models.

  11. Stellar formation

    CERN Document Server

    Reddish, V C

    1978-01-01

    Stellar Formation brings together knowledge about the formation of stars. In seeking to determine the conditions necessary for star formation, this book examines questions such as how, where, and why stars form, and at what rate and with what properties. This text also considers whether the formation of a star is an accident or an integral part of the physical properties of matter. This book consists of 13 chapters divided into two sections and begins with an overview of theories that explain star formation as well as the state of knowledge of star formation in comparison to stellar structure

  12. Coupling of the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere/Thermosphere and Oxygen Outflow-- MIT Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, S.

    2017-12-01

    The goal of the MIT mission is to understand the coupling of the magnetosphere and ionosphere from the prospective of particles. It will focus on the outflow of the ionosphere particles (mainly oxygen ions) from the Earth, including the acceleration mechanisms of oxygen ions and their relative importance in different regions, the importance of these ions while transferred into the magnetosphere and the roles they played in magnetosphere activities. A constellation of four satellites orbiting at three elliptical orbits will provide the unique opportunities to observed there ions at three different altitude with temporal changes of the flux of these particles and the magnetic field environments. The conceptual design of the spacecraft and a summary of the payload will be presented. The MIT mission was selected as one of the five candidates for the upcoming mission plan in China.

  13. The use of electron beams as probes of the distant magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winckler, J.R.

    1982-01-01

    This chapter reports on experiments in which electron beams have been injected into the magnetosphere in order to diagnose plasma processes at a great distance by measurements made in the ionosphere. Topics considered include the beam injecting rocket system in the ionosphere; beam detection and analysis; echo detection by particle counters; echo analysis; the structure of echoes; the atmosphere as a detector; radio and radar methods; perturbation of the distant magnetosphere by beam injection; changes in the injected beam in the near-rocket region; some observations of the distant magnetosphere by beams; the comparison of distant and local electric fields; electron diffusion; the distant magnetic field; and future possibilities. Conjugate locations, field line lengths, electric and magnetic drifts, field fluctuations, and electron scattering and diffusion are analyzed. Echo detection by particle counters on some of the ECHO rocket series is discussed in detail

  14. Optimizing Stellarators for Turbulent Transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mynick, H.E.; Pomphrey, N.; Xanthopoulos, P.

    2010-01-01

    Up to now, the term 'transport-optimized' stellarators has meant optimized to minimize neoclassical transport, while the task of also mitigating turbulent transport, usually the dominant transport channel in such designs, has not been addressed, due to the complexity of plasma turbulence in stellarators. Here, we demonstrate that stellarators can also be designed to mitigate their turbulent transport, by making use of two powerful numerical tools not available until recently, namely gyrokinetic codes valid for 3D nonlinear simulations, and stellarator optimization codes. A first proof-of-principle configuration is obtained, reducing the level of ion temperature gradient turbulent transport from the NCSX baseline design by a factor of about 2.5.

  15. Stellar Structure and Evolution

    CERN Document Server

    Kippenhahn, Rudolf; Weiss, Achim

    2013-01-01

    This long-awaited second edition of the classical textbook on Stellar Structure and Evolution by Kippenhahn and Weigert is a thoroughly revised version of the original text. Taking into account modern observational constraints as well as additional physical effects such as mass loss and diffusion, Achim Weiss and Rudolf Kippenhahn have succeeded in bringing the book up to the state-of-the-art with respect to both the presentation of stellar physics and the presentation and interpretation of current sophisticated stellar models. The well-received and proven pedagogical approach of the first edition has been retained. The book provides a comprehensive treatment of the physics of the stellar interior and the underlying fundamental processes and parameters. The models developed to explain the stability, dynamics and evolution of the stars are presented and great care is taken to detail the various stages in a star’s life. Just as the first edition, which remained a standard work for more than 20 years after its...

  16. MESSENGER observations of magnetic reconnection in Mercury's magnetosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, James A; Acuña, Mario H; Anderson, Brian J; Baker, Daniel N; Benna, Mehdi; Boardsen, Scott A; Gloeckler, George; Gold, Robert E; Ho, George C; Korth, Haje; Krimigis, Stamatios M; McNutt, Ralph L; Raines, Jim M; Sarantos, Menelaos; Schriver, David; Solomon, Sean C; Trávnícek, Pavel; Zurbuchen, Thomas H

    2009-05-01

    Solar wind energy transfer to planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres is controlled by magnetic reconnection, a process that determines the degree of connectivity between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a planet's magnetic field. During MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury, a steady southward IMF was observed and the magnetopause was threaded by a strong magnetic field, indicating a reconnection rate ~10 times that typical at Earth. Moreover, a large flux transfer event was observed in the magnetosheath, and a plasmoid and multiple traveling compression regions were observed in Mercury's magnetotail, all products of reconnection. These observations indicate that Mercury's magnetosphere is much more responsive to IMF direction and dominated by the effects of reconnection than that of Earth or the other magnetized planets.

  17. Enhanced ionosphere-magnetosphere data from the DMSP satellites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rich, F.J.; Hardy, D.A.; Gussenhoven, M.S.

    1985-01-01

    The satellites of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) represent a series of low-altitude (835 km) polar-orbiting satellites. Their primary objective is related to the observation of the tropospheric weather with a high-resolution white light and infrared imaging system. It is also possible to make images of auroras. On a daily basis, information about auroras is used to assist various communication systems which are affected by the ionospheric disturbances associated with auroras. In the past few years, there have been several improvements in the ionospheric monitoring instrumentation. Since the high-latitude ionosphere is connected to the magnetosphere, the DMSP data are used to monitor magnetospheric processes. The instrumentation of the DMSP satellites is discussed, taking into account the data provided by them. 7 references

  18. IMF BY and the seasonal dependences of the electric field in the inner magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Matsui

    2005-10-01

    Full Text Available It is known that the electric field pattern at high latitudes depends on the polarity of the Y component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF BY and season. In this study, we investigate the seasonal and BY dependences in the inner magnetosphere using the perigee (4magnetosphere. These data are sorted by the polarities of IMF BZ and BY, and by seasons or hemispheres. It is demonstrated from our statistics that the electric fields in the inner magnetosphere depend on these quantities. The following three points are inferred: 1 The electric fields exhibit some differences statistically between Cluster locations at the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with the same dipole L and magnetic local time (MLT values and during the same IMF conditions. These differences in the electric fields might result from hemispherical differences in magnetic field geometry and/or those in field-aligned potential difference. 2 The IMF BY and seasonal dependence of the dawnside and duskside electric fields at 4magnetosphere measured by Cluster is often similar to that in the magnetotail lobe. In the future, it will be necessary to incorporate these dependencies on IMF BY and season into a realistic model of the inner magnetospheric convection electric field. Keywords. Magnetospheric physics (Electric fields; Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions; Solar windmagnetosphere interactions

  19. Results of Compact Stellarator Engineering Trade Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Tom; Bromberg, L.; Cole, M.

    2009-01-01

    A number of technical requirements and performance criteria can drive stellarator costs, e.g., tight tolerances, accurate coil positioning, low aspect ratio (compactness), choice of assembly strategy, metrology, and complexity of the stellarator coil geometry. With the completion of a seven-year design and construction effort of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) it is useful to interject the NCSX experience along with the collective experiences of the NCSX stellarator community to improving the stellarator configuration. Can improvements in maintenance be achieved by altering the stellarator magnet configuration with changes in the coil shape or with the combination of trim coils? Can a mechanical configuration be identified that incorporates a partial set of shaped fixed stellarator coils along with some removable coil set to enhance the overall machine maintenance? Are there other approaches that will simplify the concepts, improve access for maintenance, reduce overall cost and improve the reliability of a stellarator based power plant? Using ARIES-CS and NCSX as reference cases, alternative approaches have been studied and developed to show how these modifications would favorably impact the stellarator power plant and experimental projects. The current status of the alternate stellarator configurations being developed will be described and a comparison made to the recently designed and partially built NCSX device and the ARIES-CS reactor design study

  20. Results of Compact Stellarator Engineering Trade Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, T.; Bromberg, L.; Cole, M.

    2009-01-01

    A number of technical requirements and performance criteria can drive stellarator costs, e.g., tight tolerances, accurate coil positioning, low aspect ratio (compactness), choice of assembly strategy, metrology, and complexity of the stellarator coil geometry. With the completion of a seven-year design and construction effort of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) it is useful to interject the NCSX experience along with the collective experiences of the NCSX stellarator community to improving the stellarator configuration. Can improvements in maintenance be achieved by altering the stellarator magnet configuration with changes in the coil shape or with the combination of trim coils? Can a mechanical configuration be identified that incorporates a partial set of shaped fixed stellarator coils along with some removable coil set to enhance the overall machine maintenance? Are there other approaches that will simplify the concepts, improve access for maintenance, reduce overall cost and improve the reliability of a stellarator based power plant? Using ARIES-CS and NCSX as reference cases, alternative approaches have been studied and developed to show how these modifications would favorably impact the stellarator power plant and experimental projects. The current status of the alternate stellarator configurations being developed will be described and a comparison made to the recently designed and partially built NCSX device and the ARIES-CS reactor design study.

  1. The Structure of Martian Magnetosphere at the Dayside Terminator Region as Observed on MAVEN Spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaisberg, O. L.; Ermakov, V. N.; Shuvalov, S. D.; Zelenyi, L. M.; Halekas, J.; DiBraccio, G. A.; McFadden, J.; Dubinin, E. M.

    2018-04-01

    We analyzed 44 passes of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission (MAVEN) spacecraft through the magnetosphere, arranged by the angle between electric field vector and the projection of spacecraft position radius vector in the plane perpendicular to the Mars-Sun line (θE). All passes were divided into three angular sectors near 0°, 90°, and 180° θE angles in order to estimate the role of the interplanetary magnetic field direction in plasma and magnetic properties of dayside Martian magnetosphere. The time interval chosen was from 17 January to 4 February 2016 when MAVEN was crossing the dayside magnetosphere at solar zenith angle 70°. Magnetosphere as the region with prevailing energetic planetary ions is always found between the magnetosheath and the ionosphere. The analysis of dayside interaction region showed that for each angular sector with different orientation of the solar wind electric field vector E = -1/c V × B one can find specific profiles of the magnetosheath, the magnetic barrier (Michel, 1971, https://doi.org/10.1029/RG009i002p00427; Zhang et al., 1991, https://doi.org/10.1029/91JA00088), and the magnetosphere. Magnetic barrier forms in front of the magnetosphere, and relative magnetic field magnitudes in these two domains vary. The average height of the boundary with ionosphere is 530 km, and the average height of the magnetopause is 730 km. We discuss the implications of the observed magnetosphere structure to the planetary ions loss mechanism.

  2. Coupling between the solar wind and the magnetosphere: CDAW 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsurutani, B.T.; Slavin, J.A.; Kamide, Y.; Zwickl, R.D.; King, J.H.; Russell, C.T.

    1985-01-01

    Interplanetary conditions (VB 3 , V 2 B 3 and epsilon-c) are derived from ISEE 3 and IMP 8 field and plasma data for the two Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop (CDAW 6) intervals of study and are compared with various aspects of geomagnetic activity (AE, U/sub T/, derived Joule heating, electric potential, westward eastward and total electrojet currents). The March 22 (day 81), 1979, interval contains two distinct periods of geomagnetic activity, both highly correlated with interplanetary features. The start of the first active interval is caused by a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) associated with the passage of a heliospheric current sheet. The start of the second interval is related to a second IMF southward turning. The geomagnetic activity intensifies when the second crossing of the current sheet, and a ram pressure increase of 4 to 6, impinges on the magnetosphere. Because the interplanetary parameters VB 3 , V 2 B 3 and epsilon-c decrease across the discontinuity, it is concluded that either additional energy is injected into the magnetosphere from the conversion of ram energy into magnetospheric substorm energy or some feature associated with current sheet crossing ''triggers'' the release of previously stored magnetosphere/magnetotail energy. It is not possible at this time to distinguish between these two possibilities. For day 81, VB 3 , V 2 4 3 , and epsilon-c were highly correlated with AL, AE, westward and equivalent currents with coefficients ranging from approx.0.75 to 0.90

  3. Mercury's Solar Wind Interaction as Characterized by Magnetospheric Plasma Mantle Observations With MESSENGER

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jasinski, Jamie M.; Slavin, James A.; Raines, Jim M.; DiBraccio, Gina A.

    2017-12-01

    We analyze 94 traversals of Mercury's southern magnetospheric plasma mantle using data from the MESSENGER spacecraft. The mean and median proton number densities in the mantle are 1.5 and 1.3 cm-3, respectively. For sodium number density these values are 0.004 and 0.002 cm-3. Moderately higher densities are observed on the magnetospheric dusk side. The mantle supplies up to 1.5 × 108 cm-2 s-1 and 0.8 × 108 cm-2 s-1 of proton and sodium flux to the plasma sheet, respectively. We estimate the cross-electric magnetospheric potential from each observation and find a mean of 19 kV (standard deviation of 16 kV) and a median of 13 kV. This is an important result as it is lower than previous estimations and shows that Mercury's magnetosphere is at times not as highly driven by the solar wind as previously thought. Our values are comparable to the estimations for the ice giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, but lower than Earth. The estimated potentials do have a very large range of values (1-74 kV), showing that Mercury's magnetosphere is highly dynamic. A correlation of the potential is found to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) magnitude, supporting evidence that dayside magnetic reconnection can occur at all shear angles at Mercury. But we also see that Mercury has an Earth-like magnetospheric response, favoring -BZ IMF orientation. We find evidence that -BX orientations in the IMF favor the southern cusp and southern mantle. This is in agreement with telescopic observations of exospheric emission, but in disagreement with modeling.

  4. Thermosphere as a sink of magnetospheric energy - a review of recent observations of dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Killeen, T.L.

    1985-01-01

    It is pointed out that the past few years have seen an unprecedented influx of new experimental information on the dynamics of the neutral upper atmosphere of the earth. Vector wind measurements provide new information for studies of the thermospheric response to magnetospheric forcing. This response occurs through the medium of convecting ionospheric ions set into motion by electric fields of magnetospheric origin. The ultimate sink for much of the energy and momentum coming from the magnetosphere is the neutral thermosphere whose dynamics have, in the past, received far less attention than their ionospheric counterpart because of basic experimental limitations. In this paper, a review is provided of the progress made in the last few years on the basis of the Dynamics Explorer neutral wind observations, taking into account the coupling between the magnetosphere and the thermosphere via the ionosphere. 26 references

  5. Solar wind dynamic pressure variations and transient magnetospheric signatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sibeck, D.G.; Baumjohann, W.

    1989-01-01

    Contrary to the prevailing popular view, we find some transient ground events with bipolar north-south signatures are related to variations in solar wind dynamic pressure and not necessarily to magnetic merging. We present simultaneous solar wind plasma observations for two previously reported transient ground events observed at dayside auroral latitudes. During the first event, originally reported by Lanzerotti et al. [1987], conjugate ground magnetometers recorded north-south magetic field deflections in the east-west and vertical directions. The second event was reported by Todd et al. [1986], we noted ground rader observations indicating strong northward then southward ionospheric flows. The events were associated with the postulated signatures of patchy, sporadic, merging of magnetosheath and magnetospheric magnetic field lines at the dayside magnetospause, known as flux transfer events. Conversely, we demonstrate that the event reported by Lanzerotti et al. was accompanied by a sharp increase in solar wind dynamic pressure, a magnetospheric compression, and a consequent ringing of the magnetospheric magnetic field. The event reported by Todd et al. was associated with a brief but sharp increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure. copyright American Geophysical Union 1989

  6. Modeling of the propagation of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the Earth’s magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedev, N. V.; Rudenko, V. V.

    2015-01-01

    A numerical algorithm for solving the set of differential equations describing the propagation of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the magnetospheric plasma, including in the presence of geomagnetic waveguides in the form of large-scale plasma density inhomogeneities stretched along the Earth’s magnetic field, has been developed. Calculations of three-dimensional ray trajectories in the magnetosphere and geomagnetic waveguide with allowance for radiation polarization have revealed characteristic tendencies in the behavior of electromagnetic parameters along the ray trajectory. The results of calculations can be used for magnetospheric plasma diagnostics

  7. Actions of magnetospheres on planetary atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hultqvist, Bengt.

    1989-12-01

    Planet Earth is rather special in terms of transfer of magnetospheric energy to the atmosphere (apart from Jupiter, which is extreme in almost all respects). The auroral particle energy input rate to the atmosphere per unit area, and therefore the resulting auroral emission intensity, is second only to that of Jupiter. The contribution of the Joule heating to the heating of the upper atmosphere, measured in terms of the energetic particle precipitation power, is probably larger on Earth than on all the other planets, possibly with the exception of Uranus (and perhaps Neptune, which we know nothing of when this is written). For all those planets which have a corotating plasmasphere extending to the magnetopause, the Joule heating power is small compared with the precipitating particle power. The extremely successful Pioneer and Voyager missions have provided us with most impressive sets of data from the outer planets and Phobos has recently added unique new data from Mars. Still, the conclusion that the observational basis for our understanding of the physics of the magnetosphere-atmosphere interactions at all the planets other than Earth is very limited, is a self-evident one. Even at Earth many aspects of this interaction are frontline areas of research. The grand tour of the Voyagers has demonstrated very clearly how different the magnetospheres and atmospheres of the various planets are and the very high degree of complexity of the plasma systems around the planets. Most questions of physics are still unanswered; those related to source and sink processes of the plasma and energetic particles being one set of examples. The Galileo and Cassini-Huygens missions will certainly contribute in very important ways to the answering of many open questions. (147 refs.)

  8. UK review of radio science, 1984-1986. Ionosphere and magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rishbeth, H.; Jones, D.

    1986-12-01

    The paper contains the United Kingdom (U.K.) review of Radio Science, 1984-1986, covering ionospheric and magnetospheric science. This is the current UK contribution towards an international review published by the International Union of Radio Science (URSI). The UK review is divided into topics prescribed by URSI and covers work that is actually published within the period October 1983 - Sept. 1986, also as prescribed by URSI. The topics discussed in the review include: incoherent and coherent scatter, probing the magnetosphere, plasma instabilities, ionospheric modification, composition, ionization and chemistry and ionospheric dynamics. (U.K.)

  9. Fast Plasma Investigation for Magnetospheric Multiscale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollock, C.; Moore, T.; Coffey, V.; Dorelli J.; Giles, B.; Adrian, M.; Chandler, M.; Duncan, C.; Figueroa-Vinas, A.; Garcia, K.; hide

    2016-01-01

    The Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI) was developed for flight on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission to measure the differential directional flux of magnetospheric electrons and ions with unprecedented time resolution to resolve kinetic-scale plasma dynamics. This increased resolution has been accomplished by placing four dual 180-degree top hat spectrometers for electrons and four dual 180-degree top hat spectrometers for ions around the periphery of each of four MMS spacecraft. Using electrostatic field-of-view deflection, the eight spectrometers for each species together provide 4pi-sr-field-of-view with, at worst, 11.25-degree sample spacing. Energy/charge sampling is provided by swept electrostatic energy/charge selection over the range from 10 eVq to 30000 eVq. The eight dual spectrometers on each spacecraft are controlled and interrogated by a single block redundant Instrument Data Processing Unit, which in turn interfaces to the observatory's Instrument Suite Central Instrument Data processor. This paper described the design of FPI, its ground and in-flight calibration, its operational concept, and its data products.

  10. A kinetic approach to magnetospheric modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whipple, E.C. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The earth's magnetosphere is caused by the interaction between the flowing solar wind and the earth's magnetic dipole, with the distorted magnetic field in the outer parts of the magnetosphere due to the current systems resulting from this interaction. It is surprising that even the conceptually simple problem of the collisionless interaction of a flowing plasma with a dipole magnetic field has not been solved. A kinetic approach is essential if one is to take into account the dispersion of particles with different energies and pitch angles and the fact that particles on different trajectories have different histories and may come from different sources. Solving the interaction problem involves finding the various types of possible trajectories, populating them with particles appropriately, and then treating the electric and magnetic fields self-consistently with the resulting particle densities and currents. This approach is illustrated by formulating a procedure for solving the collisionless interaction problem on open field lines in the case of a slowly flowing magnetized plasma interacting with a magnetic dipole

  11. A kinetic approach to magnetospheric modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whipple, E. C., Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The earth's magnetosphere is caused by the interaction between the flowing solar wind and the earth's magnetic dipole, with the distorted magnetic field in the outer parts of the magnetosphere due to the current systems resulting from this interaction. It is surprising that even the conceptually simple problem of the collisionless interaction of a flowing plasma with a dipole magnetic field has not been solved. A kinetic approach is essential if one is to take into account the dispersion of particles with different energies and pitch angles and the fact that particles on different trajectories have different histories and may come from different sources. Solving the interaction problem involves finding the various types of possible trajectories, populating them with particles appropriately, and then treating the electric and magnetic fields self-consistently with the resulting particle densities and currents. This approach is illustrated by formulating a procedure for solving the collisionless interaction problem on open field lines in the case of a slowly flowing magnetized plasma interacting with a magnetic dipole.

  12. Electron and ion Bernstein waves in Saturnian Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashir, M. F.; Waheed, A.; Ilie, R.; Naeem, I.; Maqsood, U.; Yoon, P. H.

    2017-12-01

    The study of Bernstein mode is presented in order to interpret the observed micro-structures (MIS) and banded emission (BEM) in the Saturnian magnetosphere. The general dispersion relation of Bernstein wave is derived using the Lerche-NewBerger sum rule for the kappa distribution function and further analyzed the both electron Bernstein (EB) and ion Bernstein (IB) waves. The observational data of particle measurements is obtained from the electron spectrometer (ELS) and the ion mass spectrometer (IMS), which are part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) instrument suite on board the Cassini spacecraft. For additional electron data, the measurements of Low Energy Magnetospheric Measurements System of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (LEMMS /MIMI) are also utilized. The effect of kappa spectral index, density ratio (nohe/noce for EB and nohe/noi for IB) and the temperature ratio (The/Tce for EB and The/T(h,c)i for IB) on the dispersion properties are discussed employing the exact numerical analysis to explain the appearing of additional maxima/minima (points where the perpendicular group velocity vanishes, i.e., ∂w/∂k = 0) above/below the lower (for IB) and upper hybrid (EB) bands in the observation and their relation to the MIS and BED. The results of these waves may also be compared with the simulation results of Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) .

  13. Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Connerney, J. E. P.; Adriani, Alberto; Allegrini, F.

    2017-01-01

    The Juno spacecraft acquired direct observations of the jovian magnetosphere and auroral emissions from a vantage point above the poles. Juno's capture orbit spanned the jovian magnetosphere from bow shock to the planet, providing magnetic field, charged particle, and wave phenomena context...

  14. Targeted Optimization of Quasi-Symmetric Stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hegna, Chris C.; Talmadge, J. N.

    2016-01-01

    The proposed research focuses on targeted areas of plasma physics dedicated to improving the stellarator concept. Research was pursued in the technical areas of edge/divertor physics in 3D configurations, magnetic island physics in stellarators, the role of 3D shaping on microinstabilities and turbulent transport and energetic ion confinement in stellarators.

  15. Targeted Optimization of Quasi-Symmetric Stellarators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hegna, Chris C. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Engineering Physics; Anderson, D. T. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Talmadge, J. N. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2016-10-06

    The proposed research focuses on targeted areas of plasma physics dedicated to improving the stellarator concept. Research was pursued in the technical areas of edge/divertor physics in 3D configurations, magnetic island physics in stellarators, the role of 3D shaping on microinstabilities and turbulent transport and energetic ion confinement in stellarators.

  16. Stellar Absorption Line Analysis of Local Star-forming Galaxies: The Relation between Stellar Mass, Metallicity, Dust Attenuation, and Star Formation Rate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jabran Zahid, H. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Ho, I-Ting [University of Hawaii at Manoa, Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Conroy, Charlie [Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138 (United States); Andrews, Brett, E-mail: zahid@cfa.harvard.edu [PITT PACC, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, 3941 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)

    2017-09-20

    We analyze the optical continuum of star-forming galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by fitting stacked spectra with stellar population synthesis models to investigate the relation between stellar mass, stellar metallicity, dust attenuation, and star formation rate. We fit models calculated with star formation and chemical evolution histories that are derived empirically from multi-epoch observations of the stellar mass–star formation rate and the stellar mass–gas-phase metallicity relations, respectively. We also fit linear combinations of single-burst models with a range of metallicities and ages. Star formation and chemical evolution histories are unconstrained for these models. The stellar mass–stellar metallicity relations obtained from the two methods agree with the relation measured from individual supergiant stars in nearby galaxies. These relations are also consistent with the relation obtained from emission-line analysis of gas-phase metallicity after accounting for systematic offsets in the gas-phase metallicity. We measure dust attenuation of the stellar continuum and show that its dependence on stellar mass and star formation rate is consistent with previously reported results derived from nebular emission lines. However, stellar continuum attenuation is smaller than nebular emission line attenuation. The continuum-to-nebular attenuation ratio depends on stellar mass and is smaller in more massive galaxies. Our consistent analysis of stellar continuum and nebular emission lines paves the way for a comprehensive investigation of stellar metallicities of star-forming and quiescent galaxies.

  17. Stellar Absorption Line Analysis of Local Star-forming Galaxies: The Relation between Stellar Mass, Metallicity, Dust Attenuation, and Star Formation Rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jabran Zahid, H.; Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Ho, I-Ting; Conroy, Charlie; Andrews, Brett

    2017-01-01

    We analyze the optical continuum of star-forming galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by fitting stacked spectra with stellar population synthesis models to investigate the relation between stellar mass, stellar metallicity, dust attenuation, and star formation rate. We fit models calculated with star formation and chemical evolution histories that are derived empirically from multi-epoch observations of the stellar mass–star formation rate and the stellar mass–gas-phase metallicity relations, respectively. We also fit linear combinations of single-burst models with a range of metallicities and ages. Star formation and chemical evolution histories are unconstrained for these models. The stellar mass–stellar metallicity relations obtained from the two methods agree with the relation measured from individual supergiant stars in nearby galaxies. These relations are also consistent with the relation obtained from emission-line analysis of gas-phase metallicity after accounting for systematic offsets in the gas-phase metallicity. We measure dust attenuation of the stellar continuum and show that its dependence on stellar mass and star formation rate is consistent with previously reported results derived from nebular emission lines. However, stellar continuum attenuation is smaller than nebular emission line attenuation. The continuum-to-nebular attenuation ratio depends on stellar mass and is smaller in more massive galaxies. Our consistent analysis of stellar continuum and nebular emission lines paves the way for a comprehensive investigation of stellar metallicities of star-forming and quiescent galaxies.

  18. Quasi-periodic 1-hour pulsations in the Saturn's outer magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusaitis, L.; Khurana, K. K.; Walker, R. J.; Kivelson, M.

    2017-12-01

    Pulsations in the Saturn's magnetic field and particle fluxes of approximately 1-hour periodicity have been frequently detected in the outer Saturnian magnetosphere by the Cassini spacecraft since 2004. These particle and magnetic field enhancements have been typically observed more often in the dusk sector of the planet, and mid to high latitudes. We investigate nearly 200 of these events as detected by the magnetometer and the Cassini Low-Energy Magnetospheric Measurement System detector (LEMMS) data during the 2004-2015 time frame to characterize these pulsations and suggest their origin. The mechanism needed to produce these observed enhancements needs to permit the acceleration of the energetic electrons to a few MeV and a variable periodicity of enhancements from 40 to 90 minutes. We examine the relation of the oscillations to the periodic power modulations in Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR), using the SKR phase model of Kurth et al. [2007] and Provan et al. [2011]. Finally, we show that similar pulsations can also be observed at 2.5-D MHD simulations of Saturn's magnetosphere.

  19. Dawn-dusk asymmetry in particles of solar wind origin within the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. J. Stubbs

    Full Text Available Solar wind/magnetosheath plasma in the magnetosphere can be identified using a component that has a higher charge state, lower density and, at least soon after their entry into the magnetosphere, lower energy than plasma from a terrestrial source. We survey here observations taken over 3 years of He2+ ions made by the Magnetospheric Ion Composition Sensor (MICS of the Charge and Mass Magnetospheric Ion Composition Experiment (CAMMICE instrument aboard POLAR. The occurrence probability of these solar wind ions is then plotted as a function of Magnetic Local Time (MLT and invariant latitude (7 for various energy ranges. For all energies observed by MICS (1.8–21.4 keV and all solar wind conditions, the occurrence probabilities peaked around the cusp region and along the dawn flank. The solar wind conditions were filtered to see if this dawnward asymmetry is controlled by the Svalgaard-Mansurov effect (and so depends on the BY component of the interplanetary magnetic field, IMF or by Fermi acceleration of He2+ at the bow shock (and so depends on the IMF ratio BX /BY . It is shown that the asymmetry remained persistently on the dawn flank, suggesting it was not due to effects associated with direct entry into the magnetosphere. This asymmetry, with enhanced fluxes on the dawn flank, persisted for lower energy ions (below a "cross-over" energy of about 23 keV but reversed sense to give higher fluxes on the dusk flank at higher energies. This can be explained by the competing effects of gradient/curvature drifts and the convection electric field on ions that are convecting sunward on re-closed field lines. The lower-energy He2+ ions E × B drift dawnwards as they move earthward, whereas the higher energy ions curvature/ gradient drift towards dusk. The convection electric field in the tail is weaker for

  20. Dispersion equations for field-aligned cyclotron waves in axisymmetric magnetospheric plasmas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. I. Grishanov

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we derive the dispersion equations for field-aligned cyclotron waves in two-dimensional (2-D magnetospheric plasmas with anisotropic temperature. Two magnetic field configurations are considered with dipole and circular magnetic field lines. The main contribution of the trapped particles to the transverse dielectric permittivity is estimated by solving the linearized Vlasov equation for their perturbed distribution functions, accounting for the cyclotron and bounce resonances, neglecting the drift effects, and assuming the weak connection of the left-hand and right-hand polarized waves. Both the bi-Maxwellian and bi-Lorentzian distribution functions are considered to model the ring current ions and electrons in the dipole magnetosphere. A numerical code has been developed to analyze the dispersion characteristics of electromagnetic ion-cyclotron waves in an electron-proton magnetospheric plasma with circular magnetic field lines, assuming that the steady-state distribution function of the energetic protons is bi-Maxwellian. As in the uniform magnetic field case, the growth rate of the proton-cyclotron instability (PCI in the 2-D magnetospheric plasmas is defined by the contribution of the energetic ions/protons to the imaginary part of the transverse permittivity elements. We demonstrate that the PCI growth rate in the 2-D axisymmetric plasmasphere can be significantly smaller than that for the straight magnetic field case with the same macroscopic bulk parameters.

  1. The distribution of Enceladus water-group neutrals in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Howard T.; Richardson, John D.

    2017-10-01

    Saturn’s magnetosphere is unique in that the plumes from the small icy moon, Enceladus, serve at the primary source for heavy particles in Saturn’s magnetosphere. The resulting co-orbiting neutral particles interact with ions, electrons, photons and other neutral particles to generate separate H2O, OH and O tori. Characterization of these toroidal distributions is essential for understanding Saturn magnetospheric sources, composition and dynamics. Unfortunately, limited direct observations of these features are available so modeling is required. A significant modeling challenge involves ensuring that either the plasma and neutral particle populations are not simply input conditions but can provide feedback to each population (i.e. are self-consistent). Jurac and Richardson (2005) executed such a self-consistent model however this research was performed prior to the return of Cassini data. In a similar fashion, we have coupled a 3-D neutral particle model (Smith et al. 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) with a plasma transport model (Richardson 1998; Richardson & Jurac 2004) to develop a self-consistent model which is constrained by all available Cassini observations and current findings on Saturn’s magnetosphere and the Enceladus plume source resulting in much more accurate neutral particle distributions. Here a new self-consistent model of the distribution of the Enceladus-generated neutral tori that is validated by all available observations. We also discuss the implications for source rate and variability.

  2. Solar wind energy transfer through the magnetopause of an open magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, L.C.; Roederer, J.G.

    1982-01-01

    An expression for the total power P/sub T/ transferred from the solar wind to an ''open'' magnetopause with a nonzero normal component of the magnetic field, which is identified as a rotational discontinuity. The total power P/sub T/ consists of (1) the power P/sub EM/ representing the electromagnetic energy transfer and (2) the power P/sub KE/ representing the rate of kinetic energy carried by particles penetrating into the magnetosphere. It is found that P/sub EM/approx. =V/sub SW/ B/sub SW/psi, P/sub KE/approx. =(1/2 M/sub A/-1) P/sub EM/ and P/sub T/approx. =1/2M/sub A/P/sub EM/, where V/sub SW/, B/sub SW/, and M/sub A/ are the velocity, magnetic field, and the Alfven--Mach number in the solar wind, respectively, and Psi is the open magnetic flux in the magnetosphere. The Alfven--Mach number of flow at the magnetopause determines the nature of the local energy transfer; the power per unit area transferred from the solar wind to the magnetosphere consists mainly of kinetic energy. The electromagnetic energy rate P/sub EM/ controls the near-earth magnetospheric activity, whereas the kinetic energy rate P/sub KE/(approx. =3--4 P/sub EM/) should dominate the dynamics of the distant magnetotail

  3. The Warm Plasma Composition in the Inner Magnetosphere during 2012-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahn, J. M.; Goldstein, J.; Reeves, G. D.; Fernandes, P. A.; Skoug, R. M.; Larsen, B.; Spence, H. E.

    2017-12-01

    Ionospheric heavy ions play an important role in the dynamics of Earth's magnetosphere. The greater mass and gyro radius of ionospheric oxygen differentiates its behavior from protons at the same energies. Oxygen may have an impact on tail reconnection processes, and it can at least temporarily dominate the energy content of the ring current during geomagnetic storms. At sub-keV energies, multi-species ion populations in the inner magnetosphere form the warm plasma cloak, occupying the energy range between the plasmasphere and the ring current. Lastly, cold lighter ions from the mid-latitude ionosphere create the co-rotating plasmasphere whose outer regions can interact with the plasma cloak, plasma sheet, ring current, and outer electron belt. In this paper we present a statistical view of warm, cloak-like ion populations in the inner magnetosphere, contrasting in particular the warm plasma composition during quiet and active times. We study the relative abundances and absolute densities of warm plasma measured by the Van Allen Probes, whose two spacecraft cover the inner magnetosphere from plasmaspheric altitudes close to Earth to just inside geostationary orbit. We observe that warm (> 30 eV) oxygen is most abundant closer to the plasmasphere boundary whereas warm hydrogen dominates closer to geostationary orbit. Warm helium is usually a minor constituent, but shows a noticeable enhancement in the near-Earth dusk sector.

  4. ULF Wave Activity in the Magnetosphere: Resolving Solar Wind Interdependencies to Identify Driving Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, S. N.; Watt, C. E. J.; Owens, M. J.; Rae, I. J.

    2018-04-01

    Ultralow frequency (ULF) waves in the magnetosphere are involved in the energization and transport of radiation belt particles and are strongly driven by the external solar wind. However, the interdependency of solar wind parameters and the variety of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling processes make it difficult to distinguish the effect of individual processes and to predict magnetospheric wave power using solar wind properties. We examine 15 years of dayside ground-based measurements at a single representative frequency (2.5 mHz) and a single magnetic latitude (corresponding to L ˜ 6.6RE). We determine the relative contribution to ULF wave power from instantaneous nonderived solar wind parameters, accounting for their interdependencies. The most influential parameters for ground-based ULF wave power are solar wind speed vsw, southward interplanetary magnetic field component Bzstill account for significant amounts of power. We suggest that these three parameters correspond to driving by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, formation, and/or propagation of flux transfer events and density perturbations from solar wind structures sweeping past the Earth. We anticipate that this new parameter reduction will aid comparisons of ULF generation mechanisms between magnetospheric sectors and will enable more sophisticated empirical models predicting magnetospheric ULF power using external solar wind driving parameters.

  5. Modelling of the ring current in Saturn's magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Giampieri

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The existence of a ring current inside Saturn's magnetosphere was first suggested by Smith et al. (1980 and Ness et al. (1981, 1982, in order to explain various features in the magnetic field observations from the Pioneer 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Connerney et al. (1983 formalized the equatorial current model, based on previous modelling work of Jupiter's current sheet and estimated its parameters from the two Voyager data sets. Here, we investigate the model further, by reconsidering the data from the two Voyager spacecraft, as well as including the Pioneer 11 flyby data set.

    First, we obtain, in closed form, an analytic expression for the magnetic field produced by the ring current. We then fit the model to the external field, that is the difference between the observed field and the internal magnetic field, considering all the available data. In general, through our global fit we obtain more accurate parameters, compared to previous models. We point out differences between the model's parameters for the three flybys, and also investigate possible deviations from the axial and planar symmetries assumed in the model. We conclude that an accurate modelling of the Saturnian disk current will require taking into account both of the temporal variations related to the condition of the magnetosphere, as well as non-axisymmetric contributions due to local time effects.

    Key words. Magnetospheric physics (current systems; planetary magnetospheres; plasma sheet

  6. Stellar photometry and polarimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golay, M.; Serkowski, K.

    1976-01-01

    A critical review of progress made in stellar photometry and polarimetry over the period 1973-1975 is presented. Reports of photometric measurements from various observatories throughout the world are summarized. The summary of work on stellar polarimetry lists the review papers, the catalogues and lists of standard stars, and descriptions of new observing techniques. (B.R.H.)

  7. A simulation study of impulsive penetration of solar wind irregularities into the magnetosphere at the dayside magnetopause

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Z.W.; Hawkins, J.G.; Lee, L.C.

    1991-01-01

    A two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic code is used to study impulsive penetration processes that occur when a plasma irregularity in the magnetosheath, modeled as a field-aligned filament, impinges on the dayside magnetopause. If the magnetic fields in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere are parallel or antiparallel, then a filament in the magnetosheath can always penetrate into the magnetosphere. However, if the fields in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere are not aligned, then a filament can only penetrate into the magnetosphere when its initial kinetic energy density exceeds the magnetic energy density attributed to the transverse component of the magnetic field by a factor of 50. In this case, the magnetospheric field lines reconnect behind the filament, thereby trapping it within the magnetosphere. Otherwise, the increasing magnetic stress in front of the filament will eventually stop the filament from further penetration. For typical parameters found at the dayside magnetopause, the threshold condition obtained from this two-dimensional model predicts that penetration is possible only when the angle between the fields is within approximately 5 of parallel or antiparallel. During the penetration process, velocity vortices are observed both inside the filament and in the external plasma. Either increased β within the magnetosphere, or the larger plasma density at the magnetopause associated with antiparallel magnetic fields, will act to reduce the penetration velocity

  8. Different magnetospheric modes: solar wind driving and coupling efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Partamies

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available This study describes a systematic statistical comparison of isolated non-storm substorms, steady magnetospheric convection (SMC intervals and sawtooth events. The number of events is approximately the same in each group and the data are taken from about the same years to avoid biasing by different solar cycle phase. The very same superposed epoch analysis is performed for each event group to show the characteristics of ground-based indices (AL, PCN, PC potential, particle injection at the geostationary orbit and the solar wind and IMF parameters. We show that the monthly occurrence of sawtooth events and isolated non-stormtime substorms closely follows maxima of the geomagnetic activity at (or close to the equinoxes. The most strongly solar wind driven event type, sawtooth events, is the least efficient in coupling the solar wind energy to the auroral ionosphere, while SMC periods are associated with the highest coupling ratio (AL/EY. Furthermore, solar wind speed seems to play a key role in determining the type of activity in the magnetosphere. Slow solar wind is capable of maintaining steady convection. During fast solar wind streams the magnetosphere responds with loading–unloading cycles, represented by substorms during moderately active conditions and sawtooth events (or other storm-time activations during geomagnetically active conditions.

  9. Low-energy neutral atom emission from the Earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, K.R.; Scime, E.E.; Funsten, H.O.; McComas, D.J.; Thomsen, M.F.

    1994-01-01

    Imaging of the terrestrial magnetosphere is possible through the detection of low-energy neutral atoms (LENAs) produced by charge exchange between magnetospheric plasma ions and neutral atoms of the Earth's geocorona. The authors present calculations of both hydrogen and oxygen line-of-sight LENA fluxes expected on orbit for various plasma regimes as predicted by the Rice University Magnetospheric Specification Model. To decrease the required computation time, they are in the process of adapting their code for massively parallel computers. The speed gains achieved from parallel algorithms are substantial, and they present results from computational runs on the Connection Machine CM-2 data parallel supercomputer. They also estimate expected image count rates and image quality based on realistic instrument geometric factors, energy passbands, neutral atom scattering in the instrument, and image accumulation intervals. The results indicate that LENA imaging instruments will need a geometric factor (G) on the order of 0.1 cm 2 sr eV/eV to be capable of imaging storm time ring currents, and a G of 1.0 cm 2 sr eV/eV in order to image the quiet time ring current fluxes, ion injections from the tail, and subsequent ion drifts toward the dayside magnetopause

  10. Does the stellar distribution flare? A comparison of stellar scale heights with LAB H I data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalberla, P. M. W.; Kerp, J.; Dedes, L. [Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn (Germany); Haud, U., E-mail: pkalberla@astro.uni-bonn.de [Tartu Observatory, 61602 Tõravere (Estonia)

    2014-10-10

    The question of whether the stellar populations in the Milky Way take part in the flaring of scale heights as observed for the H I gas is a matter of debate. Standard mass models for the Milky Way assume a constant scale height for each of the different stellar distributions. However, there is mounting evidence that at least some of the stellar distributions reach, at large galactocentric distances, high altitudes, which are incompatible with a constant scale height. We discuss recent observational evidence for stellar flaring and compare it with H I data from the Leiden/Argentine/Bonn survey. Within the systemic and statistical uncertainties we find a good agreement between both.

  11. Challenges Handling Magnetospheric and Ionospheric Signals in Internal Geomagnetic Field Modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Finlay, Chris; Lesur, V.; Thébault, E.

    2017-01-01

    systems in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. In order to fully exploit magnetic data to probe the physical properties and dynamics of the Earth’s interior, field models with suitable treatments of external sources, and their associated induced signals, are essential. Here we review the methods presently......-by-track analysis to characterize magnetospheric field fluctuations, differences in internal field models that result from alternative treatments of the quiet-time ionospheric field, and challenges associated with rapidly changing, but spatially correlated, magnetic signatures of polar cap current systems. Possible...

  12. Current flow and pair creation at low altitude in rotation-powered pulsars' force-free magnetospheres: space charge limited flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timokhin, A. N.; Arons, J.

    2013-02-01

    We report the results of an investigation of particle acceleration and electron-positron plasma generation at low altitude in the polar magnetic flux tubes of rotation-powered pulsars, when the stellar surface is free to emit whatever charges and currents are demanded by the force-free magnetosphere. We apply a new 1D hybrid plasma simulation code to the dynamical problem, using Particle-in-Cell methods for the dynamics of the charged particles, including a determination of the collective electrostatic fluctuations in the plasma, combined with a Monte Carlo treatment of the high-energy gamma-rays that mediate the formation of the electron-positron pairs. We assume the electric current flowing through the pair creation zone is fixed by the much higher inductance magnetosphere, and adopt the results of force-free magnetosphere models to provide the currents which must be carried by the accelerator. The models are spatially one dimensional, and designed to explore the physics, although of practical relevance to young, high-voltage pulsars. We observe novel behaviour (a) When the current density j is less than the Goldreich-Julian value (0 electrically trapped particles with the same sign of charge as the beam. The voltage drops are of the order of mc2/e, and pair creation is absent. (b) When the current density exceeds the Goldreich-Julian value (j/jGJ > 1), the system develops high voltage drops (TV or greater), causing emission of curvature gamma-rays and intense bursts of pair creation. The bursts exhibit limit cycle behaviour, with characteristic time-scales somewhat longer than the relativistic fly-by time over distances comparable to the polar cap diameter (microseconds). (c) In return current regions, where j/jGJ generated pairs allow the system to simultaneously carry the magnetospherically prescribed currents and adjust the charge density and average electric field to force-free conditions. We also elucidate the conditions for pair creating beam flow to be

  13. Wisconsin torsatron/stellarator program, FY 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shohet, J.L.; Anderson, D.T.; Anderson, F.S.B.; Talmadge, J.N.

    1988-07-01

    This proposal documents recent activities within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Torsatron/Stellarator Laboratory and presents plans for future research activities for a three year period. Research efforts have focused on fundamental stellarator physics issues through experimental investigations on the Interchangeable Module Stellarator (IMS) and the Proto-Cleo Stellarator. Theoretical activities and studies of new configurations are being undertaken to support and broaden the experimental program. Experimental research at the Torsatron Stellarator Laboratory has been primarily concerned with effects induced through electron-cyclotron resonant frequency plasma production and heating in the IMS device. Plasma electric fields have been shown to play a major role in particle transport and confinement in IMS. ECRF heating at 6 kG has produced electron tail populations in agreement with Monte-Carlo models. Electric and magnetic fields have been shown to alter the particle flows to the IMS modular divertors. 48 refs

  14. What Might We Learn About Magnetospheric Substorms at the Earth from the MESSENGER Measurements at Mercury?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, James A.

    2008-01-01

    Satellite observations at the Earth, supported by theory and modeling, have established a close connection between the episodes of intense magnetospheric convection termed substorms and the occurrence of magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause results in strong energy input to the magnetosphere. This energy can either be stored or used immediately to power the magnetospheric convection that produces the phenomena that collectively define the 'substorm.' However, many aspects of magnetic reconnection and the dynamic response of the coupled solar wind - magnetosphere - ionosphere system at the Earth during substorms remain poorly understood. For example, the rate of magnetic reconnection is thought to be proportional to the local Alfven speed, but the limited range of changes in this solar wind parameter at 1 AU have made it difficult to detect its influence over energy input to the Earth's magnetosphere. In addition, the electrical conductance of the ionosphere and how it changes in response to auroral charged particle precipitation are hypothesized to play a critical role in the development of substorms, but the nature of this electrodynamic interaction remain difficult to deduce from Earth observations alone. The amount of energy the terrestrial magnetosphere can store in its tail, the duration of the storage, and the trigger(s) for its dissipation are all thought to be determined by not only the microphysics of the cross-tail current layer, but also the properties of the coupled magnetosphere - ionosphere system. Again, the separation of microphysics effects from system response has proved very difficult using measurements taken only at the Earth. If MESSENGER'S charged particle and magnetic field measurements confirm the occurrence of terrestrial-style substorms in Mercury's miniature magnetosphere, then it may be possible to determine how magnetospheric convection, field-aligned currents, charged particle acceleration

  15. Introduction to stellar astrophysics. V. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehm-Vitense, E.

    1989-01-01

    This textbook introduces basic elements of fundamental astronomy and astrophysics which serve as a foundation for understanding the structure, evolution, and observed properties of stars. The first half of the book explains how stellar motions, distances, luminosities, colours, radii, masses and temperatures are measured or derived. The author then shows how data of these sorts can be arranged to classify stars through their spectra. Stellar rotation and stellar magnetic fields are introduced. Stars with peculiar spectra and pulsating stars also merit special attention. The endpoints of stellar evolutions are briefly described. There is a separate chapter on the Sun and a final one on interstellar absorption. (author)

  16. Stellar Streams Discovered in the Dark Energy Survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shipp, N.; et al.

    2018-01-09

    We perform a search for stellar streams around the Milky Way using the first three years of multi-band optical imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We use DES data covering $\\sim 5000$ sq. deg. to a depth of $g > 23.5$ with a relative photometric calibration uncertainty of $< 1 \\%$. This data set yields unprecedented sensitivity to the stellar density field in the southern celestial hemisphere, enabling the detection of faint stellar streams to a heliocentric distance of $\\sim 50$ kpc. We search for stellar streams using a matched-filter in color-magnitude space derived from a synthetic isochrone of an old, metal-poor stellar population. Our detection technique recovers four previously known thin stellar streams: Phoenix, ATLAS, Tucana III, and a possible extension of Molonglo. In addition, we report the discovery of eleven new stellar streams. In general, the new streams detected by DES are fainter, more distant, and lower surface brightness than streams detected by similar techniques in previous photometric surveys. As a by-product of our stellar stream search, we find evidence for extra-tidal stellar structure associated with four globular clusters: NGC 288, NGC 1261, NGC 1851, and NGC 1904. The ever-growing sample of stellar streams will provide insight into the formation of the Galactic stellar halo, the Milky Way gravitational potential, as well as the large- and small-scale distribution of dark matter around the Milky Way.

  17. Electron-positron plasma generation in a pulsar magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurevich, A.V.; Istomin, Ya.N.

    1985-01-01

    The generation of an electron-positron plasma in vacuum (vacuum ''breakdown'') in the presence of an inhomogeneous electric field and strong curvilinear magnetic field is considered. A situation of this type may occur in the magnetosphere of a rotating neutron star. A general set of kinetic equations for electrons, positrons and γ quanta in a curvilinear magnetic field is derived by taking into account electron-positron pair production and emission of curvicur and synchrotron photons. The conditions for appearance of ''breakdown'' are determined and the threshold value of the elec tric field discontinuity at the surface of the star is found. Multiplication of particles in the magnetosphere is investigated and the electron, positron and γ quantum distribution functions are found. The extinction limit of pulsars is determined. The theory is shown to be in accordance with the observation results

  18. Mercury's Atmosphere and Magnetosphere: MESSENGER Third Flyby Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, James A.; Anderson, Brian J.; Baker, Daniel N.; Benna, Mehdi; Johnson, Catherine L.; Gloeckler, George; Killen, Rosemary M.; Krimigis, Stamatios M.; McClintock, William; McNutt, Ralph L., Jr.; hide

    2009-01-01

    MESSENGER's third flyby of Mercury en route to orbit insertion about the innermost planet took place on 29 September 2009. The earlier 14 January and 6 October 2008 encounters revealed that Mercury's magnetic field is highly dipolar and stable over the 35 years since its discovery by Mariner 10; that a structured, temporally variable exosphere extends to great altitudes on the dayside and forms a long tail in the anti-sunward direction; a cloud of planetary ions encompasses the magnetosphere from the dayside bow shock to the downstream magnetosheath and magnetotail; and that the magnetosphere undergoes extremely intense magnetic reconnect ion in response to variations in the interplanetary magnetic field. Here we report on new results derived from observations from MESSENGER's Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS), Magnetometer (MAG), and Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer (EPPS) taken during the third flyby.

  19. Characteristics of the magnetohydrodynamic waves observed in the earth's magnetosphere and on the ground

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuwashima, M.; Fujita, S.

    1989-01-01

    Current research topics on MHD waves in the earth's magnetosphere and on the ground are summarized. Upstream waves in the earth's foreshock region and their transmission into and propagation through the magnetosphere are discussed in the context of relationships of Pc3 magnetic pulsations on the ground. The characteristics of ssc-associated magnetic pulsations are considered, and instabilities with the hot plasma in the ring current in the magnetosphere are addressed in the context of the relationships of compressional Pc 4-5 waves. The characteristics of Pi2 magnetic pulsations are examined, and the role of the ionosphere on the modifications of MHD waves is addressed

  20. Progress Toward Attractive Stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neilson, G.H.; Bromberg, L.; Brown, T.G.; Gates, D.A.; Ku, L.P.; Zarnstorff, M.C.; Boozer, A.H.; Harris, J.H.; Meneghini, O.; Mynick, H.E.; Pomphrey, N.; Reiman, A.H.; Xanthopoulos, P.

    2011-01-01

    The quasi-axisymmetric stellarator (QAS) concept offers a promising path to a more compact stellarator reactor, closer in linear dimensions to tokamak reactors than previous stellarator designs. Concept improvements are needed, however, to make it more maintainable and more compatible with high plant availability. Using the ARIES-CS design as a starting point, compact stellarator designs with improved maintenance characteristics have been developed. While the ARIES-CS features a through-the-port maintenance scheme, we have investigated configuration changes to enable a sector-maintenance approach, as envisioned for example in ARIES AT. Three approaches are reported. The first is to make tradeoffs within the QAS design space, giving greater emphasis to maintainability criteria. The second approach is to improve the optimization tools to more accurately and efficiently target the physics properties of importance. The third is to employ a hybrid coil topology, so that the plasma shaping functions of the main coils are shared more optimally, either with passive conductors made of high-temperature superconductor or with local compensation coils, allowing the main coils to become simpler. Optimization tools are being improved to test these approaches.

  1. Stellar magnetic activity and exoplanets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vidotto A.A.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available It has been proposed that magnetic activity could be enhanced due to interactions between close-in massive planets and their host stars. In this article, I present a brief overview of the connection between stellar magnetic activity and exoplanets. Stellar activity can be probed in chromospheric lines, coronal emission, surface spot coverage, etc. Since these are manifestations of stellar magnetism, these measurements are often used as proxies for the magnetic field of stars. Here, instead of focusing on the magnetic proxies, I overview some recent results of magnetic field measurements using spectropolarimetric observations. Firstly, I discuss the general trends found between large-scale magnetism, stellar rotation, and coronal emission and show that magnetism seems to be correlated to the internal structure of the star. Secondly, I overview some works that show evidence that exoplanets could (or not act as to enhance the activity of their host stars.

  2. Transport in stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maassberg, H.; Brakel, R.; Burhenn, R.; Gasparino, U.; Grigull, P.; Kick, M.; Kuehner, G.; Ringler, H.; Sardei, F.; Stroth, U.; Weller, A.

    1993-01-01

    The local electron and ion heat transport as well as the particle and impurity transport properties in stellarators are reviewed. In this context, neoclassical theory is used as a guideline for the comparison of the experimental results of the quite different confinement concepts. At sufficiently high temperatures depending on the specific magnetic configuration, neoclassical predictions are confirmed by experimental findings. The confinement properties in the LMFP collisionality regime are discussed with respect to the next stellarator generation, for which at higher temperatures the neoclassical transport is expected to become more important. (orig.)

  3. Stellar oscillations in planet-hosting giant stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hatzes, Artie P; Zechmeister, Mathias [Thueringer Landessternwarte, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 (Germany)], E-mail: artie@tls-tautenburg.de

    2008-10-15

    Recently a number of giant extrasolar planets have been discovered around giant stars. These discoveries are important because many of these giant stars have intermediate masses in the range 1.2-3 Msun. Early-type main sequence stars of this mass range have been avoided by radial velocity planet search surveys due the difficulty of getting the requisite radial velocity precision needed for planet discoveries. Thus, giant stars can tell us about planet formation for stars more massive than the sun. However, the determination of stellar masses for giant stars is difficult due to the fact that evolutionary tracks for stars covering a wide range of masses converge to the same region of the H-R diagram. We report here on stellar oscillations in three planet-hosting giant stars: HD 13189, {beta} Gem, and {iota} Dra. Precise stellar radial velocity measurements for these stars show variations whose periods and amplitudes are consistent with solar-like p-mode oscillations. The implied stellar masses for these objects based on the characteristics of the stellar oscillations are consistent with the predictions of stellar isochrones. An investigation of stellar oscillations in planet hosting giant stars offers us the possibility of getting an independent determination of the stellar mass for these objects which is of crucial importance for extrasolar planet studies.

  4. The Importance of Differing Types of Io Volcanic Activity for the Jupiter Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, R. R.

    2016-12-01

    The Jupiter magnetosphere is populated largely by sulfur and oxygen ultimately derived from the volcanoes on Io and correlations have been detected between changes in volcanic activity and the magnetosphere. However different types of volcanic activity on Io vary widely in the amount and composition of the gasses they release. For example while Loki is often the brightest volcanic hotspot in the infrared (and therefore most easily monitored from earth) it appears to release a comparatively small amount of gas compared to Prometheus type plumes and the giant plumes such as Pele. The dominant volatile released at most sites is sulfur dioxide but giant plumes such as Pele appear to contain significantly fractions of S2 gas. The amounts and type of dust produced may also differ. Finally, the way material is buffered in Io's surface and atmosphere before escaping to the magnetosphere is also uncertain. A better understanding of the connection between volcanic activity and the magnetosphere will require studying not just correlations between broad measures of activity but rather specific indices of different types of activity. Observations of possible storage buffers such as the atmosphere, as are now becoming possible with ALMA, will also be essential.

  5. Comparing Jupiter and Saturn: dimensionless input rates from plasma sources within the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. M. Vasyliūnas

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The quantitative significance for a planetary magnetosphere of plasma sources associated with a moon of the planet can be assessed only by expressing the plasma mass input rate in dimensionless form, as the ratio of the actual mass input to some reference value. Traditionally, the solar wind mass flux through an area equal to the cross-section of the magnetosphere has been used. Here I identify another reference value of mass input, independent of the solar wind and constructed from planetary parameters alone, which can be shown to represent a mass input sufficiently large to prevent corotation already at the source location. The source rate from Enceladus at Saturn has been reported to be an order of magnitude smaller (in absolute numbers than that from Io at Jupiter. Both reference values, however, are also smaller at Saturn than at Jupiter, by factors ~40 to 60; expressed in dimensionless form, the estimated mass input from Enceladus may be larger than that from Io by factors ~4 to 6. The magnetosphere of Saturn may thus, despite a lower mass input in kg s−1, intrinsically be more heavily mass-loaded than the magnetosphere of Jupiter.

  6. Comparing Jupiter and Saturn: dimensionless input rates from plasma sources within the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. M. Vasyliūnas

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The quantitative significance for a planetary magnetosphere of plasma sources associated with a moon of the planet can be assessed only by expressing the plasma mass input rate in dimensionless form, as the ratio of the actual mass input to some reference value. Traditionally, the solar wind mass flux through an area equal to the cross-section of the magnetosphere has been used. Here I identify another reference value of mass input, independent of the solar wind and constructed from planetary parameters alone, which can be shown to represent a mass input sufficiently large to prevent corotation already at the source location. The source rate from Enceladus at Saturn has been reported to be an order of magnitude smaller (in absolute numbers than that from Io at Jupiter. Both reference values, however, are also smaller at Saturn than at Jupiter, by factors ~40 to 60; expressed in dimensionless form, the estimated mass input from Enceladus may be larger than that from Io by factors ~4 to 6. The magnetosphere of Saturn may thus, despite a lower mass input in kg s−1, intrinsically be more heavily mass-loaded than the magnetosphere of Jupiter.

  7. Astrospheres and Solar-like Stellar Winds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wood Brian E.

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Stellar analogs for the solar wind have proven to be frustratingly difficult to detect directly. However, these stellar winds can be studied indirectly by observing the interaction regions carved out by the collisions between these winds and the interstellar medium (ISM. These interaction regions are called "astrospheres", analogous to the "heliosphere" surrounding the Sun. The heliosphere and astrospheres contain a population of hydrogen heated by charge exchange processes that can produce enough H I Ly alpha absorption to be detectable in UV spectra of nearby stars from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST. The amount of astrospheric absorption is a diagnostic for the strength of the stellar wind, so these observations have provided the first measurements of solar-like stellar winds. Results from these stellar wind studies and their implications for our understanding of the solar wind are reviewed here. Of particular interest are results concerning the past history of the solar wind and its impact on planetary atmospheres.

  8. How to emit a high-power electron beam from a magnetospheric spacecraft?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delzanno, G. L.; Lucco Castello, F.; Borovsky, J.; Miars, G.; Leon, O.; Gilchrist, B. E.

    2017-12-01

    The idea of using a high-power electron beam to actively probe magnetic-field-line connectivity in space has been discussed since the 1970's. It could solve longstanding questions in magnetospheric/ionospheric physics by establishing causality between phenomena occurring in the magnetosphere and their image in the ionosphere. However, this idea has never been realized onboard a magnetospheric spacecraft because the tenuous magnetospheric plasma cannot provide the return current necessary to keep the charging of the spacecraft under control. Recently, Delzanno et al. [1] have proposed a spacecraft-charging mitigation scheme to enable the emission of a high-power electron beam from a magnetospheric spacecraft. It is based on the plasma contactor, i.e. a high-density neutral plasma emitted prior to and with the electron beam. The contactor acts as an ion emitter (not as an electron collector, as previously thought): a high ion current can be emitted off the quasi-spherical contactor surface, without the strong space-charge limitations typical of planar ion beams, and the electron-beam current can be successfully compensated. In this work, we will discuss our theoretical/simulation effort to improve the understanding of contactor-based ion emission. First, we will present a simple mathematical model useful for the interpretation of the results of [1]. The model is in spherical geometry and the contactor dynamics is described by only two surfaces (its quasi-neutral surface and the front of the outermost ions). It captures the results of self-consistent Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations with good accuracy and highlights the physics behind the charge-mitigation scheme clearly. PIC simulations connecting the 1D model to the actual geometry of the problem will be presented to obtain the scaling of the spacecraft potential varying contactor emission area. Finally, results for conditions relevant to an actual mission will also be discussed. [1] G. L. Delzanno, J. E. Borovsky

  9. Enhanced-confinement class of stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mynick, H.E.; Chu, T.K.; Boozer, A.H.

    1981-08-01

    A class of stellarators has been found in which the transport is reduced by an order of magnitude from transport in conventional stellarators, by localizing the helical ripple to the inside of the torus. The reduction is observed in numerical experiments and explained theoretically

  10. Long-lived particulate or gaseous structure in Saturn's outer magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarus, A. J.; Hasegawa, T.; Bagenal, F.

    1983-01-01

    Voyager 1 and 2 and Pioneer 11 data on the variations in the number density of low-energy plasma ions in the outer Saturn magnetosphere are discussed. Low and high latitude observations are compared in reference to the position of the spacecraft crossing of the field line. Abrupt decreases in the number density interrupted the tendancy for the number density to increase with spacecraft approach to Saturn. All three spacecraft are concluded to have encountered the same magnetospheric structure in the field line, with absorbers being present in the equatorial plane. The absorbers are suggested to be either gas or debris, which may be detectable visibly or with occultation techniques.

  11. Movement of a charged particle beam in the Earth magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veselovskij, I.S.

    1977-01-01

    The motion of a charged particle beam injected into the Earth magnetosphere in a dipole magnetic field was investigated. Examined were the simplest stationary distributions of particles. The evolution of the distribution function after pulse injection of the beam into the magnetosphere was studied. It was shown that the pulse shape depends on its starting duration. A long pulse spreads on the base and narrows on the flat top with the distance away from the point of injection. A short pulse spreads both on the base and along the height. The flat top is not present. An analytical expression for the pulse shape as a time function is given

  12. Expected Navigation Flight Performance for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Corwin; Wright, Cinnamon; Long, Anne

    2012-01-01

    The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission consists of four formation-flying spacecraft placed in highly eccentric elliptical orbits about the Earth. The primary scientific mission objective is to study magnetic reconnection within the Earth s magnetosphere. The baseline navigation concept is the independent estimation of each spacecraft state using GPS pseudorange measurements (referenced to an onboard Ultra Stable Oscillator) and accelerometer measurements during maneuvers. State estimation for the MMS spacecraft is performed onboard each vehicle using the Goddard Enhanced Onboard Navigation System, which is embedded in the Navigator GPS receiver. This paper describes the latest efforts to characterize expected navigation flight performance using upgraded simulation models derived from recent analyses.

  13. Introduction to stellar structure

    CERN Document Server

    Maciel, Walter J

    2016-01-01

    In the first part of this book, the author presents the basic properties of the stellar interior and describes them thoroughly, along with deriving the main stellar structure equations of temperature, density, pressure and luminosity, among others. The process and application of solving these equations is explained, as well as linking these results with actual observations.  The second part of the text describes what happens to a star over time, and how to determine this by solving the same equations at different points during a star’s lifetime. The fate of various stars is quite different depending on their masses, and this is described in the final parts of the book. This text can be used for an upper level undergraduate course or an introductory graduate course on stellar physics.

  14. Near-term directions in the World Stellarator Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyon, J.F.

    1990-01-01

    Interest in stellarators has increased because of the progress being made in the development of this concept and the inherent advantages of stellarators as candidates for an attractive, steady-state fusion reactor. Three new stellarator experiments started operation in 1988, and three more are scheduled to start in the next few years. In addition, design studies have started on large next-generation stellarator experiments for the mid-1990s. These devices are designed to test four basic approaches to stellarator configuration optimization. Ways in which these devices complement each other in exploring the potential of the stellarator concept and the main issues that they will address during the next decade are described

  15. Particle-in-cell simulations of Earth-like magnetosphere during a magnetic field reversal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, M. V. G.; Alves, M. V.; Vieira, L. E. A.; Schmitz, R. G.

    2017-12-01

    The geologic record shows that hundreds of pole reversals have occurred throughout Earth's history. The mean interval between the poles reversals is roughly 200 to 300 thousand years and the last reversal occurred around 780 thousand years ago. Pole reversal is a slow process, during which the strength of the magnetic field decreases, become more complex, with the appearance of more than two poles for some time and then the field strength increases, changing polarity. Along the process, the magnetic field configuration changes, leaving the Earth-like planet vulnerable to the harmful effects of the Sun. Understanding what happens with the magnetosphere during these pole reversals is an open topic of investigation. Only recently PIC codes are used to modeling magnetospheres. Here we use the particle code iPIC3D [Markidis et al, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 2010] to simulate an Earth-like magnetosphere at three different times along the pole reversal process. The code was modified, so the Earth-like magnetic field is generated using an expansion in spherical harmonics with the Gauss coefficients given by a MHD simulation of the Earth's core [Glatzmaier et al, Nature, 1995; 1999; private communication to L.E.A.V.]. Simulations show the qualitative behavior of the magnetosphere, such as the current structures. Only the planet magnetic field was changed in the runs. The solar wind is the same for all runs. Preliminary results show the formation of the Chapman-Ferraro current in the front of the magnetosphere in all the cases. Run for the middle of the reversal process, the low intensity magnetic field and its asymmetrical configuration the current structure changes and the presence of multiple poles can be observed. In all simulations, a structure similar to the radiation belts was found. Simulations of more severe solar wind conditions are necessary to determine the real impact of the reversal in the magnetosphere.

  16. The Resolved Stellar Populations Early Release Science Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Karoline; Weisz, Daniel; Resolved Stellar Populations ERS Program Team

    2018-06-01

    The Resolved Stellar Populations Early Release Science Program (PI D. Weisz) will observe Local Group targets covering a range of stellar density and star formation histories, including a globular cluster, and ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, and a star-forming dwarf galaxy. Using observations of these diverse targets we will explore a broad science program: we will measure star formation histories, the sub-solar stellar initial mass function, and proper motions, perform studies of evolved stars, and map extinction in the target fields. Our observations will be of high archival value for other science such as calibrating stellar evolution models, studying variable stars, and searching for metal-poor stars. We will determine optimal observational setups and develop data reduction techniques that will be common to JWST studies of resolved stellar populations. We will also design, test, and release point spread function (PSF) fitting software specific to NIRCam and NIRISS, required for the crowded stellar regime. Prior to the Cycle 2 Call for Proposals, we will release PSF fitting software, matched HST and JWST catalogs, and clear documentation and step-by-step tutorials (such as Jupyter notebooks) for reducing crowded stellar field data and producing resolved stellar photometry catalogs, as well as for specific resolved stellar photometry science applications.

  17. Turbulence optimisation in stellarator experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Proll, Josefine H.E. [Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma Physics (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Wendelsteinstr. 1, 17491 Greifswald (Germany); Faber, Benjamin J. [HSX Plasma Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Helander, Per; Xanthopoulos, Pavlos [Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma Physics (Germany); Lazerson, Samuel A.; Mynick, Harry E. [Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, P.O. Box 451 Princeton, New Jersey 08543-0451 (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Stellarators, the twisted siblings of the axisymmetric fusion experiments called tokamaks, have historically suffered from confining the heat of the plasma insufficiently compared with tokamaks and were therefore considered to be less promising candidates for a fusion reactor. This has changed, however, with the advent of stellarators in which the laminar transport is reduced to levels below that of tokamaks by shaping the magnetic field accordingly. As in tokamaks, the turbulent transport remains as the now dominant transport channel. Recent analytical theory suggests that the large configuration space of stellarators allows for an additional optimisation of the magnetic field to also reduce the turbulent transport. In this talk, the idea behind the turbulence optimisation is explained. We also present how an optimised equilibrium is obtained and how it might differ from the equilibrium field of an already existing device, and we compare experimental turbulence measurements in different configurations of the HSX stellarator in order to test the optimisation procedure.

  18. SUB-STELLAR COMPANIONS AND STELLAR MULTIPLICITY IN THE TAURUS STAR-FORMING REGION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daemgen, Sebastian; Bonavita, Mariangela; Jayawardhana, Ray; Lafrenière, David; Janson, Markus

    2015-01-01

    We present results from a large, high-spatial-resolution near-infrared imaging search for stellar and sub-stellar companions in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. The sample covers 64 stars with masses between those of the most massive Taurus members at ∼3 M ☉ and low-mass stars at ∼0.2 M ☉ . We detected 74 companion candidates, 34 of these reported for the first time. Twenty-five companions are likely physically bound, partly confirmed by follow-up observations. Four candidate companions are likely unrelated field stars. Assuming physical association with their host star, estimated companion masses are as low as ∼2 M Jup . The inferred multiplicity frequency within our sensitivity limits between ∼10-1500 AU is 26.3 −4.9 +6.6 %. Applying a completeness correction, 62% ± 14% of all Taurus stars between 0.7 and 1.4 M ☉ appear to be multiple. Higher order multiples were found in 1.8 −1.5 +4.2 % of the cases, in agreement with previous observations of the field. We estimate a sub-stellar companion frequency of ∼3.5%-8.8% within our sensitivity limits from the discovery of two likely bound and three other tentative very low-mass companions. This frequency appears to be in agreement with what is expected from the tail of the stellar companion mass ratio distribution, suggesting that stellar and brown dwarf companions share the same dominant formation mechanism. Further, we find evidence for possible evolution of binary parameters between two identified sub-populations in Taurus with ages of ∼2 Myr and ∼20 Myr, respectively

  19. SUB-STELLAR COMPANIONS AND STELLAR MULTIPLICITY IN THE TAURUS STAR-FORMING REGION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daemgen, Sebastian [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5H 3H4 (Canada); Bonavita, Mariangela [The University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Jayawardhana, Ray [Physics and Astronomy, York University, Toronto, Ontario L3T 3R1 (Canada); Lafrenière, David [Department of Physics, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC (Canada); Janson, Markus, E-mail: daemgen@astro.utoronto.ca [Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2015-02-01

    We present results from a large, high-spatial-resolution near-infrared imaging search for stellar and sub-stellar companions in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. The sample covers 64 stars with masses between those of the most massive Taurus members at ∼3 M {sub ☉} and low-mass stars at ∼0.2 M {sub ☉}. We detected 74 companion candidates, 34 of these reported for the first time. Twenty-five companions are likely physically bound, partly confirmed by follow-up observations. Four candidate companions are likely unrelated field stars. Assuming physical association with their host star, estimated companion masses are as low as ∼2 M {sub Jup}. The inferred multiplicity frequency within our sensitivity limits between ∼10-1500 AU is 26.3{sub −4.9}{sup +6.6}%. Applying a completeness correction, 62% ± 14% of all Taurus stars between 0.7 and 1.4 M {sub ☉} appear to be multiple. Higher order multiples were found in 1.8{sub −1.5}{sup +4.2}% of the cases, in agreement with previous observations of the field. We estimate a sub-stellar companion frequency of ∼3.5%-8.8% within our sensitivity limits from the discovery of two likely bound and three other tentative very low-mass companions. This frequency appears to be in agreement with what is expected from the tail of the stellar companion mass ratio distribution, suggesting that stellar and brown dwarf companions share the same dominant formation mechanism. Further, we find evidence for possible evolution of binary parameters between two identified sub-populations in Taurus with ages of ∼2 Myr and ∼20 Myr, respectively.

  20. Acceleration processes in the magnetospheric plasma: a review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nishida, A [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Inst. of Space and Aeronautical Science

    1975-01-01

    Our present knowledge on the acceleration process in the magnetospheric plasma is reviewed and major problems are summarized. Acceleration processes can be classified into three categories. First, acceleration can be made by the reconnection process in the magnetotail. The occurrence of reconnection during substorm expansion phases has been confirmed, but details of the energy conversion mechanism need be clarified. Second, acceleration by the electric potential drop along magnetic field lines has been strongly suggested from observations of precipitating particles. The position and structure of the potential layer, however, have not been clarified, and theoretical understanding of the process is still in the early stage of development. Third, particles can be adiabatically heated as they are driven toward the earth in the course of their convective motion. Spatial structure and dynamical development of the auroral precipitation pattern represent both challenge and clue to the understanding of the magnetospheric acceleration process.

  1. Magnetospheres of accreting compact objects in binary systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aly, J.J.

    1985-09-01

    Bright pulsating X-ray sources (X-ray pulsars, AM Her stars,...) have been identified as strongly magnetized compact objects accreting matter from a binary companion. We give here a summary of some of the work which has been recently done to try to understand the interaction between the magnetic field of the compact object and the matter around. We examine in turn the models describing the interaction of the field with: i) a spherically symmetric accretion flow; ii) a thin keplerian accretion disk; iii) the companion itself. In all these cases, we pay particular attention to the following problems: i) how the external plasma interacting with the magnetosphere can get mixed with the field; ii) by which mechanism the magnetic field controls the mass-momentum-energy exchanges between the two stars. In conclusion, we compare the magnetosphere of an accreting compact object with that one of a planet [fr

  2. A catalog of stellar spectrophotometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adelman, S. J.; Pyper, D. M.; Shore, S. N.; White, R. E.; Warren, W. H., Jr.

    1989-01-01

    A machine-readable catalog of stellar spectrophotometric measurements made with rotating grating scanner is introduced. Consideration is given to the processes by which the stellar data were collected and calibrated with the fluxes of Vega (Hayes and Latham, 1975). A sample page from the spectrophotometric catalog is presented.

  3. Cosmogony as an extrapolation of magnetospheric research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfven, H.

    1984-03-01

    A theory of the origin and evolution of the Solar System (Alfven and Arrhenius, 1975: 1976) which considered electromagnetic forces and plasma effects is revised in the light of new information supplied by space research. In situ measurements in the magnetospheres and solar wind have changed our views of basic properties of cosmic plasmas. These results can be extrapolated both outwards in space, to interstellar clouds, backwards in time, to the formation of the solar system. The first extrapolation leads to a revision of some cloud properties which are essential for the early phases in the formation of stars and solar nebule. The latter extrapolation makes possible to approach the cosmogonic processes by extrapolation of (rather) well-known magnetospheric phenomena. Pioneer-Voyager observations of the Saturnian rings indicate that essential parts of their structure are fossils from cosmogonic times. By using detailed information from these space missions, it seems possible to reconstruct certain events 4-5 billion years ago with an accuracy of a few percent. This will cause a change in our views of the evolution of the solar system.(author)

  4. The Origin of Stellar Species: constraining stellar evolution scenarios with Local Group galaxy surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarbadhicary, Sumit; Badenes, Carles; Chomiuk, Laura; Maldonado, Jessica; Caprioli, Damiano; Heger, Mairead; Huizenga, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Our understanding of the progenitors of many stellar species, such as supernovae, massive and low-mass He-burning stars, is limited because of many poorly constrained aspects of stellar evolution theory. For my dissertation, I have focused on using Local Group galaxy surveys to constrain stellar evolution scenarios by measuring delay-time distributions (DTD). The DTD is the hypothetical occurrence rate of a stellar object per elapsed time after a brief burst of star formation. It is the measured distribution of timescales on which stars evolve, and therefore serves as a powerful observational constraint on theoretical progenitor models. The DTD can be measured from a survey of stellar objects and a set of star-formation histories of the host galaxy, and is particularly effective in the Local Group, where high-quality star-formation histories are available from resolved stellar populations. I am currently calculating a SN DTD with supernova remnants (SNRs) in order to provide the strongest constraints on the progenitors of thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae. However, most SNRs do not have reliable age measurements and their evolution depends on the ambient environment. For this reason, I wrote a radio light curve model of an SNR population to extract the visibility times and rates of supernovae - crucial ingredients for the DTD - from an SNR survey. The model uses observational constraints on the local environments from multi-wavelength surveys, accounts for missing SNRs and employs the latest models of shock-driven particle acceleration. The final calculation of the SN DTD in the Local Group is awaiting completion of a systematic SNR catalog from deep radio-continuum images, now in preparation by a group led by Dr. Laura Chomiuk. I have also calculated DTDs for the LMC population of RR Lyrae and Cepheid variables, which serve as important distance calibrators and stellar population tracers. We find that Cepheids can have delay-times between 10 Myrs - 1 Gyr

  5. Fast hisslers: a form of magnetospheric radio emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siren, J.C.

    1974-01-01

    Auroral radio hiss bursts in the frequency range 2-18 kHz have been observed, with rise or turn-on-times of 20-50 ms, and fall or turn-off times of 20-80 ms. These time scales are too brief to reconcile with the Cerenkov radiation emission mechanism often proposed as the transducer that converts precipitating auroral electron kinetic energy into very-low-frequency radio wave energy. The auroral hiss bursts, called here ''fast hisslers,'' are observed to be ''dispersed,', that is, their arrival time at the receiving site is not simultaneous at all frequencies, but depends on frequency in a way that is consistent with propagation in the whistler mode of electromagnetic wave propagation. Since whistler mode wave propagation at these frequencies occurs only in the earth' magnetosphere, it is inferred that these fast hisslers are of magnetospheric origin. On the assumption that all the observed dispersion results from whistler mode dispersion at high latitudes, altitudes of origin of 1800 km to 30,000 km are calculated for these emissions. Fine details of some of the amplitude spectra of fast hisslers have been examined. Potential double layers have been investigated as a highly localized region of acceleration of the auroral electrons that are believed to be the source of energy of the fast hisslers. Evidence is strong that a plasma instability exists which rapidly converts electron kinetic energies into whistler-mode wave energy traveling in the same direction relative to the rest frame of the thermal magnetospheric plasma

  6. PREFACE: A Stellar Journey A Stellar Journey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asplund, M.

    2008-10-01

    The conference A Stellar Journey was held in Uppsala, Sweden, 23 27June 2008, in honour of Professor Bengt Gustafsson's 65th birthday. The choice of Uppsala as the location for this event was obvious given Bengt's long-standing association with the city stemming back to his school days. With the exception of a two-year postdoc stint in Copenhagen, five years as professor at Stockholm University and two years as director of the Sigtuna foundation, Bengt has forged his illustrious professional career at Uppsala University. The symposium venue was Museum Gustavianum, once the main building of the oldest university in Scandinavia. The title of the symposium is a paraphrasing of Bengt's popular astronomy book Kosmisk Resa (in English: Cosmic Journey) written in the early eighties. I think this aptly symbolizes his career that has been an astronomical voyage from near to far, from the distant past to the present. The original book title was modified slightly to reflect that most of his work to date has dealt with stars in one way or another. In addition it also gives credit to Bengt's important role as a guiding light for a very large number of students, colleagues and collaborators, indeed for several generations of astronomers. For me personally, the book Kosmisk Resa bears particular significance as it has shaped my life rather profoundly. Although I had already decided to become an astronomer, when I first read the book as a 14-year-old I made up my mind then and there that I would study under Bengt Gustafsson and work on stars. Indeed I have remained true to this somewhat audacious resolution. I suspect that a great number of us have similar stories how Bengt has had a major influence on our lives, whether on the professional or personal level. Perhaps Bengt's most outstanding characteristic is his enthralling enthusiasm. This is equally true whether he is pondering some scientific conundrum, supervising students or performing in front of an audience, be it an

  7. The magnetosphere in relativistic physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapffe, C.A.

    1982-01-01

    The present paper takes off from the author's earlier epistemological analysis and criticism of the Special Theory of Relativity, identifies the problem as lying in Einstein's choice of the inertial frame of Newtonian mechanics rather than the electromagnetic frame of the locally embedding Maxwellian field when discussing electrodynamics, then proposes this Maxwellian field of the magnetosphere as the specific rest frame proper to all experimentation of optical or electromagnetic sort conducted within its bounds. The result is shown to remove all paradoxes from relativistic physics. (author)

  8. Recent advances in non-LTE stellar atmosphere models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, Andreas A. C.

    2017-11-01

    In the last decades, stellar atmosphere models have become a key tool in understanding massive stars. Applied for spectroscopic analysis, these models provide quantitative information on stellar wind properties as well as fundamental stellar parameters. The intricate non-LTE conditions in stellar winds dictate the development of adequate sophisticated model atmosphere codes. The increase in both, the computational power and our understanding of physical processes in stellar atmospheres, led to an increasing complexity in the models. As a result, codes emerged that can tackle a wide range of stellar and wind parameters. After a brief address of the fundamentals of stellar atmosphere modeling, the current stage of clumped and line-blanketed model atmospheres will be discussed. Finally, the path for the next generation of stellar atmosphere models will be outlined. Apart from discussing multi-dimensional approaches, I will emphasize on the coupling of hydrodynamics with a sophisticated treatment of the radiative transfer. This next generation of models will be able to predict wind parameters from first principles, which could open new doors for our understanding of the various facets of massive star physics, evolution, and death.

  9. Time monitoring of radio jets and magnetospheres in the nearby young stellar cluster R Coronae Australis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hauyu Baobab; Takami, Michihiro; Yan, Chi-Hung; Karr, Jennifer; Chou, Mei-Yin; Ho, Paul T.-P.; Galván-Madrid, Roberto; Costigan, Gráinne; Manara, Carlo Felice; Forbrich, Jan; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Zhang, Qizhou

    2014-01-01

    We report Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array 8-10 GHz (λ = 3.0-3.7 cm) monitoring observations toward the young stellar object (YSO) cluster R Coronae Australis (R CrA), taken from 2012 March 15 to 2012 September 12. These observations were planned to measure the radio flux variabilities in timescales from 0.5 hr to several days, to tens of days, and up to ∼200 days. We found that among the YSOs detectable in individual epochs, in general, the most reddened objects in the Spitzer observations show the highest mean 3.5 cm Stokes I emission, and the lowest fractional variabilities on <200 day timescales. The brightest radio flux emitters in our observations are the two reddest sources IRS7W and IRS7E. In addition, by comparing our observations with observations taken from 1996 to 1998 and 2005, we found that the radio fluxes of these two sources have increased by a factor of ∼1.5. The mean 3.5 cm fluxes of the three Class I/II sources, IRSI, IRS2, and IRS6, appear to be correlated with their accretion rates derived by a previous near-infrared line survey. The weakly accreting Class I/II YSOs, or those in later evolutionary stages, present radio flux variability on <0.5 hr timescales. Some YSOs were detected only during occasional flaring events. The source R CrA went below our detection limit during a few fading events.

  10. MAVEN Observations of Magnetic Reconnection on the Dayside Martian Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiBraccio, Gina A.; Espley, Jared R.; Connerney, John E. P.; Brain, David A.; Halekas, Jasper S.; Mitchell, David L.; Harada, Yuki; Hara, Takuya

    2015-04-01

    The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission offers a unique opportunity to investigate the complex solar wind-planetary interaction at Mars. The Martian magnetosphere is formed as the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) drapes around the planet's ionosphere and localized crustal magnetic fields. As the solar wind interacts with this induced magnetosphere, magnetic reconnection can occur at any location where a magnetic shear is present. Reconnection between the IMF and the induced and crustal fields facilitates a direct plasma exchange between the solar wind and the Martian ionosphere. Here we address the occurrence of magnetic reconnection on the dayside magnetosphere of Mars using MAVEN magnetic field and plasma data. When reconnection occurs on the dayside, a non-zero magnetic field component normal to the obstacle, B_N, will result. Using minimum variance analysis, we measure BN by transforming Magnetometer data into boundary-normal coordinates. Selected events are then further examined to identify plasma heating and energization, in the form of Alfvénic outflow jets, using Solar Wind Ion Analyzer measurements. Additionally, the topology of the crustal fields is validated from electron pitch angle distributions provided by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer. To understand which parameters are responsible for the onset of reconnection, we test the dependency of the dimensionless reconnection rate, calculated from BN measurements, on magnetic field shear angle and plasma beta (the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure). We assess the global impact of reconnection on Mars' induced magnetosphere by combining analytical models with MAVEN observations to predict the regions where reconnection may occur. Using this approach we examine how IMF orientation and magnetosheath parameters affect reconnection on a global scale. With the aid of analytical models we are able to assess the role of reconnection on a global scale to better understand which

  11. X-ray pulsar magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lipunov, V.

    1981-01-01

    A pulsar consists of a close binary star system whose one component is a neutron star and the other a normal star. This supplies the neutron star with fuel in form of star wind or a gas stream. A hot plasma-like matter falls onto the neutron star, penetrates in its magnetic field and interacts with it. The matter coming from the normal star has a great rotational moment and forms a hot diamagnetic disk around the neutron star. The plasma penetrates in the internal parts of the magnetosphere where hard x radiation is formed as a result of the plasma impingement on the neutron star surface. (M.D.)

  12. Engineering aspects of compact stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, B.E.; Benson, R.D.; Brooks, A.

    2003-01-01

    Compact stellarators could combine the good confinement and high beta of a tokamak with the inherently steady state, disruption-free characteristics of a stellarator. Two U.S. compact stellarator facilities are now in the conceptual design phase: the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) and the Quasi- Poloidal Stellarator (QPS). NCSX has a major radius of 1.4 m and a toroidal field up to 2 T. The primary feature of both NCSX and QPS is the set of modular coils that provide the basic magnetic configuration. These coils represent a major engineering challenge due to the complex shape, precise geometric accuracy, and high current density of the windings. The winding geometry is too complex for conventional hollow copper conductor construction. Instead, the modular coils will be wound with flexible, multi strand cable conductor that has been compacted to a 75% copper packing fraction. Inside the NCSX coil set and surrounding the plasma is a highly contoured vacuum vessel. The vessel consists of three identical, 120 deg. segments that are bolted together at double sealed joints. The QPS device has a major radius of 0.9 m, a toroidal field of 1 T, and an aspect ratio of only 2.7. Instead of an internal vacuum vessel, the QPS modular coils will operate in an external vacuum tank. (author)

  13. The Stellar Imager (SI) Project: Resolving Stellar Surfaces, Interiors, and Magnetic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Schrijver, K.; Karovska, M.

    2007-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a UV/Optical. Space-Based Interferometer designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsec (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and, via asteroseismology, stellar interiors and of the Universe in general. The ultra-sharp images of SI will revolutionize our view of many dynamic astrophysical processes by transforming point sources into extended sources, and snapshots into evolving views. The science of SI focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe, particularly on magnetic activity on the surfaces of stars like the Sun. Its prime goal is to enable long-term forecasting of solar activity and the space weather that it drives. SI will also revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. In this paper we discuss the science goals, technology needs, and baseline design of the SI mission.

  14. The role of the ionosphere in coupling upstream ULF wave power into the dayside magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engebretson, M.J.; Cahill, L.J. Jr.; Arnoldy, R.L.; Anderson, B.J.; Rosenberg, T.J.; Carpenter, D.L.; Inan, U.S.; Eather, R.H.

    1991-01-01

    A series of recent studies of Pc 3 magnetic pulsations in the dayside outer magnetosphere has given new insights into the possible mechanisms of entry of ULF wave power into the magnetosphere from a bow shock related upstream source. In this paper, the authors first review many of these new observational results by presenting a comparison of data from two 10-hour intervals on successive days in April 1986 and then present a possible model for transmission of pulsation signals from the magnetosheath into the dayside magnetosphere. Simultaneous multi-instrument observations at South Pole Station, located below the cusp/cleft ionosphere near local noon, magnetic field observations by the AMPTE CCE satellite in the dayside outer magnetosphere, and upstream magnetic field observations by the IMP 8 satellite show clear interplanetary magnetic field field magnitude control of dayside resonant harmonic pulsations and band-limited very high latitude pulsations, as well as pulsation-modulated precipitation of what appear to be magnetosheath/boundary layer electrons. They believe that this modulated precipitation may be responsible for the propagation of upstream wave power in the Pc 3 frequency band into the high-latitude ionosphere, from whence it may be transported throughout the dayside outer magnetosphere by means of an ionospheric transistor. In this model, modulations in ionospheric conductivity caused by cusp/cleft precipitation cause varying ionospheric currents with frequency spectra determined by the upstream waves; these modulations will be superimposed on the Birkeland currents, which close via these ionospheric currents. Modulated region 2 Birkeland currents will in turn provide a narrow-band source of wave energy to a wide range of dayside local times in the outer magnetosphere

  15. Modular model for Mercury's magnetospheric magnetic field confined within the average observed magnetopause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korth, Haje; Tsyganenko, Nikolai A; Johnson, Catherine L; Philpott, Lydia C; Anderson, Brian J; Al Asad, Manar M; Solomon, Sean C; McNutt, Ralph L

    2015-06-01

    Accurate knowledge of Mercury's magnetospheric magnetic field is required to understand the sources of the planet's internal field. We present the first model of Mercury's magnetospheric magnetic field confined within a magnetopause shape derived from Magnetometer observations by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft. The field of internal origin is approximated by a dipole of magnitude 190 nT R M 3 , where R M is Mercury's radius, offset northward by 479 km along the spin axis. External field sources include currents flowing on the magnetopause boundary and in the cross-tail current sheet. The cross-tail current is described by a disk-shaped current near the planet and a sheet current at larger (≳ 5  R M ) antisunward distances. The tail currents are constrained by minimizing the root-mean-square (RMS) residual between the model and the magnetic field observed within the magnetosphere. The magnetopause current contributions are derived by shielding the field of each module external to the magnetopause by minimizing the RMS normal component of the magnetic field at the magnetopause. The new model yields improvements over the previously developed paraboloid model in regions that are close to the magnetopause and the nightside magnetic equatorial plane. Magnetic field residuals remain that are distributed systematically over large areas and vary monotonically with magnetic activity. Further advances in empirical descriptions of Mercury's magnetospheric external field will need to account for the dependence of the tail and magnetopause currents on magnetic activity and additional sources within the magnetosphere associated with Birkeland currents and plasma distributions near the dayside magnetopause.

  16. Io's Magnetospheric Interaction: An MHD Model with Day-Night Asymmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabin, K.; Combi, M. R.; Gombosi, T. I.; DeZeeuw, D. L.; Hansen, K. C.; Powell, K. G.

    2001-01-01

    In this paper we present the results of all improved three-dimensional MHD model for Io's interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere. We have included the day-night asymmetry into the spatial distribution of our mass-loading, which allowed us to reproduce several smaller features or the Galileo December 1995 data set. The calculation is performed using our newly modified description of the pick-up processes that accounts for the effects of the corotational electric field existing in the Jovian magnetosphere. This change in the formulation of the source terms for the MHD equations resulted in significant improvements in the comparison with the Galileo measurements. We briefly discuss the limitations of our model and possible future improvements.

  17. Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) System Manager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiff, Conrad; Maher, Francis Alfred; Henely, Sean Philip; Rand, David

    2014-01-01

    The Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission is an ambitious NASA space science mission in which 4 spacecraft are flown in tight formation about a highly elliptical orbit. Each spacecraft has multiple instruments that measure particle and field compositions in the Earths magnetosphere. By controlling the members relative motion, MMS can distinguish temporal and spatial fluctuations in a way that a single spacecraft cannot.To achieve this control, 2 sets of four maneuvers, distributed evenly across the spacecraft must be performed approximately every 14 days. Performing a single maneuver on an individual spacecraft is usually labor intensive and the complexity becomes clearly increases with four. As a result, the MMS flight dynamics team turned to the System Manager to put the routine or error-prone under machine control freeing the analysts for activities that require human judgment.The System Manager is an expert system that is capable of handling operations activities associated with performing MMS maneuvers. As an expert system, it can work off a known schedule, launching jobs based on a one-time occurrence or on a set reoccurring schedule. It is also able to detect situational changes and use event-driven programming to change schedules, adapt activities, or call for help.

  18. Ultrathin foils used for low-energy neutral atom imaging of the terrestrial magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Funsten, H.O.; McComas, D.J.; Barraclough, B.L.

    1993-01-01

    Magnetospheric imaging by remote detection of low-energy neutral atoms (LENAs) that are created by charge exchange between magnetospheric plasma ions and neutral geocoronal atoms has been proposed as a method to provide global information of magnetospheric dynamics. For LENA detecting, carbon foils can be implemented to (1) ionize the LENAs and electrostatically remove them from the large background of solar UV scattered by the geocorona to which LENA detectors (e.g., microchannel plates) are sensitive and (2) generate secondary electrons to provide coincidence and/or LENA trajectory information. Quantification of LENA-foil interactions are crucial in defining LENA imager performance. The authors present equilibrium charge state distributions due to foil contamination from exposure to air. Angular scattering that results from the projectile-foil interaction is quantified and is shown to be independent of the charge state distribution

  19. Inclined Pulsar Magnetospheres in General Relativity: Polar Caps for the Dipole, Quadrudipole, and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gralla, Samuel E.; Lupsasca, Alexandru; Philippov, Alexander

    2017-12-01

    In the canonical model of a pulsar, rotational energy is transmitted through the surrounding plasma via two electrical circuits, each connecting to the star over a small region known as a “polar cap.” For a dipole-magnetized star, the polar caps coincide with the magnetic poles (hence the name), but in general, they can occur at any place and take any shape. In light of their crucial importance to most models of pulsar emission (from radio to X-ray to wind), we develop a general technique for determining polar cap properties. We consider a perfectly conducting star surrounded by a force-free magnetosphere and include the effects of general relativity. Using a combined numerical-analytical technique that leverages the rotation rate as a small parameter, we derive a general analytic formula for the polar cap shape and charge-current distribution as a function of the stellar mass, radius, rotation rate, moment of inertia, and magnetic field. We present results for dipole and quadrudipole fields (superposed dipole and quadrupole) inclined relative to the axis of rotation. The inclined dipole polar cap results are the first to include general relativity, and they confirm its essential role in the pulsar problem. The quadrudipole pulsar illustrates the phenomenon of thin annular polar caps. More generally, our method lays a foundation for detailed modeling of pulsar emission with realistic magnetic fields.

  20. Compression of Jupiter's magnetosphere by the solar wind: Reexamination via MHD simulation of evolving corotating interaction regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Z.K.; Dryer, M.; Fillius, R.W.; Smith, E.J.; Wolfe, J.H.

    1981-01-01

    We examine the major changes in the solar wind before, during, and after the Pioneer 10 and 11 encounters with the Jovian magnetosphere during 1973 and 1974, respectively. In an earlier study, Smith et al. (1978) concluded that the Jovian magnetosphere was subjected to large-scale compression during at least three or four intervals during which it appeared that the spacecraft had reentered the solar wind or magnetosheath near 50 R/sub J/ after having first entered the magnetosphere near 100 R/sub J/. They based this suggestion on the observations of the sister spacecraft, which indicated--on the basis of a kinematic translation of corotating interaction regions (CIR's)--that these structures would be expected to arrive at Jupiter at the appropriate beginning of these three intervals. Our reexamination of this suggestion involved the numerical simulation of the multiple CIR evolutions from one spacecraft to the sister spacecraft. This approach, considered to be a major improvement, confirms the suggestion by Smith et al. (1978) that Jupiter's magnetosphere was compressed by interplanetary CIR's during three or four of these events. Our MHD simulation also suggests that Jupiter's magnetosphere reacts to solar wind rarefactions in the opposite way--by expanding. A previously unexplained pair of magnetopause crossings on the Pioneer 11 outbound pass may simply be due to a delayed reexpansion of Jupiter's magnetosphere from a compression that occurred during the inbound pass

  1. Physics of the diffusion region in the Magnetospheric Multiscale era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, L. J.; Hesse, M.; Wang, S.; Ergun, R.; Bessho, N.; Burch, J. L.; Giles, B. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Gershman, D. J.; Wilson, L. B., III; Dorelli, J.; Pollock, C. J.; Moore, T. E.; Lavraud, B.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Le Contel, O.; Avanov, L. A.

    2016-12-01

    Encounters of reconnection diffusion regions by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission during its first magnetopause scan are studied in combination with theories and simulations. The goal is to understand by first-principles how stored magnetic energy is converted into plasma thermal and bulk flow energies via particle energization, mixing and interaction with waves. The magnetosheath population having much higher density than the magnetospheric plasma is an outstanding narrator for and participant in the magnetospheric part of the diffusion region. For reconnection with negligible guide fields, the accelerated magnetosheath population (for both electrons and ions) is cyclotron turned by the reconnected magnetic field to form outflow jets, and then gyrotropized downstream. Wave fluctuations are reduced in the central electron diffusion region (EDR) and do not dominate the energy conversion there. For an event with a significant guide field to magnetize the electrons, wave fluctuations at the lower hybrid frequency dominate the energy conversion in the EDR, and the fastest electron outflow is established dominantly by a strong perpendicular electric field via the ExB flow in one exhaust and by time-of-flight effects along with parallel electric field acceleration in the other. Whether the above features are common threads to magnetopause reconnection diffusion regions is a question to be further examined.

  2. The non-linear response of the magnetosphere: 30 October 1978

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, C.P.; Prichard, D.

    1993-01-01

    The authors address the question of whether the response of the earth magnetosphere to the solar wind can be viewed as a nonlinear phenomena, rather than a linear response. The difficulty in answering this question is that the driving function, namely the solar wind, is very aperiodic, and it is difficult to argue that the system has time to go to any sort of a steady state in response to the driving force, prior to its making another random change. The application of nonlinear analysis methods in the face of this type of system is very limited. The authors pick a particular day, namely October 30, 1978, when the solar wind was very uniform for an extended period of time, and there is the possibility the system could converge to some type of strange attractor state within this period. They look at the auroral electrojet as a measure of the potential nonlinear response of the magnetosphere, and apply both nonlinear and linear analysis procedures to the data to try to determine if the data would support a nonlinear response of the magnetosphere to the solar wind driver, taken as the product of the solar wind speed v, and the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field B s

  3. Estimating precise metallicity and stellar mass evolution of galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosby, Gregory

    2018-01-01

    The evolution of galaxies can be conveniently broken down into the evolution of their contents. The changing dust, gas, and stellar content in addition to the changing dark matter potential and periodic feedback from a super-massive blackhole are some of the key ingredients. We focus on the stellar content that can be observed, as the stars reflect information about the galaxy when they were formed. We approximate the stellar content and star formation histories of unresolved galaxies using stellar population modeling. Though simplistic, this approach allows us to reconstruct the star formation histories of galaxies that can be used to test models of galaxy formation and evolution. These models, however, suffer from degeneracies at large lookback times (t > 1 Gyr) as red, low luminosity stars begin to dominate a galaxy’s spectrum. Additionally, degeneracies between stellar populations at different ages and metallicities often make stellar population modeling less precise. The machine learning technique diffusion k-means has been shown to increase the precision in stellar population modeling using a mono-metallicity basis set. However, as galaxies evolve, we expect the metallicity of stellar populations to vary. We use diffusion k-means to generate a multi-metallicity basis set to estimate the stellar mass and chemical evolution of unresolved galaxies. Two basis sets are formed from the Bruzual & Charlot 2003 and MILES stellar population models. We then compare the accuracy and precision of these models in recovering complete (stellar mass and metallicity) histories of mock data. Similarities in the groupings of stellar population spectra in the diffusion maps for each metallicity hint at fundamental age transitions common to both basis sets that can be used to identify stellar populations in a given age range.

  4. Pulsar magnetospheres in binary systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ershkovich, A. I.; Dolan, J. F.

    1985-01-01

    The criterion for stability of a tangential discontinuity interface in a magnetized, perfectly conducting inviscid plasma is investigated by deriving the dispersion equation including the effects of both gravitational and centrifugal acceleration. The results are applied to neutron star magnetospheres in X-ray binaries. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability appears to be important in determining whether MHD waves of large amplitude generated by instability may intermix the plasma effectively, resulting in accretion onto the whole star as suggested by Arons and Lea and leading to no X-ray pulsar behavior.

  5. Overview of Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) for BepiColombo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murakami, G.; Hayakawa, H.; Fujimoto, M.; BepiColombo Project Team

    2018-05-01

    The next Mercury exploration mission BepiColombo will be launched in October 2018 and will arrive at Mercury in December 2025. We present the current status, science goals, and observation plans of JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO).

  6. Dynamics of a plasma in laboratory models of magnetospheres of the Earth and Uranus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podgornyj, I.M.; Dubinin, Eh.M.; Izrajlevich, P.L.; Potanin, Yu.N.

    1977-01-01

    The plasma convection schema in the artificial magnetosphere of the Earth and Uranus has been studied, the magnetic convection schema being not connected with the readjustment of the magnetic field. The data on the modelling of the conditions of the Earth and the Uranus are presented. In modelling the magnetosphere of the Earth, various pictures of the convection of plasma in the equatorial and the meridional planes have been considered; the distributions of the intensities of fields are presented. In modelling the magnetosphere of the Uranus, several models are considered. The magnetosphere possessing the tubular tail is shown to be possible. A possibility has been checked that at the magnetic tail of the Uranus not cylindrical, but a flat current layer may exist, which has been built of the principle of readjustment of the magnetic field. The schemes illustrating the configuration of the magnetic tail, magnetic field, and plasma penetration areas are presented. Presented are the dependences of the component of the magnetic field intensity, which is parallel to the velocity vector, and at various inclination angles. An analysis of the results of laboratory tests and of the data of measurements in the cosmic space has been carried out

  7. Stellar winds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weymann, R.J.

    1978-01-01

    It is known that a steady outflow of material at comparable rates of mass loss but vastly different speeds is now known to be ubiquitous phenomenon among both the luminous hot stars and the luminous but cool red giants. The flows are probably massive enough in both cases to give rise to significant effects on stellar evolution and the mass balance between stars and the interstellar medium. The possible mechanisms for these phenomena as well as the methods of observation used are described. In particular, the mass-loss processes in stars other than the sun that also involve a steady flow of matter are considered. The evidence for their existence is described, and then the question of whether the process thought to produce the solar wind is also responsible for producing these stellar winds is explored

  8. Two-fluid limits on stellarator performance: Explanation of three stellarator puzzles and comparison to axisymmetric plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugiyama, L.E.; Strauss, H.R.; Park, W.; Fu, G.Y.; Breslau, J.A.; Chen, J.

    2005-01-01

    The basic two-fluid processes, those related to the nonlinearly self-consistent diamagnetic drifts of the electrons and ions, are shown to have fundamentally different effects on the steady state and beta limits of stellarator configurations, compared to MHD predictions. Nonlinear numerical simulation shows that the ideal MHD ballooning modes and the resistive MHD ballooning and interchange modes at relatively high mode numbers, that set the most severe theoretical limits on beta in stellarators with fixed boundary, are easily stabilized by two-fluid effects at realistic parameters, including finite Larmor radius effects related to the ion diamagnetic drift. Magnetic reconnection at low-order rational magnetic surfaces, on the other hand, is enhanced through the parallel component of the two-fluid electron pressure gradient in Ohm's law. The accelerated reconnection rates may impose the true intrinsic limit on beta in stellarators, as a 'soft' or confinement mediated limit in β e , due to steady confinement degradation in the presence of large magnetic islands. Study of the corresponding axisymmetric configurations shows that the helical component of the stellarator configuration provides an important amplifying factor for these effects. The two-fluid results may explain several previously puzzling experimental observations on stellarator behavior. (author)

  9. Oscillations in stellar atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, A.; Ringuelet, A.E.; Fontenla, J.M.

    1989-01-01

    Atmospheric excitation and propagation of oscillations are analyzed for typical pulsating stars. The linear, plane-parallel approach for the pulsating atmosphere gives a local description of the phenomenon. From the local analysis of oscillations, the minimum frequencies are obtained for radially propagating waves. The comparison of the minimum frequencies obtained for a variety of stellar types is in good agreement with the observed periods of the oscillations. The role of the atmosphere in the globar stellar pulsations is thus emphasized. 7 refs

  10. SUPER STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS OF NEUTRON STARS IN BE X-RAY BINARIES ESTIMATED WITH NEW TORQUE AND MAGNETOSPHERE MODELS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Chang-Sheng; Zhang, Shuang-Nan [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Li, Xiang-Dong, E-mail: zhangsn@ihep.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics (Nanjing University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093 (China)

    2015-11-10

    We re-estimate the surface magnetic fields of neutron stars (NSs) in Be X-ray binaries (BeXBs) with different models of torque, improved beyond Klus et al. In particular, a new torque model is applied to three models of magnetosphere radius. Unlike the previous models, the new torque model does not lead to divergent results for any fastness parameter. The inferred surface magnetic fields of these NSs for the two compressed magnetosphere models are much higher than that for the uncompressed magnetosphere model. The new torque model using the compressed magnetosphere radius leads to unique solutions near spin equilibrium in all cases, unlike other models that usually give two branches of solutions. Although our conclusions are still affected by the simplistic assumptions about the magnetosphere radius calculations, we show several groups of possible surface magnetic field values with our new models when the interaction between the magnetosphere and the infalling accretion plasma is considered. The estimated surface magnetic fields for NSs BeXBs in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Milk Way are between the quantum critical field and the maximum “virial” value by the spin equilibrium condition.

  11. Transient plasma injections in the dayside magnetosphere: one-to-one correlated observations by Cluster and SuperDARN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Marchaudon

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Conjunctions in the cusp between the four Cluster spacecraft and SuperDARN ground-based radars offer unique opportunities to compare the signatures of transient plasma injections simultaneously in the high-altitude dayside magnetosphere and in the ionosphere. We report here on such observations on 17 March 2001, when the IMF initially northward and duskward, turns southward and dawnward for a short period. The changes in the convection direction at Cluster are well correlated with the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF By variations. Moreover, the changes in the ionosphere follow those in the magnetosphere, with a 2–3min delay. When mapped into the ionosphere, the convection velocity at Cluster is about 1.5 times larger than measured by SuperDARN. In the high-altitude cusp, field and particle observations by Cluster display the characteristic signatures of plasma injections into the magnetosphere suggestive of Flux Transfer Events (FTEs. Simultaneous impulsive and localized convection plasma flows are observed in the ionospheric cusp by the HF radars. A clear one-to-one correlation is observed for three successive injections, with a 2–3min delay between the magnetospheric and ionospheric observations. For each event, the drift velocity of reconnected flux tubes (phase velocity has been compared in the magnetosphere and in the ionosphere. The drift velocity measured at Cluster is of the order of 400–600ms–1 when mapped into the ionosphere, in qualitative agreement with SuperDARN observations. Finally, the reconnected flux tubes are elongated in the north-south direction, with an east-west dimension of 30–60km in the ionosphere from mapped Cluster observations, which is consistent with SuperDARN observations, although slightly smaller. Key words. Ionosphere (plasma convection – Magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers; magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions

  12. Recent progress in understanding of the ion composition in the magnetosphere and some major question mark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hultqvist, B.

    1981-06-01

    The observations of the energetic ion composition in the magnetosphere are reviewed with the emphasis on the recent measurements by means of GEOS-1 and -2, ISEE-1 and 2, PROGNOZ-7 and SCATHA. The observations are compared with the predictions of the open magnetosphere model. One of the major conclusions is that there are processes in the magnetosphere which play a much larger part than the model, as hitherto presented, predicts. Direct ejection of ionospheric ions, in combination with acceleration, along closed as well as open field lines may even be the dominating source process for the ring current/inner plasma sheet in magnetic storms. In very disturbed conditions this ejection mechanism must work over most of the hemispheres poleward of say 50degrees. Circulation of the ionospheric ions through the tail of the magnetosphere is not likely to be of primary importance for the energization of these ions in very disturbed conditions. (author)

  13. The Effects of Stellar Dynamics on the Evolution of Young, Dense Stellar Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belkus, H.; van Bever, J.; Vanbeveren, D.

    In this paper, we report on first results of a project in Brussels in which we study the effects of stellar dynamics on the evolution of young dense stellar systems using 3 decades of expertise in massive-star evolution and our population (number and spectral) synthesis code. We highlight an unconventionally formed object scenario (UFO-scenario) for Wolf Rayet binaries and study the effects of a luminous blue variable-type instability wind mass-loss formalism on the formation of intermediate-mass black holes.

  14. Stellar remnants

    CERN Document Server

    Kawaler, S D; Srinivasan, G

    1997-01-01

    This volume examines the internal structure, origin and evolution of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, all objects at the final stage of stellar evolution. It covers topics such as: pulsation of white dwarfs; millisecond pulsars; and the dynamics around black holes.

  15. Chorus source region localization in the Earth's outer magnetosphere using THEMIS measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Agapitov

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Discrete ELF/VLF chorus emissions, the most intense electromagnetic plasma waves observed in the Earth's radiation belts and outer magnetosphere, are thought to propagate roughly along magnetic field lines from a localized source region near the magnetic equator towards the magnetic poles. THEMIS project Electric Field Instrument (EFI and Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM measurements were used to determine the spatial scale of the chorus source localization region on the day side of the Earth's outer magnetosphere. We present simultaneous observations of the same chorus elements registered onboard several THEMIS spacecraft in 2007 when all the spacecraft were in the same orbit. Discrete chorus elements were observed at 0.15–0.25 of the local electron gyrofrequency, which is typical for the outer magnetosphere. We evaluated the Poynting flux and wave vector distribution and obtained chorus wave packet quasi-parallel propagation to the local magnetic field. Amplitude and phase correlation data analysis allowed us to estimate the characteristic spatial correlation scale transverse to the local magnetic field to be in the 2800–3200 km range.

  16. YOUNG STELLAR POPULATIONS IN MYStIX STAR-FORMING REGIONS: CANDIDATE PROTOSTARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romine, Gregory; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Kuhn, Michael A. [Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, Camino El Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Povich, Matthew S., E-mail: edf@astro.psu.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 West Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    The Massive Young Star-Forming Complex in Infrared and X-ray (MYStIX) project provides a new census on stellar members of massive star-forming regions within 4 kpc. Here the MYStIX Infrared Excess catalog and Chandra -based X-ray photometric catalogs are mined to obtain high-quality samples of Class I protostars using criteria designed to reduce extragalactic and Galactic field star contamination. A total of 1109 MYStIX Candidate Protostars (MCPs) are found in 14 star-forming regions. Most are selected from protoplanetary disk infrared excess emission, but 20% are found from their ultrahard X-ray spectra from heavily absorbed magnetospheric flare emission. Two-thirds of the MCP sample is newly reported here. The resulting samples are strongly spatially associated with molecular cores and filaments on Herschel far-infrared maps. This spatial agreement and other evidence indicate that the MCP sample has high reliability with relatively few “false positives” from contaminating populations. But the limited sensitivity and sparse overlap among the infrared and X-ray subsamples indicate that the sample is very incomplete with many “false negatives.” Maps, tables, and source descriptions are provided to guide further study of star formation in these regions. In particular, the nature of ultrahard X-ray protostellar candidates without known infrared counterparts needs to be elucidated.

  17. YOUNG STELLAR POPULATIONS IN MYStIX STAR-FORMING REGIONS: CANDIDATE PROTOSTARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romine, Gregory; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V.; Kuhn, Michael A.; Povich, Matthew S.

    2016-01-01

    The Massive Young Star-Forming Complex in Infrared and X-ray (MYStIX) project provides a new census on stellar members of massive star-forming regions within 4 kpc. Here the MYStIX Infrared Excess catalog and Chandra -based X-ray photometric catalogs are mined to obtain high-quality samples of Class I protostars using criteria designed to reduce extragalactic and Galactic field star contamination. A total of 1109 MYStIX Candidate Protostars (MCPs) are found in 14 star-forming regions. Most are selected from protoplanetary disk infrared excess emission, but 20% are found from their ultrahard X-ray spectra from heavily absorbed magnetospheric flare emission. Two-thirds of the MCP sample is newly reported here. The resulting samples are strongly spatially associated with molecular cores and filaments on Herschel far-infrared maps. This spatial agreement and other evidence indicate that the MCP sample has high reliability with relatively few “false positives” from contaminating populations. But the limited sensitivity and sparse overlap among the infrared and X-ray subsamples indicate that the sample is very incomplete with many “false negatives.” Maps, tables, and source descriptions are provided to guide further study of star formation in these regions. In particular, the nature of ultrahard X-ray protostellar candidates without known infrared counterparts needs to be elucidated.

  18. The relation between stellar evolution and cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tayler, R.J.

    1984-01-01

    Observations of star clusters combined with the theory of stellar evolution enable us to estimate the ages of stars while cosmological observations and theories give us a value for the age of the Universe. This is the most important interaction between cosmology and stellar evolution because it is clearly necessary that stars are younger than the Universe. Stellar evolution also plays an important role in relating the present chemical composition of the Universe to its original composition. The author restricts the review to a discussion of the relation between stellar evolution and the big bang cosmological theory because there is such a good qualitative agreement between the hot big bang theory and observations. (Auth.)

  19. Science with Synthetic Stellar Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, Robyn Ellyn

    2018-04-01

    A new generation of observational projects is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the resolved stellar populations of Milky-Way-like galaxies at an unprecedented level of detail, ushering in an era of precision studies of galaxy formation. In the Milky Way itself, astrometric, spectroscopic and photometric surveys will measure three-dimensional positions and velocities and numerous chemical abundances for stars from the disk to the halo, as well as for many satellite dwarf galaxies. In the Local Group and beyond, HST, JWST and eventually WFIRST will deliver pristine views of resolved stars. The groundbreaking scale and dimensionality of this new view of resolved stellar populations in galaxies challenge us to develop new theoretical tools to robustly compare these surveys to simulated galaxies, in order to take full advantage of our new ability to make detailed predictions for stellar populations within a cosmological context. I will describe a framework for generating realistic synthetic star catalogs and mock surveys from state-of-the-art cosmological-hydrodynamical simulations, and present several early scientific results from, and predictions for, resolved stellar surveys of our Galaxy and its neighbors.

  20. TEM turbulence optimisation in stellarators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proll, J. H. E.; Mynick, H. E.; Xanthopoulos, P.; Lazerson, S. A.; Faber, B. J.

    2016-01-01

    With the advent of neoclassically optimised stellarators, optimising stellarators for turbulent transport is an important next step. The reduction of ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence has been achieved via shaping of the magnetic field, and the reduction of trapped-electron mode (TEM) turbulence is addressed in the present paper. Recent analytical and numerical findings suggest TEMs are stabilised when a large fraction of trapped particles experiences favourable bounce-averaged curvature. This is the case for example in Wendelstein 7-X (Beidler et al 1990 Fusion Technol. 17 148) and other Helias-type stellarators. Using this knowledge, a proxy function was designed to estimate the TEM dynamics, allowing optimal configurations for TEM stability to be determined with the STELLOPT (Spong et al 2001 Nucl. Fusion 41 711) code without extensive turbulence simulations. A first proof-of-principle optimised equilibrium stemming from the TEM-dominated stellarator experiment HSX (Anderson et al 1995 Fusion Technol. 27 273) is presented for which a reduction of the linear growth rates is achieved over a broad range of the operational parameter space. As an important consequence of this property, the turbulent heat flux levels are reduced compared with the initial configuration.

  1. The Stellar Imager (SI) - A Mission to Resolve Stellar Surfaces, Interiors, and Magnetic Activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christensen-Dalsgaard, Joergen; Carpenter, Kenneth G; Schrijver, Carolus J; Karovska, Margarita

    2011-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a space-based, UV/Optical Interferometer (UVOI) designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general. It will also probe via asteroseismology flows and structures in stellar interiors. SI will enable the development and testing of a predictive dynamo model for the Sun, by observing patterns of surface activity and imaging of the structure and differential rotation of stellar interiors in a population study of Sun-like stars to determine the dependence of dynamo action on mass, internal structure and flows, and time. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe and will revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. SI is a 'Landmark/Discovery Mission' in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap, an implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Astrophysics Strategic Plan, and a NASA Vision Mission ('NASA Space Science Vision Missions' (2008), ed. M. Allen). We present here the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technology development needed to enable this mission. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

  2. The Stellar Imager (SI) - A Mission to Resolve Stellar Surfaces, Interiors, and Magnetic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Schrijver, Carolus J.; Karovska, Margarita; Si Team

    2011-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a space-based, UV/Optical Interferometer (UVOI) designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general. It will also probe via asteroseismology flows and structures in stellar interiors. SI will enable the development and testing of a predictive dynamo model for the Sun, by observing patterns of surface activity and imaging of the structure and differential rotation of stellar interiors in a population study of Sun-like stars to determine the dependence of dynamo action on mass, internal structure and flows, and time. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe and will revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. SI is a "Landmark/Discovery Mission" in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap, an implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Astrophysics Strategic Plan, and a NASA Vision Mission ("NASA Space Science Vision Missions" (2008), ed. M. Allen). We present here the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technology development needed to enable this mission. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

  3. The Stellar Imager (SI) - A Mission to Resolve Stellar Surfaces, Interiors, and Magnetic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jorgen; Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Schrijver, Carolus J.; Karovska, Margarita

    2012-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a space-based, UV/Optical Interferometer (UVOI) designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general. It will also probe via asteroseismology flows and structures in stellar interiors. SI will enable the development and testing of a predictive dynamo model for the Sun, by observing patterns of surface activity and imaging of the structure and differential rotation of stellar interiors in a population study of Sun-like stars to determine the dependence of dynamo action on mass, internal structure and flows, and time. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe and will revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magnetohydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. SI is a "LandmarklDiscovery Mission" in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap, an implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Astrophysics Strategic Plan, and a NASA Vision Mission ("NASA Space Science Vision Missions" (2008), ed. M. Allen). We present here the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technology development needed to enable this mission

  4. Spontaneous generation of auroral arcs in a three dimensionally coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Kunihiko; Sato, Tetsuya.

    1988-01-01

    This paper presents the first full three-dimensional dynamic simulation of auroral arc formation. The magnetospheric and ionospheric dynamics are represented by one-fluid magnetohydrodynamic equations and two-fluid weakly ionized plasma equations, respectively. The feedback coupling between magnetospheric Alfven waves and ionospheric density waves are self-consistently and three-dimensionally solved. Obtained is a spontaneous generation of longitudinally elongated striations of field-aligned currents and ionospheric electron densities, which compare very well with many features of quiet auroral arcs. (author)

  5. The Quasi-Toroidal Stellarator: An Innovative Confinement Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knowlton, S. F.

    2001-01-01

    To develop a new class of stellarators that exhibit improved confinement compared to conventional stellarators. This approach generally makes use of a designed symmetry of the magnetic field strength along a particular coordinate axis in the toroidal geometry of the stellarator, and is referred to as quasi-symmetry

  6. When the Jeans Do Not Fit: How Stellar Feedback Drives Stellar Kinematics and Complicates Dynamical Modeling in Low-mass Galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Badry, Kareem; Quataert, Eliot [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Wetzel, Andrew R.; Hopkins, Philip F. [TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Geha, Marla [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT (United States); Kereš, Dusan; Chan, T. K. [Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla (United States); Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André, E-mail: kelbadry@berkeley.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy and CIERA, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States)

    2017-02-01

    In low-mass galaxies, stellar feedback can drive gas outflows that generate non-equilibrium fluctuations in the gravitational potential. Using cosmological zoom-in baryonic simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments project, we investigate how these fluctuations affect stellar kinematics and the reliability of Jeans dynamical modeling in low-mass galaxies. We find that stellar velocity dispersion and anisotropy profiles fluctuate significantly over the course of galaxies’ starburst cycles. We therefore predict an observable correlation between star formation rate and stellar kinematics: dwarf galaxies with higher recent star formation rates should have systemically higher stellar velocity dispersions. This prediction provides an observational test of the role of stellar feedback in regulating both stellar and dark-matter densities in dwarf galaxies. We find that Jeans modeling, which treats galaxies as virialized systems in dynamical equilibrium, overestimates a galaxy’s dynamical mass during periods of post-starburst gas outflow and underestimates it during periods of net inflow. Short-timescale potential fluctuations lead to typical errors of ∼20% in dynamical mass estimates, even if full three-dimensional stellar kinematics—including the orbital anisotropy—are known exactly. When orbital anisotropy is not known a priori, typical mass errors arising from non-equilibrium fluctuations in the potential are larger than those arising from the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. However, Jeans modeling alone cannot reliably constrain the orbital anisotropy, and problematically, it often favors anisotropy models that do not reflect the true profile. If galaxies completely lose their gas and cease forming stars, fluctuations in the potential subside, and Jeans modeling becomes much more reliable.

  7. When the Jeans Do Not Fit: How Stellar Feedback Drives Stellar Kinematics and Complicates Dynamical Modeling in Low-mass Galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Badry, Kareem; Quataert, Eliot; Wetzel, Andrew R.; Hopkins, Philip F.; Geha, Marla; Kereš, Dusan; Chan, T. K.; Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André

    2017-01-01

    In low-mass galaxies, stellar feedback can drive gas outflows that generate non-equilibrium fluctuations in the gravitational potential. Using cosmological zoom-in baryonic simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments project, we investigate how these fluctuations affect stellar kinematics and the reliability of Jeans dynamical modeling in low-mass galaxies. We find that stellar velocity dispersion and anisotropy profiles fluctuate significantly over the course of galaxies’ starburst cycles. We therefore predict an observable correlation between star formation rate and stellar kinematics: dwarf galaxies with higher recent star formation rates should have systemically higher stellar velocity dispersions. This prediction provides an observational test of the role of stellar feedback in regulating both stellar and dark-matter densities in dwarf galaxies. We find that Jeans modeling, which treats galaxies as virialized systems in dynamical equilibrium, overestimates a galaxy’s dynamical mass during periods of post-starburst gas outflow and underestimates it during periods of net inflow. Short-timescale potential fluctuations lead to typical errors of ∼20% in dynamical mass estimates, even if full three-dimensional stellar kinematics—including the orbital anisotropy—are known exactly. When orbital anisotropy is not known a priori, typical mass errors arising from non-equilibrium fluctuations in the potential are larger than those arising from the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. However, Jeans modeling alone cannot reliably constrain the orbital anisotropy, and problematically, it often favors anisotropy models that do not reflect the true profile. If galaxies completely lose their gas and cease forming stars, fluctuations in the potential subside, and Jeans modeling becomes much more reliable.

  8. On plasma radiative properties in stellar conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turck-Chieze, S.; Delahaye, F.; Gilles, D.; Loisel, G.; Piau, L.; Loisel, G.

    2009-01-01

    The knowledge of stellar evolution is evolving quickly thanks to an increased number of opportunities to scrutinize the stellar internal plasma properties by stellar seismology and by 1D and 3D simulations. These new tools help us to introduce the internal dynamical phenomena in stellar modeling. A proper inclusion of these processes supposes a real confidence in the microscopic physics used, partly checked by solar or stellar acoustic modes. In the present paper we first recall which fundamental physics has been recently verified by helioseismology. Then we recall that opacity is an important ingredient of the secular evolution of stars and we point out why it is necessary to measure absorption coefficients and degrees of ionization in the laboratory for some well identified astrophysical conditions. We examine two specific experimental conditions which are accessible to large laser facilities and are suitable to solve some interesting questions of the stellar community: are the solar internal radiative interactions properly estimated and what is the proper role of the opacity in the excitation of the non-radial modes in the envelop of the β Cepheids and the Be stars? At the end of the paper we point out the difficulties of the experimental approach that we need to overcome. (authors)

  9. Near-Earth Magnetic Field Effects of Large-Scale Magnetospheric Currents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luehr, Hermann; Xiong, Chao; Olsen, Nils; Le, Guan

    2016-01-01

    Magnetospheric currents play an important role in the electrodynamics of near- Earth space. This has been the topic of many space science studies. Here we focus on the magnetic fields they cause close to Earth. Their contribution to the geomagnetic field is the second largest after the core field. Significant progress in interpreting the magnetic fields from the different sources has been achieved thanks to magnetic satellite missions like Ørsted, CHAMP and now Swarm. Of particular interest for this article is a proper representation of the magnetospheric ring current effect. Uncertainties in modelling its effect still produce the largest residuals between observations and present-day geomagnetic field models. A lot of progress has been achieved so far, but there are still open issues like the characteristics of the partial ring current. Other currents discussed are those flowing in the magnetospheric tail. Also their magnetic contribution at LEO orbits is non-negligible. Treating them as an independent source is a more recent development, which has cured some of the problems in geomagnetic field modelling. Unfortunately there is no index available for characterizing the tail current intensity. Here we propose an approach that may help to properly quantify the magnetic contribution from the tail current for geomagnetic field modelling. Some open questions that require further investigation are mentioned at the end.

  10. Hydrodynamics and stellar winds an introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Maciel, Walter J

    2014-01-01

    Stellar winds are a common phenomenon in the life of stars, from the dwarfs like the Sun to the red giants and hot supergiants, constituting one of the basic aspects of modern astrophysics. Stellar winds are a hydrodynamic phenomenon in which circumstellar gases expand towards the interstellar medium. This book presents an elementary introduction to the fundamentals of hydrodynamics with an application to the study of stellar winds. The principles of hydrodynamics have many other applications, so that the book can be used as an introduction to hydrodynamics for students of physics, astrophysics and other related areas.

  11. Stellarator Coil Design and Plasma Sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ku, Long-Poe; Boozer, Allen H.

    2010-01-01

    The rich information contained in the plasma response to external magnetic perturbations can be used to help design stellarator coils more effectively. We demonstrate the feasibility by first devel oping a simple, direct method to study perturbations in stellarators that do not break stellarator symmetry and periodicity. The method applies a small perturbation to the plasma boundary and evaluates the resulting perturbed free-boundary equilibrium to build up a sensitivity matrix for the important physics attributes of the underlying configuration. Using this sensitivity information, design methods for better stellarator coils are then developed. The procedure and a proof-of-principle application are given that (1) determine the spatial distributions of external normal magnetic field at the location of the unperturbed plasma boundary to which the plasma properties are most sen- sitive, (2) determine the distributions of external normal magnetic field that can be produced most efficiently by distant coils, (3) choose the ratios of the magnitudes of the the efficiently produced magnetic distributions so the sensitive plasma properties can be controlled. Using these methods, sets of modular coils are found for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) that are either smoother or can be located much farther from the plasma boundary than those of the present design.

  12. Review of stellarator research world wide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shonet, J.L.

    1987-01-01

    The world-wide effort in stellarators has evolved considerably during the past few years. Stellarator facilities are located in the Australia, Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Dimensions of stellarators range from less than 20 centimeters in major radius to more than 2 meters, and magnetic field values between 0.2 Tesla to more than 3.0 Tesla. Stellarators are made in a variety of magnetic configurations with wide ranges of toroidal aspect ratios and methods of generating the stellarator magnetic surfaces. In particular, continuous helical coils, twisted modular coils, or twisted vacuum chambers all provide different means to generate nested toroidal magnetic surfaces without the need for currents flowing in the plasma. The goal of present day experiments is to accumulate a physics data base. This is being done by increasing electron and ion temperatures with non-ohmic heating, by transport and scaling studies considering neoclassical scaling, global scaling, effects of electric fields, the bootstrap current and magnetic islands. Higher betas are being attempted by designing suitable magnetic configurations, pellet injection and/or minimizing transport losses. Plasma-wall interactions and particle control are being examined by divertor, pumped-limiter and carbonization experiments

  13. Kinetic Framework for the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Plasmasphere-Polar Wind System: Modeling Ion Outflow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schunk, R. W.; Barakat, A. R.; Eccles, V.; Karimabadi, H.; Omelchenko, Y.; Khazanov, G. V.; Glocer, A.; Kistler, L. M.

    2014-12-01

    A Kinetic Framework for the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Plasmasphere-Polar Wind System is being developed in order to provide a rigorous approach to modeling the interaction of hot and cold particle interactions. The framework will include ion and electron kinetic species in the ionosphere, plasmasphere and polar wind, and kinetic ion, super-thermal electron and fluid electron species in the magnetosphere. The framework is ideally suited to modeling ion outflow from the ionosphere and plasmasphere, where a wide range for fluid and kinetic processes are important. These include escaping ion interactions with (1) photoelectrons, (2) cusp/auroral waves, double layers, and field-aligned currents, (3) double layers in the polar cap due to the interaction of cold ionospheric and hot magnetospheric electrons, (4) counter-streaming ions, and (5) electromagnetic wave turbulence. The kinetic ion interactions are particularly strong during geomagnetic storms and substorms. The presentation will provide a brief description of the models involved and discuss the effect that kinetic processes have on the ion outflow.

  14. Oblique propagating electromagnetic ion - Cyclotron instability with A.C. field in outer magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, R. S.; Singh, Vikrant; Rani, Anju; Varughese, George; Singh, K. M.

    2018-05-01

    In the present paper Oblique propagating electromagnetic ion-cyclotron wave has been analyzed for anisotropic multi ion plasma (H+, He+, O+ ions) in earth magnetosphere for the Dione shell of L=7 i.e., the outer radiation belt of the magnetosphere for Loss-cone distribution function with a spectral index j in the presence of A.C. electric field. Detail for particle trajectories and dispersion relation has been derived by using the method of characteristic solution on the basis of wave particle interaction and transformation of energy. Results for the growth rate have been calculated numerically for various parameters and have been compared for different ions present in magnetosphere. It has been found that for studying the wave over wider spectrum, anisotropy for different values of j should be taken. The effect of frequency of A.C. electric field and angle which propagation vector make with magnetic field, on growth rate has been explained.

  15. New Understanding of Mercury's Magnetosphere from MESSENGER'S First Flyby

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, James A.; Acuna, Mario H.; Anderson, Brian J.; Baker, Daniel N.; Benna, Mehdi; Gloeckler, George; Gold, Robert E.; Ho, George C.; Killen, M.; Korth, Haje; hide

    2008-01-01

    Observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft on 14 January 2008 have revealed new features of the solar system's smallest planetary magnetosphere. The interplanetary magnetic field orientation was unfavorable for large inputs of energy from the solar wind and no evidence of magnetic substorms, internal magnetic reconnection, or energetic particle acceleration was detected. Large-scale rotations of the magnetic field were measured along the dusk flank of the magnetosphere and ultra-tow frequency waves were frequently observed beginning near closest approach. Outbound the spacecraft encountered two current-sheet boundaries across which the magnetic field intensity decreased in a step-like manner. The outer current sheet is the magnetopause boundary. The inner current sheet is similar in structure, but weaker and -1000 km closer to the planet. Between these two current sheets the magnetic field intensity is depressed by the diamagnetic effect of planetary ions created by the photo-ionization of Mercury's exosphere.

  16. The force-free magnetosphere of a rotating black hole

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Contopoulos Ioannis

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We explore the analogy with pulsars and investigate the structure of the force-free magnetosphere around a Kerr black hole. We propose that the source of the black hole magnetic field is the Poynting-Robertson effect on the plasma electrons at the inner edge of the surrounding accretion disk, the so called Cosmic Battery. The magnetospheric solution is characterized by the distributions of the magnetic field angular velocity and the poloidal electric current. These are not arbitrary. They are determined self-consistently by requiring that magnetic field lines cross smoothly the two singular surfaces of the problem, the inner ‘light surface’ located inside the ergosphere, and the outer ‘light surface’ which is the generalization of the pulsar light cylinder. The black hole forms a relativistic jet only if it is surrounded by a thick disk and/or extended disk outflows.

  17. Magnetospheric conditions near the equatorial footpoints of proton isotropy boundaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Sergeev

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Data from a cluster of three THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms spacecraft during February–March 2009 frequently provide an opportunity to construct local data-adaptive magnetospheric models, which are suitable for the accurate mapping along the magnetic field lines at distances of 6–9 Re in the nightside magnetosphere. This allows us to map the isotropy boundaries (IBs of 30 and 80 keV protons observed by low-altitude NOAA POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites to the equatorial magnetosphere (to find the projected isotropy boundary, PIB and study the magnetospheric conditions, particularly to evaluate the ratio KIB (Rc/rc; the magnetic field curvature radius to the particle gyroradius in the neutral sheet at that point. Special care is taken to control the factors which influence the accuracy of the adaptive models and mapping. Data indicate that better accuracy of an adaptive model is achieved when the PIB distance from the closest spacecraft is as small as 1–2 Re. For this group of most accurate predictions, the spread of KIB values is still large (from 4 to 32, with the median value KIB ~13 being larger than the critical value Kcr ~ 8 expected at the inner boundary of nonadiabatic angular scattering in the current sheet. It appears that two different mechanisms may contribute to form the isotropy boundary. The group with K ~ [4,12] is most likely formed by current sheet scattering, whereas the group having KIB ~ [12,32] could be formed by the resonant scattering of low-energy protons by the electromagnetic ion-cyclotron (EMIC waves. The energy dependence of the upper K limit and close proximity of the latter event to the plasmapause locations support this conclusion. We also discuss other reasons why the K ~ 8 criterion for isotropization may fail to work, as well as a possible relationship between the two scattering mechanisms.

  18. Modeling the entry and trapping of solar energetic particles in the magnetosphere during the November 24-25, 2001 storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, R. L.; El-Alaoui, M.; Ashour-Abdalla, M.; Walker, R. J.

    2009-04-01

    We have modeled the entry of solar energetic particles (SEPs) into the magnetosphere during the November 24-25, 2001 magnetic storm and the trapping of particles in the inner magnetosphere. The study used the technique of following many test particles, protons with energies greater than about 100 keV, in the electric and magnetic fields from a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the magnetosphere during this storm. SEP protons formed a quasi-trapped and trapped population near and within geosynchronous orbit. Preliminary data comparisons show that the simulation does a reasonably good job of predicting the differential flux measured by geosynchronous spacecraft. Particle trapping took place mainly as a result of particles becoming non-adiabatic and crossing onto closed field lines. Particle flux in the inner magnetosphere increased dramatically as an interplanetary shock impacted and compressed the magnetosphere near 0600 UT, but long term trapping (hours) did not become widespread until about an hour later, during a further compression of the magnetosphere. Trapped and quasi-trapped particles were lost during the simulation by motion through the magnetopause and by precipitation, primarily the former. This caused the particle population near and within geosynchronous orbit to gradually decrease later on during the latter part of the interval.

  19. Geomagnetic response to sudden expansions of the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araki, Tohru; Nagano, Hiroshi

    1988-01-01

    The geomagnetic response to five successive sudden expansions of the magnetosphere was examined by the use of magnetic data observed on the ground and by satellites. At the geosynchronous orbit between 0800 and 1100 LT the magnetic field component parallel to Earth's rotation axis decreased successively. The amplitude and the fall time of each decrease were 20-30 nT and 2.5-3.5 min, respectively. The decrease was propagated about 10 min later to the distance of about 31 R E from Earth in the antisunward direction, indicating propagation speed of about 300 km/s. The H component of ground magnetograms from low-latitude stations showed decreases with waveform similar to that at the geosynchronous orbit, but each decrease at the dayside equator was greatly enhanced and preceded by a short small positive impulse. Each of the corresponding geomagnetic variations at high latitude stations consisted of two successive sharp pulses of opposite sense with 2-3 min duration. The dominant component and the sense of these high-latitude pulses were highly dependent upon local time and latitude. The distribution of equivalent ionospheric current arrows for each high-latitude pulse showed clear twin vortices centered at 70-76 degree geomagnetic latitude in the dayside and was approximately symmetric with respect to the noon meridian. The current direction of the vortices was reversed from the first pulse to the second. it suggests successive appearance of a dawn-to-dusk and then a dusk-to-dawn electric field, both of which were transmitted from the magnetosphere to the polar ionosphere. The effect of ionospheric currents due to these polar electric fields was superposed on the simple magnetic decrease produced by an expansion of the whole magnetosphere and produced the complex waveform distribution on the ground

  20. Exploring stellar evolution with gravitational-wave observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorkin, Irina; Uzan, Jean-Philippe; Vangioni, Elisabeth; Silk, Joseph

    2018-05-01

    Recent detections of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes opened new possibilities to study the evolution of massive stars and black hole formation. In particular, stellar evolution models may be constrained on the basis of the differences in the predicted distribution of black hole masses and redshifts. In this work we propose a framework that combines galaxy and stellar evolution models and use it to predict the detection rates of merging binary black holes for various stellar evolution models. We discuss the prospects of constraining the shape of the time delay distribution of merging binaries using just the observed distribution of chirp masses. Finally, we consider a generic model of primordial black hole formation and discuss the possibility of distinguishing it from stellar-origin black holes.

  1. Parabolic heavy ion flow in the polar magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horwitz, J.L.

    1987-01-01

    Recent observations by the Dynamics Explorer 1 satellite over the dayside polar cap magnetosphere have indicated downward flows of heavy ions (O + , O ++ , N + , N ++ ) with flow velocities of the order 1 km/s (Lockwood et al., 1985b). These downward flows were interpreted as the result of parabolic flow of these heavy ionospheric ions from a source region associated with the polar cleft topside ionosphere. Here the author utilizes a two-dimensional kinetic model to elicit features of the transport of very low energy O + ions from the cleft ionosphere. Bulk parameter (density, flux, thermal energies, etc.) distributions in the noon-midnight meridian plane illustrate the effects of varying convection electric fields and source energies. The results illustrate that particularly under conditions of weak convection electric fields and weak ion heating in the cleft region, much of the intermediate altitude polar cap magnetosphere may be populated by downward flowing heavy ions. It is further shown how two-dimensional transport effects may alter the characteristic vertical profiles of densities and fluxes from ordinary profiles computed in one-dimensional steady state models

  2. Electric fields in the outer magnetosphere - Recent progress and outstanding problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faelthammar, C.-G.

    1979-03-01

    The electric field is a crucial parameter in theories of solar wind interaction with the magnetosphere. During the IMS this parameter has, for the first time, been directly measured in the interacting regions: outer magnetosphere, magnetopause, magnetosheath, bow shock and the adjacent solar wind. Among the first results are the verification of a large-scale dawn-to-dusk tangential electric field component at the magnetopause of typically 1 - 2 mV/m and a corresponding power dissipation of 50 Wkm -2 . The normal component of the electric field is typically of the same order of magnitude as the tangential component. Fine-structure features, possibly related to the entry of plasma, remain to be analyzed. (author)

  3. A statistical approach for identifying the ionospheric footprint of magnetospheric boundaries from SuperDARN observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Lointier

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Identifying and tracking the projection of magnetospheric regions on the high-latitude ionosphere is of primary importance for studying the Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere system and for space weather applications. By its unique spatial coverage and temporal resolution, the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN provides key parameters, such as the Doppler spectral width, which allows the monitoring of the ionospheric footprint of some magnetospheric boundaries in near real-time. In this study, we present the first results of a statistical approach for monitoring these magnetospheric boundaries. The singular value decomposition is used as a data reduction tool to describe the backscattered echoes with a small set of parameters. One of these is strongly correlated with the Doppler spectral width, and can thus be used as a proxy for it. Based on this, we propose a Bayesian classifier for identifying the spectral width boundary, which is classically associated with the Polar Cap boundary. The results are in good agreement with previous studies. Two advantages of the method are: the possibility to apply it in near real-time, and its capacity to select the appropriate threshold level for the boundary detection.

  4. Variational symplectic algorithm for guiding center dynamics in the inner magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jinxing; Pu Zuyin; Xie Lun; Fu Suiyan; Qin Hong

    2011-01-01

    Charged particle dynamics in magnetosphere has temporal and spatial multiscale; therefore, numerical accuracy over a long integration time is required. A variational symplectic integrator (VSI) [H. Qin and X. Guan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 035006 (2008) and H. Qin, X. Guan, and W. M. Tang, Phys. Plasmas 16, 042510 (2009)] for the guiding-center motion of charged particles in general magnetic field is applied to study the dynamics of charged particles in magnetosphere. Instead of discretizing the differential equations of the guiding-center motion, the action of the guiding-center motion is discretized and minimized to obtain the iteration rules for advancing the dynamics. The VSI conserves exactly a discrete Lagrangian symplectic structure and has better numerical properties over a long integration time, compared with standard integrators, such as the standard and adaptive fourth order Runge-Kutta (RK4) methods. Applying the VSI method to guiding-center dynamics in the inner magnetosphere, we can accurately calculate the particles'orbits for an arbitrary long simulating time with good conservation property. When a time-independent convection and corotation electric field is considered, the VSI method can give the accurate single particle orbit, while the RK4 method gives an incorrect orbit due to its intrinsic error accumulation over a long integrating time.

  5. The Extended Pulsar Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinos, Kalapotharakos; Demosthenes, Kazanas; Ioannis, Contopoulos

    2012-01-01

    We present the structure of the 3D ideal MHD pulsar magnetosphere to a radius ten times that of the light cylinder, a distance about an order of magnitude larger than any previous such numerical treatment. Its overall structure exhibits a stable, smooth, well-defined undulating current sheet which approaches the kinematic split monopole solution of Bogovalov 1999 only after a careful introduction of diffusivity even in the highest resolution simulations. It also exhibits an intriguing spiral region at the crossing of two zero charge surfaces on the current sheet, which shows a destabilizing behavior more prominent in higher resolution simulations. We discuss the possibility that this region is physically (and not numerically) unstable. Finally, we present the spiral pulsar antenna radiation pattern.

  6. Comparative studies of stellarator and tokamak transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stroth, U; Burhenn, R; Geiger, J; Giannone, L.; Hartfuss, H J; Kuehner, G; Ledl, L; Simmet, E E; Walter, H [Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Plasmaphysik, IPP-Euratom Association, Garching (Germany); ECRH Team; W7-AS Team

    1997-09-01

    Transport properties in the W7-AS stellarator and in tokamaks are compared. The parameter dependences and the absolute values of the energy confinement time are similar. Indications are found that the density dependence, which is usually observed in stellarator confinement, can vanish above a critical density. The density dependence in stellarators seems to be similar to that in the linear ohmic confinement regime, which, in small tokamaks, extends to high density values, too. Because of the similarity in the gross confinement properties, transport in stellarators and tokamaks should not be dominated by the parameters which are very different in the two concepts, i.e. magnetic shear, major rational values of the rotational transform and plasma current. A difference in confinement is that there exists evidence for pinches in the particle and, possibly, energy transport channels in tokamaks whereas in stellarators no pinches have been observed, so far. In order to study the effect of plasma current and toroidal electric fields, stellarator discharges were carried out with an increasing amount of plasma current. From these experiments, no clear evidence of a connection of pinches with these parameters is found. The transient response in W7-AS plasmas can be described in terms of a non-local model. As in tokamaks, also cold pulse experiments in W7-AS indicate the importance of non-local transport. (author). 8 refs, 5 figs.

  7. The contribution of inductive electric fields to particle energization in the inner magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilie, R.; Toth, G.; Liemohn, M. W.; Chan, A. A.

    2017-12-01

    Assessing the relative contribution of potential versus inductive electric fields at the energization of the hot ion population in the inner magnetosphere is only possible by thorough examination of the time varying magnetic field and current systems using global modeling of the entire system. We present here a method to calculate the inductive and potential components of electric field in the entire magnetosphere region. This method is based on the Helmholtz vector decomposition of the motional electric field as calculated by the BATS-R-US model, and is subject to boundary conditions. This approach removes the need to trace independent field lines and lifts the assumption that the magnetic field lines can be treated as frozen in a stationary ionosphere. In order to quantify the relative contributions of potential and inductive electric fields at driving plasma sheet ions into the inner magnetosphere, we apply this method for the March 17th, 2013 geomagnetic storm. We present here the consequences of slow continuous changes in the geomagnetic field as well as the strong tail dipolarizations on the distortion of the near-Earth magnetic field and current systems. Our findings indicate that the inductive component of the electric field is comparable, and even higher at times than the potential component, suggesting that the electric field induced by the time varying magnetic field plays a crucial role in the overall particle energization in the inner magnetosphere.

  8. Direct Imaging of Stellar Surfaces: Results from the Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Kenneth; Schrijver, Carolus; Karovska, Margarita

    2006-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a UV-Optical, Space-Based Interferometer designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and stellar interiors (via asteroseismology) and of the Universe in general. SI is identified as a "Flagship and Landmark Discovery Mission'' in the 2005 Sun Solar System Connection (SSSC) Roadmap and as a candidate for a "Pathways to Life Observatory'' in the Exploration of the Universe Division (EUD) Roadmap (May, 2005). The ultra-sharp images of the Stellar Imager will revolutionize our view of many dynamic astrophysical processes: The 0.1 mas resolution of this deep-space telescope will transform point sources into extended sources, and snapshots into evolving views. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe, particularly on magnetic activity on the surfaces of stars like the Sun. SI's prime goal is to enable long-term forecasting of solar activity and the space weather that it drives in support of the Living With a Star program in the Exploration Era. SI will also revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. In this paper we will discuss the results of the SI Vision Mission Study, elaborating on the science goals of the SI Mission and a mission architecture that could meet those goals.

  9. The Stellar Imager (SI) - A Mission to Resolve Stellar Surfaces, Interiors, and Magnetic Activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen-Dalsgaard, Joergen [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University (Denmark); Carpenter, Kenneth G [Code 667 NASA-GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Schrijver, Carolus J [LMATC 3251 Hanover St., Bldg. 252, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (United States); Karovska, Margarita, E-mail: jcd@phys.au.d, E-mail: Kenneth.G.Carpenter@nasa.gov, E-mail: schryver@lmsal.com, E-mail: karovska@head.cfa.harvard.edu [60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2011-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a space-based, UV/Optical Interferometer (UVOI) designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general. It will also probe via asteroseismology flows and structures in stellar interiors. SI will enable the development and testing of a predictive dynamo model for the Sun, by observing patterns of surface activity and imaging of the structure and differential rotation of stellar interiors in a population study of Sun-like stars to determine the dependence of dynamo action on mass, internal structure and flows, and time. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe and will revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. SI is a 'Landmark/Discovery Mission' in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap, an implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Astrophysics Strategic Plan, and a NASA Vision Mission ('NASA Space Science Vision Missions' (2008), ed. M. Allen). We present here the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technology development needed to enable this mission. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

  10. Axi-symmetric models of auroral current systems in Jupiter's magnetosphere with predictions for the Juno mission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. W. H. Cowley

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available We develop two related models of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in the jovian system by combining previous models defined at ionospheric heights with magnetospheric magnetic models that allow system parameters to be extended appropriately into the magnetosphere. The key feature of the combined models is thus that they allow direct connection to be made between observations in the magnetosphere, particularly of the azimuthal field produced by the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents and the plasma angular velocity, and the auroral response in the ionosphere. The two models are intended to reflect typical steady-state sub-corotation conditions in the jovian magnetosphere, and transient super-corotation produced by sudden major solar wind-induced compressions, respectively. The key simplification of the models is that of axi-symmetry of the field, flow, and currents about the magnetic axis, limiting their validity to radial distances within ~30 RJ of the planet, though the magnetic axis is appropriately tilted relative to the planetary spin axis and rotates with the planet. The first exploration of the jovian polar magnetosphere is planned to be undertaken in 2016–2017 during the NASA New Frontiers Juno mission, with observations of the polar field, plasma, and UV emissions as a major goal. Evaluation of the models along Juno planning orbits thus produces predictive results that may aid in science mission planning. It is shown in particular that the low-altitude near-periapsis polar passes will generally occur underneath the corresponding auroral acceleration regions, thus allowing brief examination of the auroral primaries over intervals of ~1–3 min for the main oval and ~10 s for narrower polar arc structures, while the "lagging" field deflections produced by the auroral current systems on these passes will be ~0.1°, associated with azimuthal fields above the ionosphere of a few hundred nT.

  11. On the interpretation of different flow vectors of different ion species in the magnetospheric boundary layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lundin, R.; Stasiewicz, K.; Hultqvist, B.

    1986-05-01

    Recent measurements of the ion composition in the magnetospheric boundary layer indicate that the boundary layer may contain clouds of magnetosheath plasma which are gradually becoming mixed with the magnetospheric plasma. A significant difference between flow vectors of different ion species (ca50-100 km/s) implies that an ideal MHD equation E+VxB=0, does not describe the macroscopic plasma flow inside such inhomogeneities. An analysis based on the first order drift theory indicates that gradients of the partial ion pressure and of the magnetic field could induce differential ion drifts comparable in magnitude to the electric drift velocity. We discuss some implications of these results on the physics of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions. (authors)

  12. Conductance Effects on Inner Magnetospheric Plasma Morphology: Model Comparisons with IMAGE EUV, MENA, and HENA Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liemohn, M.; Ridley, A. J.; Kozyra, J. U.; Gallagher, D. L.; Brandt, P. C.; Henderson, M. G.; Denton, M. H.; Jahn, J. M.; Roelof, E. C.; DeMajistre, R. M.

    2004-01-01

    Modeling results of the inner magnetosphere showing the influence of the ionospheric conductance on the inner magnetospheric electric fields during the April 17, 2002 magnetic storm are presented. Kinetic plasma transport code results are analyzed in combination with observations of the inner magnetospheric plasma populations, in particular those from the IMAGE satellite. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons are made with the observations from EW, MENA, and HENA, covering the entire energy range simulated by the model (0 to 300 keV). The electric field description, and in particular the ionospheric conductance, is the only variable between the simulations. Results from the data-model comparisons are discussed, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each conductance choice for each energy channel.

  13. Geometric phase modulation for stellar interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, M.; Boschung, B.; Tango, W.J.; Davis, J.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: In a long baseline optical interferometer, the fringe visibility is normally measured by modulation of the optical path difference between the two arms of the instruments. To obtain accurate measurements, the spectral bandwidth must be narrow, limiting the sensitivity of the technique. The application of geometric phase modulation technique to stellar interferometry has been proposed by Tango and Davis. Modulation of the geometric phase has the potential for improving the sensitivity of optical interferometers, and specially the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI), by allowing broad band modulation of the light signals. This is because a modulator that changes the geometric phase of the signal is, in principle, achromatic. Another advantage of using such a phase modulator is that it can be placed in the common path traversed by the two orthogonally polarized beams emerging from the beam combiner in a stellar interferometer. Thus the optical components of the modulator do not have to be interferometric quality and could be relatively easily introduced into SUSI. We have investigated the proposed application in a laboratory-based experiment using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with white-light source. This can be seen as a small model of an amplitude stellar interferometer where the light source takes the place of the distant star and two corner mirrors replaces the entrance pupils of the stellar interferometer

  14. The Stellar Imager (SI)"Vision Mission"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Ken; Danchi, W.; Leitner, J.; Liu, A.; Lyon, R.; Mazzuca, L.; Moe, R.; Chenette, D.; Karovska, M.; Allen, R.

    2004-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a "Vision" mission in the Sun-Earth Connection (SEC) Roadmap, conceived for the purpose of understanding the effects of stellar magnetic fields, the dynamos that generate them, and the internal structure and dynamics of the stars in which they exist. The ultimate goal is to achieve the best possible forecasting of solar/stellar magnetic activity and its impact on life in the Universe. The science goals of SI require an ultra-high angular resolution, at ultraviolet wavelengths, on the order of 100 micro-arcsec and thus baselines on the order of 0.5 km. These requirements call for a large, multi-spacecraft (less than 20) imaging interferometer, utilizing precision formation flying in a stable environment, such as in a Lissajous orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. SI's resolution will make it an invaluable resource for many other areas of astrophysics, including studies of AGN s, supernovae, cataclysmic variables, young stellar objects, QSO's, and stellar black holes. ongoing mission concept and technology development studies for SI. These studies are designed to refine the mission requirements for the science goals, define a Design Reference Mission, perform trade studies of selected major technical and architectural issues, improve the existing technology roadmap, and explore the details of deployment and operations, as well as the possible roles of astronauts and/or robots in construction and servicing of the facility.

  15. Self-Consistent Model of Magnetospheric Electric Field, Ring Current, Plasmasphere, and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Initial Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamayunov, K. V.; Khazanov, G. V.; Liemohn, M. W.; Fok, M.-C.; Ridley, A. J.

    2009-01-01

    Further development of our self-consistent model of interacting ring current (RC) ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is presented. This model incorporates large scale magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and treats self-consistently not only EMIC waves and RC ions, but also the magnetospheric electric field, RC, and plasmasphere. Initial simulations indicate that the region beyond geostationary orbit should be included in the simulation of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Additionally, a self-consistent description, based on first principles, of the ionospheric conductance is required. These initial simulations further show that in order to model the EMIC wave distribution and wave spectral properties accurately, the plasmasphere should also be simulated self-consistently, since its fine structure requires as much care as that of the RC. Finally, an effect of the finite time needed to reestablish a new potential pattern throughout the ionosphere and to communicate between the ionosphere and the equatorial magnetosphere cannot be ignored.

  16. Young gamma-ray pulsar: from modeling the gamma-ray emission to the particle-in-cell simulations of the global magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brambilla, Gabriele; Kalapotharakos, Constantions; Timokhin, Andrey; Kust Harding, Alice; Kazanas, Demosthenes

    2016-04-01

    Accelerated charged particles flowing in the magnetosphere produce pulsar gamma-ray emission. Pair creation processes produce an electron-positron plasma that populates the magnetosphere, in which the plasma is very close to force-free. However, it is unknown how and where the plasma departs from the ideal force-free condition, which consequently inhibits the understanding of the emission generation. We found that a dissipative magnetosphere outside the light cylinder effectively reproduces many aspects of the young gamma-ray pulsar emission as seen by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and through particle-in-cell simulations (PIC), we started explaining this configuration self-consistently. These findings show that, together, a magnetic field structure close to force-free and the assumption of gamma-ray curvature radiation as the emission mechanism are strongly compatible with the observations. Two main issues from the previously used models that our work addresses are the inability to explain luminosity, spectra, and light curve features at the same time and the inconsistency of the electrodynamics. Moreover, using the PIC simulations, we explore the effects of different pair multiplicities on the magnetosphere configurations and the locations of the accelerating regions. Our work aims for a self-consistent modeling of the magnetosphere, connecting the microphysics of the pair-plasma to the global magnetosphere macroscopic quantities. This direction will lead to a greater understanding of pulsar emission at all wavelengths, as well as to concrete insights into the physics of the magnetosphere.

  17. Radiative otacity tables for 40 stellar mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, A.N.; Tabor, J.E.

    1976-01-01

    Using improved methods, radiative opacities for 40 mixtures of elements are given for use in calculations of stellar structure, stellar evolution, and stellar pulsation. The major improvements over previous Los Alamos data are increased iron abundance in the composition, better allowance for the continuum depression for bound electrons, and corrections in some bound-electron energy levels. These opacities have already been widely used, and represent a relatively homogeneous set of data for stellar structures. Further improvements to include more bound-bound (line) transitions by a smearing technique and to include molecular absorptions are becoming available, and in a few years these tables, as well as all previous tables, will be outdated. At high densities the conduction of energy will dominate radiation flow, and this effect must be added separately

  18. Solar energetic particles in the Earth magnetosphere: kinematic modeling of the 'non-shock' penetration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlov, N N

    2013-01-01

    Penetration of solar energetic particles into the Earth's magnetosphere is quantitatively studied with a simple kinematic model. The goal is to assess, for the first time, how does effectiveness of the penetration depend on such geometry factors as: distance of the magneto-pause (MP) from the Earth; shape of MP; angle at which solar energetic particle crosses MP; location of the crossing point; type of the particle motion in the magnetosphere. To get off excessive details, the model deliberately operates with just equatorial section of the static dipolar magnetic field confined with asymmetric boundary – MP. Several rather obvious facts are illustrated: finite orbits of longitudinal drift reside only inside the circle of the Störmer-unit-length radius; deepest penetration of a particle occurs if the particle crosses MP at the point closest to the Earth and with velocity-vector oriented along the particle's longitudinal drift inside MP (westward for protons); etc. The model's software allows the inquirer to vary geometry of MP, the type, energy and direction of flight of the energetic particle(s), the location(s), aperture and orientation(s) of a virtual sensor, then to run the model and obtain the reference particle distributions either global (for entire magnetosphere) or for specified locations, all along the time, energy and flux-orientation axes. Static and animated plots can be easily produced. The model provides a toolkit allowing one to evaluate and illustrate the process of particle penetration into the magnetosphere under various conditions in space. It may be used for the configuring of the satellite particle sensors; its results may be compared with the observations for to assess how strongly the real magnetosphere differs from its simplified form; it may be used in education.

  19. Plasma Transport at the Magnetospheric Flank Boundary. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otto, Antonius

    2012-01-01

    Progress is highlighted in these areas: 1. Model of magnetic reconnection induced by three-dimensional Kelvin Helmholtz (KH) modes at the magnetospheric flank boundary; 2. Quantitative evaluation of mass transport from the magnetosheath onto closed geomagnetic field for northward IMF; 3. Comparison of mass transfer by cusp reconnection and Flank Kelvin Helmholtz modes; 4. Entropy constraint and plasma transport in the magnetotail - a new mechanism for current sheet thinning; 5. Test particle model for mass transport onto closed geomagnetic field for northward IMF; 6. Influence of density asymmetry and magnetic shear on (a) the linear and nonlinear growth of 3D Kelvin Helmholtz (KH) modes, and (b) three-dimensional KH mediated mass transport; 7. Examination of entropy and plasma transport in the magnetotail; 8. Entropy change and plasma transport by KH mediated reconnection - mixing and heating of plasma; 9. Entropy and plasma transport in the magnetotail - tail reconnection; and, 10. Wave coupling at the magnetospheric boundary and generation of kinetic Alfven waves

  20. The Force-Free Magnetosphere of a Rotating Black Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contopoulos, Ioannis; Kazanas, Demosthenes; Papadopoulos, Demetrios B.

    2013-01-01

    We revisit the Blandford-Znajek process and solve the fundamental equation that governs the structure of the steady-state force-free magnetosphere around a Kerr black hole. The solution depends on the distributions of the magnetic field angular velocity and the poloidal electric current. These are not arbitrary. They are determined self-consistently by requiring that magnetic field lines cross smoothly the two singular surfaces of the problem: the inner "light surface" located inside the ergosphere and the outer "light surface" which is the generalization of the pulsar light cylinder.We find the solution for the simplest possible magnetic field configuration, the split monopole, through a numerical iterative relaxation method analogous to the one that yields the structure of the steady-state axisymmetric force-free pulsar magnetosphere. We obtain the rate of electromagnetic extraction of energy and confirm the results of Blandford and Znajek and of previous time-dependent simulations. Furthermore, we discuss the physical applicability of magnetic field configurations that do not cross both "light surfaces."

  1. On origin of stellar clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tovmasyan, G.M.

    1977-01-01

    The ratios of the gas component of the mass of young stellar clusters to their stellar mass are considered. They change by more than four orders from one cluster to another. The results are in direct contradiction with the hypothesis of formation of cluster stars from a preliminarily existing gas cloud by its condensation, and they favour the Ambartsumian hypothesis of the joint origin of stars and gas clouds from superdense protostellar matter

  2. Excitation of the Magnetospheric Cavity by Space-Based ELF/VLF Transmitters

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bell, Timothy F; Inan, Umran; Kulkarni, P

    2004-01-01

    During the period of performance Stanford University: 1. Developed an analytical model describing the distribution of current along a dipole antenna radiating ELF/VLF waves in the magnetospheric cavity...

  3. Ab-initio Pulsar Magnetosphere: Particle Acceleration in Oblique Rotators and High-energy Emission Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philippov, Alexander A.; Spitkovsky, Anatoly

    2018-03-01

    We perform global particle-in-cell simulations of pulsar magnetospheres, including pair production, ion extraction from the surface, frame-dragging corrections, and high-energy photon emission and propagation. In the case of oblique rotators, the effects of general relativity increase the fraction of the open field lines that support active pair discharge. We find that the plasma density and particle energy flux in the pulsar wind are highly non-uniform with latitude. A significant fraction of the outgoing particle energy flux is carried by energetic ions, which are extracted from the stellar surface. Their energies may extend up to a large fraction of the open field line voltage, making them interesting candidates for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. We show that pulsar gamma-ray radiation is dominated by synchrotron emission, produced by particles that are energized by relativistic magnetic reconnection close to the Y-point and in the equatorial current sheet. In most cases, the calculated light curves contain two strong peaks, which is in general agreement with Fermi observations. The radiative efficiency decreases with increasing pulsar inclination and increasing efficiency of pair production in the current sheet, which explains the observed scatter in L γ versus \\dot{E}. We find that the high-frequency cutoff in the spectra is regulated by the pair-loading of the current sheet. Our findings lay the foundation for quantitative interpretation of Fermi observations of gamma-ray pulsars.

  4. Field-aligned currents near the magnetosphere boundary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hones, E.W. Jr.

    1984-01-01

    This paper describes present thinking about the structure of magnetospheric boundary layers and their roles in the generation of the field-aligned currents that are observed in the polar regions. A principal effect of the momentum loss by magnetosheath plasma to the magnetosphere boundary regions just within the magnetopause, whether it be by a diffusive process or by magnetic reconnection, is the tailward pulling of the surface flux tubes relative to those deeper below the surface. The dayside region 1 currents at low altitudes flow along field lines in the resulting regions of magnetic shear. The direction of the shear and its magnitude, actually measured in the boundary region, confirm that the polarities and intensities of the dayside region 1 currents can be accounted for by this process. The low latitude boundary layer, formerly thought to be threaded entirely by closed field lines, now appears to contain at least some open field lines, newly reconnected, that are in the process of being swept into the high latitude tail to form the plasma mantle. The open flux tubes of the flux transfer events, thought to be the product of patchy reconnection have a spiral magnetic structure whose helicity is such as to suggest currents having the polarities of the region 1 currents. 13 references

  5. Field-aligned currents near the magnetosphere boundary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hones, E.W. Jr.

    1983-01-01

    This paper reviews present thinking about the structure of magnetospheric boundary layers and their roles in the generation of the field-aligned currents that are observed in the polar regions. A principal effect of the momentum loss by magnetosheath plasma to the magnetosphere boundary regions just within the magnetopause, whether it be by a diffusive process or by magnetic reconnection, is the tailward pulling of surface flux tubes relative to those deeper below the surface. The dayside region 1 currents at low altitudes flow along field lines in the resulting regions of magnetic shear. The direction of the shear and its magnitude, measured in the boundary region, confirm tht the polarities and intensities of the dayside region 1 currents can be accounted for by this process. The low latitude boundary layer, formerly thought to be threaded entirely by closed field lines, now appears to contain at least some open field lines, newly reconnected, that are in the process of being swept into the high latitude tail to form the plasma mantle. The open flux tubes of the flux transfer events, thought to be the product of patchy reconnection have a spiral magnetic structure whose helicity is such as to suggest currents having the polarities of the region 1 currents

  6. Spatial distribution of upstream magnetospheric ≥50 keV ions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. C. Anagnostopoulos

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available We present for the first time a statistical study of \\geq50 keV ion events of a magnetospheric origin upstream from Earth's bow shock. The statistical analysis of the 50-220 keV ion events observed by the IMP-8 spacecraft shows: (1 a dawn-dusk asymmetry in ion distributions, with most events and lower intensities upstream from the quasi-parallel pre-dawn side (4 LT-6 LT of the bow shock, (2 highest ion fluxes upstream from the nose/dusk side of the bow shock under an almost radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF configuration, and (3 a positive correlation of the ion intensities with the solar wind speed and the index of geomagnetic index Kp, with an average solar wind speed as high as 620 km s-1 and values of the index Kp > 2. The statistical results are consistent with (1 preferential leakage of ~50 keV magnetospheric ions from the dusk magnetopause, (2 nearly scatter free motion of ~50 keV ions within the magnetosheath, and (3 final escape of magnetospheric ions from the quasi-parallel dawn side of the bow shock. An additional statistical analysis of higher energy (290-500 keV upstream ion events also shows a dawn-dusk asymmetry in the occurrence frequency of these events, with the occurrence frequency ranging between ~16%-~34% in the upstream region.Key words. Interplanetary physics (energetic particles; planetary bow shocks

  7. Spatial distribution of upstream magnetospheric ≥50 keV ions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Kaliabetsos

    Full Text Available We present for the first time a statistical study of geq50 keV ion events of a magnetospheric origin upstream from Earth's bow shock. The statistical analysis of the 50-220 keV ion events observed by the IMP-8 spacecraft shows: (1 a dawn-dusk asymmetry in ion distributions, with most events and lower intensities upstream from the quasi-parallel pre-dawn side (4 LT-6 LT of the bow shock, (2 highest ion fluxes upstream from the nose/dusk side of the bow shock under an almost radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF configuration, and (3 a positive correlation of the ion intensities with the solar wind speed and the index of geomagnetic index Kp, with an average solar wind speed as high as 620 km s-1 and values of the index Kp > 2. The statistical results are consistent with (1 preferential leakage of ~50 keV magnetospheric ions from the dusk magnetopause, (2 nearly scatter free motion of ~50 keV ions within the magnetosheath, and (3 final escape of magnetospheric ions from the quasi-parallel dawn side of the bow shock. An additional statistical analysis of higher energy (290-500 keV upstream ion events also shows a dawn-dusk asymmetry in the occurrence frequency of these events, with the occurrence frequency ranging between ~16%-~34% in the upstream region.Key words. Interplanetary physics (energetic particles; planetary bow shocks

  8. Role of the magnetospheric and ionospheric currents in the generation of the equatorial scintillations during geomagnetic storms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Z. Biktash

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available The equatorial ionosphere parameters, Kp, Dst, AU and AL indices characterized contribution of different magnetospheric and ionospheric currents to the H-component of geomagnetic field are examined to test the geomagnetic activity effect on the generation of ionospheric irregularities producing VLF scintillations. According to the results of the current statistical studies, one can predict near 70% of scintillations from Aarons' criteria using the Dst index, which mainly depicts the magnetospheric ring current field. To amplify Aarons' criteria or to propose new criteria for predicting scintillation characteristics is the question. In the present phase of the experimental investigations of electron density irregularities in the ionosphere new ways are opened up because observations in the interaction between the solar wind - magnetosphere - ionosphere during magnetic storms have progressed greatly. According to present view, the intensity of the electric fields and currents at the polar regions, as well as the magnetospheric ring current intensity, are strongly dependent on the variations of the interplanetary magnetic field. The magnetospheric ring current cannot directly penetrate the equatorial ionosphere and because of this difficulties emerge in explaining its relation to scintillation activity. On the other hand, the equatorial scintillations can be observed in the absence of the magnetospheric ring current. It is shown that in addition to Aarons' criteria for the prediction of the ionospheric scintillations, models can be used to explain the relationship between the equatorial ionospheric parameters, h'F, foF2, and the equatorial geomagnetic variations with the polar ionosphere currents and the solar wind.

  9. Yosemite conference on ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere: sources, mechanisms and consequences, meeting report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, D.L.; Burch, J.L.; Klumpar, D.M.; Moore, T.E.; Waite, J.H. Jr.

    1987-02-01

    The sixth biennial Yosemite topical conference and the first as a Chapman Conference was held on February 3 to 6, 1986. Although the solar wind was once thought to dominate the supply of plasma in the Earth's magnetosphere, it is now thought that the Earth's ionosphere is a significant contributor. Polar wind and other large volume outflows of plasma have been seen at relatively high altitudes over the polar cap and are now being correlated with outflows found in the magnetotail. The auroral ion fountain and cleft ion fountain are examples of ionospheric sources of plasma in the magnetosphere, observed by the Dynamics Explorer 1 (DE 1) spacecraft. The conference was organized into six sessions: four consisting of prepared oral presentations, one poster session, and one session for open forum discussion. The first three oral sessions dealt separately with the three major topics of the conference, i.e., the sources, mechanisms, and consequences of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere. A special session of invited oral presentations was held to discuss extraterrestrial ionospheric/magnetospheric plasma processes. The poster session was extended over two evenings during which presenters discussed their papers on a one-on-one basis. The last session of the conferences was reserved for open discussions of those topics or ideas considered most interesting or controversial

  10. Laboratory simulation of the magnetosphere, magnetotail reconnection and the study of field-aligned currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yur, G.

    1990-01-01

    Laboratory simulation of the Earth's magnetosphere is performed. A wide plasma beam with plasma density ∼ 10 13 cm -3 , velocity ∼ 10 7 cm/s, temperature ∼ 10 eV and pulse duration ∼ 100μs simulates the solar wind plasma. An externally applied magnetic field throughout the interaction chamber is varied between -300 to +300 G to simulate the interplanetary magnet field (IMF). Detailed characterization of the flow of this plasma across the IMF shows various degrees of diamagnetism and rvec E x rvec B propagation. This magnetized plasma beam interacts with a spherical dipole magnetic field that simulates the planetary field to form a planetary type plasma sphere. Cusp structures and particle precipitations are studied with optical time exposure photographs of the simulated magnetosphere. The structure is strongly controlled by the polarity of the IMF. The global structure of the magnetosphere is measured in detail for different values of the IMF at various locations in the magnetosphere. Particularly, the magnetic field measurements in the tail reveal interesting reconnection processes and above the polar region, the structure of field aligned currents that are similar to the ones obtained from the satellites above the polar region of the Earth. The main experimental parameters are selected in such a way that, at least, MHD scaling is satisfied

  11. Theories for convection in stellar atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nordlund, Aa.

    1976-02-01

    A discussion of the fundamental differences between laboratory convection in a stellar atmosphere is presented. The shortcomings of laterally homogeneous model atmospheres are analysed, and the extent to which these shortcoming are avoided in the two-component representation is discussed. Finally a qualitative discussion on the scaling properties of stellar granulation is presented. (Auth.)

  12. The Prospect for Detecting Stellar Coronal Mass Ejections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osten, Rachel A.; Crosley, Michael Kevin

    2018-06-01

    The astrophysical study of mass loss, both steady-state and transient, on the cool half of the HR diagram has implications bothfor the star itself and the conditions created around the star that can be hospitable or inimical to supporting life. Recent results from exoplanet studies show that planets around M dwarfs are exceedingly common, which together with the commonality of M dwarfs in our galaxy make this the dominant mode of star and planet configurations. The closeness of the exoplanets to the parent M star motivate a comprehensive understanding of habitability for these systems. Radio observations provide the most clear signature of accelerated particles and shocks in stars arising as the result of MHD processes in the stellar outer atmosphere. Stellar coronal mass ejections have not been conclusively detected, despite the ubiquity with which their radiative counterparts in an eruptive event (stellar flares) have. I will review some of the different observational methods which have been used and possibly could be used in the future in the stellar case, emphasizing some of the difficulties inherent in such attempts. I will provide a framework for interpreting potential transient stellar mass loss in light of the properties of flares known to occur on magnetically active stars. This uses a physically motivated way to connect the properties of flares and coronal mass ejections and provides a testable hypothesis for observing or constraining transient stellar mass loss. I will describe recent results using radio observations to detect stellar coronal mass ejections, and what those results imply about transient stellar mass loss. I will provide some motivation for what could be learned in this topic from space-based low frequency radio experiments.

  13. Near-Earth Magnetic Field Effects of Large-Scale Magnetospheric Currents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lühr, Hermann; Xiong, Chao; Olsen, Nils

    2017-01-01

    . Significant progress in interpreting the magnetic fields from the different sources has been achieved thanks to magnetic satellite missions like Ørsted, CHAMP and now Swarm. Of particular interest for this article is a proper representation of the magnetospheric ring current effect. Uncertainties in modelling...... its effect still produce the largest residuals between observations and present-day geomagnetic field models. A lot of progress has been achieved so far, but there are still open issues like the characteristics of the partial ring current. Other currents discussed are those flowing......Magnetospheric currents play an important role in the electrodynamics of near-Earth space. This has been the topic of many space science studies. Here we focus on the magnetic fields they cause close to Earth. Their contribution to the geomagnetic field is the second largest after the core field...

  14. The use of iron charge state changes as a tracer for solar wind entry and energization within the magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. A. Fritz

    Full Text Available The variation of the charge state of iron [Fe] ions is used to trace volume elements of plasma in the solar wind into the magnetosphere and to determine the time scales associated with the entry into and the action of the magnetospheric energization process working on these plasmas. On 2–3 May 1998 the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE spacecraft located at the L1 libration point observed a series of changes to the average charge state of the element Fe in the solar wind plasma reflecting variation in the coronal temperature of their original source. Over the period of these two days the average Fe charge state was observed to vary from + 15 to + 6 both at the Polar satellite in the high latitude dayside magnetosphere and at ACE. During a period of southward IMF the observations at Polar inside the magnetosphere of the same Fe charge state were simultaneous with those at ACE delayed by the measured convection speed of the solar wind to the subsolar magnetopause. Comparing the phase space density as a function of energy at both ACE and Polar has indicated that significant energization of the plasma occurred on very rapid time scales. Energization at constant phase space density by a factor of 5 to 10 was observed over a range of energy from a few keV to about 1 MeV. For a detector with a fixed energy threshold in the range from 10 keV to a few hundred keV this observed energization will appear as a factor of ~103 increase in its counting rate. Polar observations of very energetic O+ ions at the same time indicate that this energization process must be occurring in the high latitude cusp region inside the magnetosphere and that it is capable of energizing ionospheric ions at the same time.

    Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions

  15. Collisionless microinstabilities in stellarators. II. Numerical simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Proll, J. H. E.; Xanthopoulos, P.; Helander, P.

    2013-01-01

    Microinstabilities exhibit a rich variety of behavior in stellarators due to the many degrees of freedom in the magnetic geometry. It has recently been found that certain stellarators (quasi-isodynamic ones with maximum-J geometry) are partly resilient to trapped-particle instabilities, because fast-bouncing particles tend to extract energy from these modes near marginal stability. In reality, stellarators are never perfectly quasi-isodynamic, and the question thus arises whether they still benefit from enhanced stability. Here, the stability properties of Wendelstein 7-X and a more quasi-isodynamic configuration, QIPC, are investigated numerically and compared with the National Compact Stellarator Experiment and the DIII-D tokamak. In gyrokinetic simulations, performed with the gyrokinetic code GENE in the electrostatic and collisionless approximation, ion-temperature-gradient modes, trapped-electron modes, and mixed-type instabilities are studied. Wendelstein 7-X and QIPC exhibit significantly reduced growth rates for all simulations that include kinetic electrons, and the latter are indeed found to be stabilizing in the energy budget. These results suggest that imperfectly optimized stellarators can retain most of the stabilizing properties predicted for perfect maximum-J configurations

  16. Indicators of Mass in Spherical Stellar Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, John B.; Dinshaw, Rayomond; Neilson, Hilding R.

    2013-04-01

    Mass is the most important stellar parameter, but it is not directly observable for a single star. Spherical model stellar atmospheres are explicitly characterized by their luminosity ( L⋆), mass ( M⋆), and radius ( R⋆), and observations can now determine directly L⋆ and R⋆. We computed spherical model atmospheres for red giants and for red supergiants holding L⋆ and R⋆ constant at characteristic values for each type of star but varying M⋆, and we searched the predicted flux spectra and surface-brightness distributions for features that changed with mass. For both stellar classes we found similar signatures of the stars’ mass in both the surface-brightness distribution and the flux spectrum. The spectral features have been use previously to determine log 10(g), and now that the luminosity and radius of a non-binary red giant or red supergiant can be observed, spherical model stellar atmospheres can be used to determine a star’s mass from currently achievable spectroscopy. The surface-brightness variations of mass are slightly smaller than can be resolved by current stellar imaging, but they offer the advantage of being less sensitive to the detailed chemical composition of the atmosphere.

  17. Evolution of rotating stellar clusters at the stage of inelastic collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanova, M.M.

    1985-01-01

    The dynamics of a gas-stellar disk in a dense stellar cluster of small ellipticity (epsilon or approximately 0.2-0.3. Possible existence of a thin stellar disk in a dense stellar cluster is analysed. With epsilon in the above range, collisions between cluster and disk stars are shown to have no effect on the evolution of the disk up to the instability time, provided that the ratio of disk stellar mass to the cluster stellar mass > or approximately 0.04

  18. Superbanana orbits in stellarator geometries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Derr, J.A.; Shohet, J.L.

    1979-04-01

    The presence of superbanana orbit types localized to either the interior or the exterior of stellarators and torsatrons is numerically investigated for 3.5 MeV alpha particles. The absence of the interior superbanana in both geometries is found to be due to non-conservation of the action. Exterior superbananas are found in the stellarator only, as a consequence of the existence of closed helical magnetic wells. No superbananas of either type are found in the torsatron

  19. Stellar Parameters for Trappist-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Grootel, Valérie; Fernandes, Catarina S.; Gillon, Michael; Jehin, Emmanuel; Manfroid, Jean; Scuflaire, Richard; Burgasser, Adam J.; Barkaoui, Khalid; Benkhaldoun, Zouhair; Burdanov, Artem; Delrez, Laetitia; Demory, Brice-Olivier; de Wit, Julien; Queloz, Didier; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.

    2018-01-01

    TRAPPIST-1 is an ultracool dwarf star transited by seven Earth-sized planets, for which thorough characterization of atmospheric properties, surface conditions encompassing habitability, and internal compositions is possible with current and next-generation telescopes. Accurate modeling of the star is essential to achieve this goal. We aim to obtain updated stellar parameters for TRAPPIST-1 based on new measurements and evolutionary models, compared to those used in discovery studies. We present a new measurement for the parallax of TRAPPIST-1, 82.4 ± 0.8 mas, based on 188 epochs of observations with the TRAPPIST and Liverpool Telescopes from 2013 to 2016. This revised parallax yields an updated luminosity of {L}* =(5.22+/- 0.19)× {10}-4 {L}ȯ , which is very close to the previous estimate but almost two times more precise. We next present an updated estimate for TRAPPIST-1 stellar mass, based on two approaches: mass from stellar evolution modeling, and empirical mass derived from dynamical masses of equivalently classified ultracool dwarfs in astrometric binaries. We combine them using a Monte-Carlo approach to derive a semi-empirical estimate for the mass of TRAPPIST-1. We also derive estimate for the radius by combining this mass with stellar density inferred from transits, as well as an estimate for the effective temperature from our revised luminosity and radius. Our final results are {M}* =0.089+/- 0.006 {M}ȯ , {R}* =0.121+/- 0.003 {R}ȯ , and {T}{eff} = 2516 ± 41 K. Considering the degree to which the TRAPPIST-1 system will be scrutinized in coming years, these revised and more precise stellar parameters should be considered when assessing the properties of TRAPPIST-1 planets.

  20. ESTIMATION OF DISTANCES TO STARS WITH STELLAR PARAMETERS FROM LAMOST

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Newberg, Heidi Jo [Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States); Liu, Chao; Deng, Licai; Li, Guangwei; Luo, A-Li; Wu, Yue; Yang, Ming; Zhang, Haotong [Key Lab of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Beers, Timothy C. [Department of Physics and JINA: Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Chen, Li; Hou, Jinliang; Smith, Martin C. [Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030 (China); Guhathakurta, Puragra [UCO/Lick Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Hou, Yonghui [Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210042 (China); Lépine, Sébastien [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, 25 Park Place, Suite 605, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States); Yanny, Brian [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510 (United States); Zheng, Zheng, E-mail: jeffreylcarlin@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, UT 84112 (United States)

    2015-07-15

    We present a method to estimate distances to stars with spectroscopically derived stellar parameters. The technique is a Bayesian approach with likelihood estimated via comparison of measured parameters to a grid of stellar isochrones, and returns a posterior probability density function for each star’s absolute magnitude. This technique is tailored specifically to data from the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) survey. Because LAMOST obtains roughly 3000 stellar spectra simultaneously within each ∼5° diameter “plate” that is observed, we can use the stellar parameters of the observed stars to account for the stellar luminosity function and target selection effects. This removes biasing assumptions about the underlying populations, both due to predictions of the luminosity function from stellar evolution modeling, and from Galactic models of stellar populations along each line of sight. Using calibration data of stars with known distances and stellar parameters, we show that our method recovers distances for most stars within ∼20%, but with some systematic overestimation of distances to halo giants. We apply our code to the LAMOST database, and show that the current precision of LAMOST stellar parameters permits measurements of distances with ∼40% error bars. This precision should improve as the LAMOST data pipelines continue to be refined.

  1. Constraining stellar physics from red-giant stars in binaries – stellar rotation, mixing processes and stellar activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beck P. G.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The unparalleled photometric data obtained by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has led to an improved understanding of stellar structure and evolution - in particular for solar-like oscillators in this context. Binary stars are fascinating objects. Because they were formed together, binary systems provide a set of two stars with very well constrained parameters. Those can be used to study properties and physical processes, such as the stellar rotation, dynamics and rotational mixing of elements and allows us to learn from the differences we find between the two components. In this work, we discussed a detailed study of the binary system KIC 9163796, discovered through Kepler photometry. The ground-based follow-up spectroscopy showed that this system is a double-lined spectroscopic binary, with a mass ratio close to unity. However, the fundamental parameters of the components of this system as well as their lithium abundances differ substantially. Kepler photometry of this system allows to perform a detailed seismic analysis as well as to derive the orbital period and the surface rotation rate of the primary component of the system. Indications of the seismic signature of the secondary are found. The differing parameters are best explained with both components located in the early and the late phase of the first dredge up at the bottom of the red-giant branch. Observed lithium abundances in both components are in good agreement with prediction of stellar models including rotational mixing. By combining observations and theory, a comprehensive picture of the system can be drawn.

  2. Magnetosphere and ionosphere response to a positive-negative pulse pair of solar wind dynamic pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, A.; Degeling, A. W.

    2017-12-01

    Simulations and observations had shown that single positive/negative solar wind dynamic pressure pulse would excite geomagnetic impulsive events along with ionosphere and/or magnetosphere vortices which are connected by field aligned currents(FACs). In this work, a large scale ( 9min) magnetic hole event in solar wind provided us with the opportunity to study the effects of positive-negative pulse pair (△p/p 1) on the magnetosphere and ionosphere. During the magnetic hole event, two traveling convection vortices (TCVs, anti-sunward) first in anticlockwise then in clockwise rotation were detected by geomagnetic stations located along the 10:30MLT meridian. At the same time, another pair of ionospheric vortices azimuthally seen up to 3 MLT first in clockwise then in counter-clockwise rotation were also appeared in the afternoon sector( 14MLT) and centered at 75 MLAT without obvious tailward propagation feature. The duskside vortices were also confirmed in SuperDARN radar data. We simulated the process of magnetosphere struck by a positive-negative pulse pair and it shows that a pair of reversed flow vortices in the magnetosphere equatorial plane appeared which may provide FACs for the vortices observed in ionosphere. Dawn dusk asymmetry of the vortices as well as the global geomagnetism perturbation characteristics were also discussed.

  3. Plea for stellarator funding raps tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blake, M.

    1992-01-01

    The funding crunch in magnetic confinement fusion development has moved the editor of a largely technical publication to speak out on a policy issue. James A. Rome, who edits Stellarator News from the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, wrote an editorial that appeared on the front page of the May 1992 issue. It was titled open-quotes The US Stellarator Program: A Time for Renewal,close quotes and while it focused chiefly on that subject (and lamented the lack of funding for the operation of the existing ATF stellarator at Oak Ridge), it also cited some of the problems inherent in the mainline MCF approach--the tokamak--and stated that if the money can be found for further tokamak design upgrades, it should also be found for stellarators. Rome wrote, open-quotes There is growing recognition in the US, and elsewhere, that the conventional tokamak does not extrapolate to a commercially competitive energy source except with very high field coils ( 1000 MWe).close quotes He pointed up open-quotes the difficulty of simultaneously satisfying conflicting tokamak requirements for efficient current drive, high bootstrap-current fraction, complete avoidance of disruptions, adequate beta limits, and edge-plasma properties compatible with improved (H-mode) confinement and acceptable erosion of divertor plates.close quotes He then called for support for the stellarator as open-quotes the only concept that has performance comparable to that achieved in tokamaks without the plasma-current-related limitations listed above.close quotes

  4. ON THE ORIGIN OF STELLAR MASSES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krumholz, Mark R.

    2011-01-01

    It has been a longstanding problem to determine, as far as possible, the characteristic masses of stars in terms of fundamental constants; the almost complete invariance of this mass as a function of the star-forming environment suggests that this should be possible. Here I provide such a calculation. The typical stellar mass is set by the characteristic fragment mass in a star-forming cloud, which depends on the cloud's density and temperature structure. Except in the very early universe, the latter is determined mainly by the radiation released as matter falls onto seed protostars. The energy yield from this process is ultimately set by the properties of deuterium burning in protostellar cores, which determines the stars' radii. I show that it is possible to combine these considerations to compute a characteristic stellar mass almost entirely in terms of fundamental constants, with an extremely weak residual dependence on the interstellar pressure and metallicity. This result not only explains the invariance of stellar masses, it resolves a second mystery: why fragmentation of a cold, low-density interstellar cloud, a process with no obvious dependence on the properties of nuclear reactions, happens to select a stellar mass scale such that stellar cores can ignite hydrogen. Finally, the weak residual dependence on the interstellar pressure and metallicity may explain recent observational hints of a smaller characteristic mass in the high-pressure, high-metallicity cores of giant elliptical galaxies.

  5. Magnetospheric Effects as a New Aspect of the Asteroid Impact Problem: Necessity and Possibilities of Laboratory Simulation Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakharov, Yuri P.; Nikitin, Sergei A.; Ponomarenko, Arnold G.; Minami, Shigeyuki

    1997-05-01

    This paper discusses the possible consequences to the Earth's magnetosphere, when due to too short an advanced warning, attempts at mitigation of a near-Earth object (NEO) must be made in close proximity to the Earth. The energy Eo, and explosive plasma release during impact may be compared with the kinetic energy Ek of the NEO and with the energy, Ee (Ee approximately Ek), needed for NEO deflection by a strong (protective force) explosive, at distances close to the scale of the magnetosphere. If the energy, Em, of the Earth's dipole field latter is relatively small (Em is less than Eo for a NEO size approximately 1 km), global or even catastrophic disturbances could occur. These ecologically important magnetospheric aspects of the NEO impact problem have been discussed recently; particularly in the context of the comet SL-9/Jupiter impact. In the latter case, the effect on Jupiter's magnetosphere of the 'NEO' explosions was very small (x equals Eo/Em approximately 0.001, where Em is the 'outer' magnetic energy of the planetary dipole field) and the corresponding model of its 'fireball' development could be simulated numerically in 'zero' approximation, with the assumption of an undisturbed magnetospheric media as a whole. However, in general, and, in the rather probable case of NEO impacts with values x approximately 1, the development of such 3D, nonstationary MHD or PIC-models at this time. Such information can be obtained from new kinds of simulation experiments with the laboratory magnetosphere, the so-called 'terrella'.

  6. Globally Imaging the Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibeck, D. G.

    2017-12-01

    Over the past two decades, a host of missions have provided the multipoint in situ measurementsneeded to understand the meso- and micro-scale physics governing the solar wind-magnetosphereinteraction. Observations by the ISTP missions, Cluster, THEMIS, Double Star, and most recentlyMMS, have enabled us to identify the occurrence of some of the many proposed models for magneticreconnection and particle acceleration in a wide range of accessible magnetospheric contexts. However, todetermine which of these processes are most important to the overall interaction, we need globalobservations, from both ground-based instrumentation and imaging spacecraft. This talk outlinessome of the the global puzzles that remain to be solved and some of the very novel means that are availableto address them, including soft X-ray, energetic neutral atom, far and extreme ultraviolet imaging andenhanced arrays of ground observatories.

  7. Status of stellarator research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wobig, H.

    1985-01-01

    In recent years main activities in stellarator research were focussed on production and investigation of currentless plasmas. Several heating methods have been applied: electron cyclotron heating, ion cyclotron heating and neutral beam injection. The parameters achieved in HELIOTRON E and W VII-A are: antin 20 m 3 , Tsub(i) <= 1 keV. The confinement is improved as compared with ohmically heated discharges. By ECRH (P = 200 kW) it is possible to heat electrons up to 1.4 keV, confinement in this regime is dominated already by trapped particle effects. Toroidal currents up to 2 kA - either bootstrap currents or externally driven currents - were observed. High β-values (antiβ = 2%) have been obtained in HELIOTRON E, in this regime already pressure driven MHD-modes were observed. Future experiments (ATF-1 and W VII-AS) will extend the parameter regime to temperatures of several keV. These experiments will give important information about critical problems of the stellarator line (β-limit, neoclassical confinement impurity transport). A few reactor studies of stellarators exist, attention is mainly concentrated on technical problems of the modular coil system

  8. The Detectability of Radio Auroral Emission from Proxima b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burkhart, Blakesley; Loeb, Abraham [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA (United States)

    2017-11-01

    Magnetically active stars possess stellar winds whose interactions with planetary magnetic fields produce radio auroral emission. We examine the detectability of radio auroral emission from Proxima b, the closest known exosolar planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri. Using the radiometric Bode’s law, we estimate the radio flux produced by the interaction of Proxima Centauri’s stellar wind and Proxima b’s magnetosphere for different planetary magnetic field strengths. For plausible planetary masses, Proxima b could produce radio fluxes of 100 mJy or more in a frequency range of 0.02–3 MHz for planetary magnetic field strengths of 0.007–1 G. According to recent MHD models that vary the orbital parameters of the system, this emission is expected to be highly variable. This variability is due to large fluctuations in the size of Proxima b’s magnetosphere as it crosses the equatorial streamer regions of dense stellar wind and high dynamic pressure. Using the MHD model of Garraffo et al. for the variation of the magnetosphere radius during the orbit, we estimate that the observed radio flux can vary nearly by an order of magnitude over the 11.2-day period of Proxima b. The detailed amplitude variation depends on the stellar wind, orbital, and planetary magnetic field parameters. We discuss observing strategies for proposed future space-based observatories to reach frequencies below the ionospheric cutoff (∼10 MHz), which would be required to detect the signal we investigate.

  9. The Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burch, James

    Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), a NASA four-spacecraft mission scheduled for launch in November 2014, will investigate magnetic reconnection in the boundary regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere, particularly along its dayside boundary with the solar wind and the neutral sheet in the magnetic tail. Among the important questions about reconnection that will be addressed are the following: Under what conditions can magnetic-field energy be converted to plasma energy by the annihilation of magnetic field through reconnection? How does reconnection vary with time, and what factors influence its temporal behavior? What microscale processes are responsible for reconnection? What determines the rate of reconnection? In order to accomplish its goals the MMS spacecraft must probe both those regions in which the magnetic fields are very nearly antiparallel and regions where a significant guide field exists. From previous missions we know the approximate speeds with which reconnection layers move through space to be from tens to hundreds of km/s. For electron skin depths of 5 to 10 km, the full 3D electron population (10 eV to above 20 keV) has to be sampled at rates greater than 10/s. The MMS Fast-Plasma Instrument (FPI) will sample electrons at greater than 30/s. Because the ion skin depth is larger, FPI will make full ion measurements at rates of greater than 6/s. 3D E-field measurements will be made by MMS once every ms. MMS will use an Active Spacecraft Potential Control device (ASPOC), which emits indium ions to neutralize the photoelectron current and keep the spacecraft from charging to more than +4 V. Because ion dynamics in Hall reconnection depend sensitively on ion mass, MMS includes a new-generation Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (HPCA) that corrects problems with high proton fluxes that have prevented accurate ion-composition measurements near the dayside magnetospheric boundary. Finally, Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) measurements of electrons and

  10. Solar and stellar oscillations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fossat, E.

    1981-01-01

    We try to explain in simple words what a stellar oscillation is, what kind of restoring forces and excitation mechanisms can be responsible for its occurence, what kind of questions the theoretician asks to the observer and what kind of tools the latter is using to look for the answers. A selected review of the most striking results obtained in the last few years in solar seismology and the present status of their consequences on solar models is presented. A brief discussion on the expected extension towards stellar seismology will end the paper. A selected bibliography on theory as well as observations and recent papers is also included. (orig.)

  11. Electrodynamics of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in the nightside subauroral zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streltsov, A.V.; Foster, J.C.

    2004-01-01

    Results from a numerical study of the oscillations of the electric field measured by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar in the E-layer of the nightside subauroral ionosphere during the geomagnetic storm of May 25, 2000 are presented. The frequencies of these oscillations correspond to the discrete frequencies of geomagnetic pulsations usually attributed to the field line resonances or global cavity modes at a high-latitude auroral zone, but they are well below the fundamental eigenfrequency of the subauroral magnetosphere. It is shown that these oscillations can be interpreted as an ionospheric footprint of the surface Alfven waves generated at the equatorial magnetosphere on a steep transverse gradient in the background plasma density associated with the inner edge of the plasmapause developed during strong geomagnetic storms/substorms. This density gradient together with the ionospheric Pedersen conductivity defines the location and amplitude of the electric field in the E-layer: the amplitude of the field is proportional to the amplitude of the density inhomogeneity and inversely proportional to its scale-size and the ionospheric conductivity. Interaction of the large amplitude perpendicular electric field with the low-conducting ionosphere can cause the ionospheric feedback instability, which leads to the formation of small-scale, intense structures in the electric field and the parallel current density in the subauroral magnetosphere

  12. Relationship between PC index and magnetospheric field-aligned currents measured by Swarm satellites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Troshichev, О.; Sormakov, D.; Behlke, R.

    2018-01-01

    Abstract The relationship between the magnetospheric field-aligned currents (FAC) monitored by the Swarm satellites and the magnetic activity PC index (which is a proxy of the solar wind energy incoming into the magnetosphere) is examined. It is shown that current intensities measured in the R1...... between the PC index and the intensity of field-aligned currents in the R1 dawn and dusk layers: increase of FAC intensity in the course of substorm development is accompanied by increasing the PC index values. Correlation between PC and FAC intensities in the R2 dawn and dusk layers is also observed...

  13. The concept of Magnetically Driven Magnetosphere: storm/substorm dynamics and organization of the magnetotail

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlov, Nikolai

    A set of novel ideas and approaches have been found in the long-lasting attempts to better understand how the magnetosphere operates. It is proposed a certain vision of the substorm/storm scenario, of the tail structure with moderate magnetic By-component, and with intrinsic turbulence. Particle acceleration and the place of the tail's current sheet(s) in the proposed vision are discussed as well. For the reasoning of the proposal, several key ideas on the purely magnetospheric topics are included in the presentation.

  14. Stellar CCD Photometry: New Approach, Principles and Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Bassuny Alawy, A.

    A new approach is proposed and developed to handle pre-processed CCD frames in order to identify stellar images and derive their relevant parameters. It relies on: 1) Identifying stellar images and assigning approximate positions of their centres using an artificial intelligence technique, (Knowledge Based System), 2) Accurate determination of the centre co-ordinates applying an elementary statistical concept and 3) Estimating the image peak intensity as a stellar magnitude measure employing simple numerical analysis approach. The method has been coded for personal computer users. A CCD frame of the star cluster M67 was adopted as a test case. The results obtained are discussed in comparison with the DAOPHOTII ones and the corresponding published data. Exact coincidence has been found between both results except in very few cases. These exceptions have been discussed in the light of the basis of both methods and the cluster plates. It has been realised that the method suggested represents a very simple, extremely fast, high precision method of stellar CCD photometry. Moreover, it is more capable than DAOPHOTII of handling blended and distorted stellar images. These characteristics show the usefulness of the present method in some astronomical applications, such as auto-focusing and auto-guiding, beside the main purpose, viz. stellar photometry.

  15. The Stellar IMF from Isothermal MHD Turbulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugbølle, Troels; Padoan, Paolo; Nordlund, Åke

    2018-02-01

    We address the turbulent fragmentation scenario for the origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), using a large set of numerical simulations of randomly driven supersonic MHD turbulence. The turbulent fragmentation model successfully predicts the main features of the observed stellar IMF assuming an isothermal equation of state without any stellar feedback. As a test of the model, we focus on the case of a magnetized isothermal gas, neglecting stellar feedback, while pursuing a large dynamic range in both space and timescales covering the full spectrum of stellar masses from brown dwarfs to massive stars. Our simulations represent a generic 4 pc region within a typical Galactic molecular cloud, with a mass of 3000 M ⊙ and an rms velocity 10 times the isothermal sound speed and 5 times the average Alfvén velocity, in agreement with observations. We achieve a maximum resolution of 50 au and a maximum duration of star formation of 4.0 Myr, forming up to a thousand sink particles whose mass distribution closely matches the observed stellar IMF. A large set of medium-size simulations is used to test the sink particle algorithm, while larger simulations are used to test the numerical convergence of the IMF and the dependence of the IMF turnover on physical parameters predicted by the turbulent fragmentation model. We find a clear trend toward numerical convergence and strong support for the model predictions, including the initial time evolution of the IMF. We conclude that the physics of isothermal MHD turbulence is sufficient to explain the origin of the IMF.

  16. Direct UV/Optical Imaging of Stellar Surfaces: The Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Lyon, Richard G.; Schrijver, Carolus; Karovska, Margarita; Mozurkewich, David

    2007-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is a UV/optical, space-based interferometer designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and, via asteroseismology, stellar interiors and of the Universe in general. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe, particularly on magnetic activity on the surfaces of stars like the Sun. SI's prime goal is to enable long-term forecasting of solar activity and the space weather that it drives, in support of the Living with a Star program in the Exploration Era. SI will also revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in thc Universe. SI is a "Flagship and Landmark Discovery Mission" in the 2005 Sun Solar System Connection (SSSC) Roadmap and a candidate for a "Pathways to Life Observatory" in the Exploration of the Universe Division (EUD) Roadmap. We discuss herein the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technologies needed to enable this mission. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

  17. Formation of field-twisting flux tubes on the magnetopause and solar wind particle entry into the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, T.; Shimada, T.; Tanaka, M.; Hayashi, T.; Watanabe, K.

    1986-01-01

    A global interaction between the solar wind with a southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and the magnetosphere is studied using a semi-global simulation model. A magnetic flux tube in which field lines are twisted is created as a result of repeated reconnection between the IMF and the outermost earth-rooted magnetic field near the equatorial plane and propagates to higher latitudes. When crossing the polar cusp, the flux tube penetrates into the magnetosphere reiterating reconnection with the earth-rooted higher latitude magnetic field, whereby solar wind particles are freely brought inside the magnetosphere. The flux tube structure has similarities in many aspects to the flux transfer events (FTEs) observed near the dayside magnetopause

  18. Stellar Spectral Classification with Locality Preserving Projections ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    With the help of computer tools and algorithms, automatic stellar spectral classification has become an area of current interest. The process of stellar spectral classification mainly includes two steps: dimension reduction and classification. As a popular dimensionality reduction technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ...

  19. Inferring probabilistic stellar rotation periods using Gaussian processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angus, Ruth; Morton, Timothy; Aigrain, Suzanne; Foreman-Mackey, Daniel; Rajpaul, Vinesh

    2018-02-01

    Variability in the light curves of spotted, rotating stars is often non-sinusoidal and quasi-periodic - spots move on the stellar surface and have finite lifetimes, causing stellar flux variations to slowly shift in phase. A strictly periodic sinusoid therefore cannot accurately model a rotationally modulated stellar light curve. Physical models of stellar surfaces have many drawbacks preventing effective inference, such as highly degenerate or high-dimensional parameter spaces. In this work, we test an appropriate effective model: a Gaussian Process with a quasi-periodic covariance kernel function. This highly flexible model allows sampling of the posterior probability density function of the periodic parameter, marginalizing over the other kernel hyperparameters using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. To test the effectiveness of this method, we infer rotation periods from 333 simulated stellar light curves, demonstrating that the Gaussian process method produces periods that are more accurate than both a sine-fitting periodogram and an autocorrelation function method. We also demonstrate that it works well on real data, by inferring rotation periods for 275 Kepler stars with previously measured periods. We provide a table of rotation periods for these and many more, altogether 1102 Kepler objects of interest, and their posterior probability density function samples. Because this method delivers posterior probability density functions, it will enable hierarchical studies involving stellar rotation, particularly those involving population modelling, such as inferring stellar ages, obliquities in exoplanet systems, or characterizing star-planet interactions. The code used to implement this method is available online.

  20. Ultraviolet photometry of stellar populations in galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deharveng, J.M.

    1981-01-01

    The UV flux of stellar populations, which is essentially emitted by young stars, conveys information on the process of star formation and its recent history. However, the evaluation of the flux arising from the young stellar component may be difficult. In the case of late type galaxies it is hampered by the extinction and the effect of scattered stellar radiation. In the case of early type galaxies, the star formation, if any, has to be disentangled from the contribution of hot evolved stars and of a possible 'active' phenomenon. A review of observations and results relevant two cases is presented [fr

  1. Equilibrium 𝛽-limits in classical stellarators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loizu, J.; Hudson, S. R.; Nührenberg, C.; Geiger, J.; Helander, P.

    2017-12-01

    A numerical investigation is carried out to understand the equilibrium -limit in a classical stellarator. The stepped-pressure equilibrium code (Hudson et al., Phys. Plasmas, vol. 19 (11), 2012) is used in order to assess whether or not magnetic islands and stochastic field-lines can emerge at high . Two modes of operation are considered: a zero-net-current stellarator and a fixed-iota stellarator. Despite the fact that relaxation is allowed (Taylor, Rev. Mod. Phys., vol. 58 (3), 1986, pp. 741-763), the former is shown to maintain good flux surfaces up to the equilibrium -limit predicted by ideal-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), above which a separatrix forms. The latter, which has no ideal equilibrium -limit, is shown to develop regions of magnetic islands and chaos at sufficiently high , thereby providing a `non-ideal -limit'. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the value of at which the Shafranov shift of the axis reaches a fraction of the minor radius follows in all cases the scaling laws predicted by ideal-MHD. We compare our results to the High-Beta-Stellarator theory of Freidberg (Ideal MHD, 2014, Cambridge University Press) and derive a new prediction for the non-ideal equilibrium -limit above which chaos emerges.

  2. The Stellar Imager (SI) Mission Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Schrijver, Carolus J.; Lyon, Richard G.; Mundy, Lee G.; Allen, Ronald J.; Armstrong, Thomas; Danchi, William C.; Karovska, Margarita; Marzouk, Joe; Mazzuca, Lisa M.; hide

    2002-01-01

    The Stellar Imager (SI) is envisioned as a space-based, UV-optical interferometer composed of 10 or more one-meter class elements distributed with a maximum baseline of 0.5 km. It is designed to image stars and binaries with sufficient resolution to enable long-term studies of stellar magnetic activity patterns, for comparison with those on the sun. It will also support asteroseismology (acoustic imaging) to probe stellar internal structure, differential rotation, and large-scale circulations. SI will enable us to understand the various effects of the magnetic fields of stars, the dynamos that generate these fields, and the internal structure and dynamics of the stars. The ultimate goal of the mission is to achieve the best-possible forecasting of solar activity as a driver of climate and space weather on time scales ranging from months up to decades, and an understanding of the impact of stellar magnetic activity on life in the Universe. In this paper we describe the scientific goals of the mission, the performance requirements needed to address these goals, the "enabling technology" development efforts being pursued, and the design concepts now under study for the full mission and a possible pathfinder mission.

  3. Investigation of the radiation properties of magnetospheric ELF waves induced by modulated ionospheric heating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Feng; Ni, Binbin; Zhao, Zhengyu; Zhao, Shufan; Zhao, Guangxin; Wang, Min

    2017-05-01

    Electromagnetic extremely low frequency (ELF) waves play an important role in modulating the Earth's radiation belt electron dynamics. High-frequency (HF) modulated heating of the ionosphere acts as a viable means to generate artificial ELF waves. The artificial ELF waves can reside in two different plasma regions in geo-space by propagating in the ionosphere and penetrating into the magnetosphere. As a consequence, the entire trajectory of ELF wave propagation should be considered to carefully analyze the wave radiation properties resulting from modulated ionospheric heating. We adopt a model of full wave solution to evaluate the Poynting vector of the ELF radiation field in the ionosphere, which can reflect the propagation characteristics of the radiated ELF waves along the background magnetic field and provide the initial condition of waves for ray tracing in the magnetosphere. The results indicate that the induced ELF wave energy forms a collimated beam and the center of the ELF radiation shifts obviously with respect to the ambient magnetic field with the radiation power inversely proportional to the wave frequency. The intensity of ELF wave radiation also shows a weak correlation with the size of the radiation source or its geographical location. Furthermore, the combination of ELF propagation in the ionosphere and magnetosphere is proposed on basis of the characteristics of the ELF radiation field from the upper ionospheric boundary and ray tracing simulations are implemented to reasonably calculate magnetospheric ray paths of ELF waves induced by modulated ionospheric heating.

  4. Magnetic effects of magnetospheric currents at ground and in low orbit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stolle, Claudia; Naemi Willer, Anna; Finlay, Chris

    to diminish with reducing solar activity (as was previously noted by Lühr & Maus, 2010), while the slope is hardly affected. There have been several suggestions for the origin of this systematic difference between ground and space based observations of magnetospheric fields. We compare magnetic residuals...... of selected observatories with those of CHAMP satellite observations at times of conjunctions, separating the data pairs by criteria including local time and longitude, season, solar and magnetic activity. Obtaining rough estimates of the ionospheric conductivity in this way, we are able to discuss possible...... field model from Magsat vector data. Geophys. Res. Lett. 7:793-96 Lühr H, Maus S. 2010. Solar cycle dependence of quiet-time magnetospheric currents and a model of their near-Earth magnetic fields. Earth Planets Space 62:843-48...

  5. A comparison between ion characteristics observed by the POLAR and DMSP spacecraft in the high-latitude magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. J. Stubbs

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available We study here the injection and transport of ions in the convection-dominated region of the Earth's magnetosphere. The total ion counts from the CAMMICE MICS instrument aboard the POLAR spacecraft are used to generate occurrence probability distributions of magnetospheric ion populations. MICS ion spectra are characterised by both the peak in the differential energy flux, and the average energy of ions striking the detector. The former permits a comparison with the Stubbs et al. (2001 survey of He2+ ions of solar wind origin within the magnetosphere. The latter can address the occurrences of various classifications of precipitating particle fluxes observed in the topside ionosphere by DMSP satellites (Newell and Meng, 1992. The peak energy occurrences are consistent with our earlier work, including the dawn-dusk asymmetry with enhanced occurrences on the dawn flank at low energies, switching to the dusk flank at higher energies. The differences in the ion energies observed in these two studies can be explained by drift orbit effects and acceleration processes at the magnetopause, and in the tail current sheet. Near noon at average ion energies of ≈1keV, the cusp and open LLBL occur further poleward here than in the Newell and Meng survey, probably due to convection- related time-of-flight effects. An important new result is that the pre-noon bias previously observed in the LLBL is most likely due to the component of this population on closed field lines, formed largely by low energy ions drifting earthward from the tail. There is no evidence here of mass and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the LLBL by non-reconnection coupling. At higher energies ≈2–20keV, we observe ions mapping to the auroral oval and can distinguish between the boundary and central plasma sheets. We show that ions at these energies relate to a transition from dawnward to duskward dominated flow, this is evidence of how ion drift orbits in the tail influence

  6. A comparison between ion characteristics observed by the POLAR and DMSP spacecraft in the high-latitude magnetosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. J. Stubbs

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available We study here the injection and transport of ions in the convection-dominated region of the Earth's magnetosphere. The total ion counts from the CAMMICE MICS instrument aboard the POLAR spacecraft are used to generate occurrence probability distributions of magnetospheric ion populations. MICS ion spectra are characterised by both the peak in the differential energy flux, and the average energy of ions striking the detector. The former permits a comparison with the Stubbs et al. (2001 survey of He2+ ions of solar wind origin within the magnetosphere. The latter can address the occurrences of various classifications of precipitating particle fluxes observed in the topside ionosphere by DMSP satellites (Newell and Meng, 1992. The peak energy occurrences are consistent with our earlier work, including the dawn-dusk asymmetry with enhanced occurrences on the dawn flank at low energies, switching to the dusk flank at higher energies. The differences in the ion energies observed in these two studies can be explained by drift orbit effects and acceleration processes at the magnetopause, and in the tail current sheet. Near noon at average ion energies of ≈1keV, the cusp and open LLBL occur further poleward here than in the Newell and Meng survey, probably due to convection- related time-of-flight effects. An important new result is that the pre-noon bias previously observed in the LLBL is most likely due to the component of this population on closed field lines, formed largely by low energy ions drifting earthward from the tail. There is no evidence here of mass and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the LLBL by non-reconnection coupling. At higher energies ≈2–20keV, we observe ions mapping to the auroral oval and can distinguish between the boundary and central plasma sheets. We show that ions at these energies relate to a transition from dawnward to duskward dominated flow, this is evidence of how ion drift orbits in the

  7. Improving 1D Stellar Models with 3D Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rørsted Mosumgaard, Jakob; Silva Aguirre, Víctor; Weiss, Achim; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Trampedach, Regner

    2017-10-01

    Stellar evolution codes play a major role in present-day astrophysics, yet they share common issues. In this work we seek to remedy some of those by the use of results from realistic and highly detailed 3D hydrodynamical simulations of stellar atmospheres. We have implemented a new temperature stratification extracted directly from the 3D simulations into the Garching Stellar Evolution Code to replace the simplified atmosphere normally used. Secondly, we have implemented the use of a variable mixing-length parameter, which changes as a function of the stellar surface gravity and temperature - also derived from the 3D simulations. Furthermore, to make our models consistent, we have calculated new opacity tables to match the atmospheric simulations. Here, we present the modified code and initial results on stellar evolution using it.

  8. Confinement and heating in modular and continuous coil stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, D.T.; Anderson, F.S.B.; Bonomo, R.L.

    1983-01-01

    Major efforts on the Proto-Cleo stellarator have focused on ICRH of a net current-free plasma, measurements of plasma secondary currents, RF heating by externally induced magnetic reconnection through the formation and destruction of an internal separatrix, and RF current drive experiments. Efforts on the Proto-Cleo torsatron have focused on electron heat conduction. A modular stellarator has been designed and is under fabrication at the University of Wisconsin. The Interchangeable Module Stellarator (IMS) is designed to approximate closely the magnetic properties of the existing Proto-Cleo stellarator as much as possible. Monte-Carlo transport calculations have been made in flux coordinates using model fields patterned after magnetic fields in Proto-Cleo and IMS. Plasma simulation techniques using a 2.5-dimensional particle-in-cell method have been utilized in a numerical search for the bootstrap current. A current is found which is proportional to temperature and density gradients but is independent of poloidal field. The behaviour of charged particles moving in a stellarator under the influence of a steady magnetic field is analysed in terms of the Hamiltonian of the moving particle and the technique of repeated canonical transformations to identify possible adiabatic invariants and drift motions. An improved theory of collisionless particle motion in stellarators has been developed for a family of stellarator configurations. The broad range of configurations encompassed by this family permits an understanding of the differences in numerically observed transport coefficients. Two procedures have been developed to calculate the bootstrap current in non-axisymmetric stellarators. In fully toroidal stellarators the flows and consequent bootstrap current are reduced from their axisymmetric values by a factor of order l slash-l/m in the Pfirsch-Schlueter regime. (author)

  9. The UAH Spinning Terrella Experiment: A Laboratory Analog for the Earth's Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheldon, R. B.; Gallagher, D. L.; Craven, P. D.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The UAH Spinning Terrella Experiment has been modified to include the effect of a second magnet. This is a simple laboratory demonstration of the well-known double-dipole approximation to the Earth's magnetosphere. In addition, the magnet has been biassed $\\sim$-400V which generates a DC glow discharge and traps it in a ring current around the magnet. This ring current is easily imaged with a digital camera and illustrates several significant topological properties of a dipole field. In particular, when the two dipoles are aligned, and therefore repel, they emulate a northward IMF Bz magnetosphere. Such a geometry traps plasma in the high latitude cusps as can be clearly seen in the movies. Likewise, when the two magnets are anti-aligned, they emulate a southward IMF Bz magnetosphere with direct feeding of plasma through the x-line. We present evidence for trapping and heating of the plasma, comparing the dipole-trapped ring current to the cusp-trapped population. We also present a peculiar asymmetric ring current produced in by the plasma at low plasma densities. We discuss the similarities and dissimilarities of the laboratory analog to the collisionless Earth plasma, and implications for the interpretation of IMAGE data.

  10. Hot plasma and energetic particles in the earth's outer magnetosphere: new understandings during the IMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, D.N.; Fritz, T.A.

    1984-01-01

    In this paper we review the major accomplishments made during the IMS period in clarifying magnetospheric particle variations in the region from roughly geostationary orbit altitudes into the deep magnetotail. We divide our review into three topic areas: (1) acceleration processes; (2) transport processes; and (3) loss processes. Many of the changes in hot plasmas and energetic particle populations are often found to be related intimately to geomagnetic storm and magnetospheric substorm effects and, therefore, substantial emphasis is given to these aspects of particle variations in this review. The IMS data, taken as a body, allow a reasonably unified view as one traces magnetospheric particles from their acceleration source through the plasma sheet and outer trapping regions and, finally, to their loss via ionospheric precipitation and ring current formation processes. It is this underlying, unifying theme which is pursued here. 52 references, 19 figures

  11. The Stellar-Dynamical Oeuvre James Binney

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    tribpo

    of the eigenvalues of M. The variation of the stellar density from point to point .... of Σ,(ΔΕ)2 , where ∆ Ε is the change in energy that a star suffers during a binary ... could use these results to calculate the relaxation time in a stellar system if he .... the region of enhanced density that tails behind it like a wake behind a ship. By.

  12. Electrostatic noise bands associated with the electron gyrofrequency and plasma frequency in the outer magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, R.R.

    1975-01-01

    Naturally occurring noise bands near the electron plasma frequency are frequently detected by the University of Iowa plasma wave experiment on the IMP 6 satellite in the region from just inside the plasmapause to radial distances of about 10 earth radii in the outer magnetosphere. The electric field strength of these noise bands is usually small with electric field spectral densities near 10 -15 volts 2 meter -2 Hz -1 . A wave magnetic field has been detected only in a few unusually intense cases, and in these cases the magnetic field energy density is several orders of magnitude smaller than the electric field energy density. The bands are observed at all magnetic latitudes covered by the IMP 6 orbit (parallelγ/sub m/parallel less than or equal to 45 0 ) and appear to be a permanent feature of the outer magnetosphere. They are found at all local times and occur least frequently in the quadrant from 18 to 24 hours. The bands appear to consist of two distinct spectral types, diffuse and narrow. In both types the center frequency of the noise band is bounded by consecutive harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency, and the bands occur most often between harmonics that are near the local electron plasma frequency. These bands appear to merge continuously into two types of plasma wave emissions that are found in dissimilar regions of the magnetosphere (upper hybrid resonance noise, also called Region 3 noise, inside the plasmasphere and (n + 1/2)f/sub g/ harmonics in the outer magnetosphere). It is suggested that this smooth merging is caused by changes in the plasma wave dispersion relation that occur as the spacecraft moves from the cold plasma within the plasmasphere into the warm non-Maxwellian plasma found in the outer magnetosphere

  13. Two novel compact toroidal concepts with Stellarator features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moroz, P.E.

    1997-07-01

    Two novel compact toroidal concepts are presented. One is the Stellarator-Spheromak (SSP) and another is the Extreme-Low-Aspect-Ratio Stellarator (ELARS). An SSP device represents a hybrid between a spherical stellarator (SS) and a spheromak. This configuration retains the main advantages of spheromaks ans has a potential for improving the spheromak concept regarding its main problems. The MHD equilibrium in an SSP with very high β of the confined plasma is demonstrated. Another concept, ELARS, represents an extreme limit of the SS approach, and considers devices with stellarator features and aspect ratios A ∼ 1. We have succeeded in finding ELARS configurations with extremely compact, modular, and simple design compatible with significant rotational transform, large plasma volume, and good particle transport characteristics

  14. Quantitative magnetotail characteristics of different magnetospheric states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Shukhtina

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Quantitative relationships allowing one to compute the lobe magnetic field, flaring angle and tail radius, and to evaluate magnetic flux based on solar wind/IMF parameters and spacecraft position are obtained for the middle magnetotail, X=(–15,–35RE, using 3.5 years of simultaneous Geotail and Wind spacecraft observations. For the first time it was done separately for different states of magnetotail including the substorm onset (SO epoch, the steady magnetospheric convection (SMC and quiet periods (Q. In the explored distance range the magnetotail parameters appeared to be similar (within the error bar for Q and SMC states, whereas at SO their values are considerably larger. In particular, the tail radius is larger by 1–3 RE at substorm onset than during Q and SMC states, for which the radius value is close to previous magnetopause model values. The calculated lobe magnetic flux value at substorm onset is ~1GWb, exceeding that at Q (SMC states by ~50%. The model magnetic flux values at substorm onset and SMC show little dependence on the solar wind dynamic pressure and distance in the tail, so the magnetic flux value can serve as an important discriminator of the state of the middle magnetotail. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (solar windmagnetosphere- interactions, magnetotail, storms and substorms

  15. Evaluating Stellarator Divertor Designs with EMC3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bader, Aaron; Anderson, D. T.; Feng, Y.; Hegna, C. C.; Talmadge, J. N.

    2013-10-01

    In this paper various improvements of stellarator divertor design are explored. Next step stellarator devices require innovative divertor solutions to handle heat flux loads and impurity control. One avenue is to enhance magnetic flux expansion near strike points, somewhat akin to the X-Divertor concept in Tokamaks. The effect of judiciously placed external coils on flux deposition is calculated for configurations based on the HSX stellarator. In addition, we attempt to optimize divertor plate location to facilitate the external coil placement. Alternate areas of focus involve altering edge island size to elucidate the driving physics in the edge. The 3-D nature of stellarators complicates design and necessitates analysis of new divertor structures with appropriate simulation tools. We evaluate the various configurations with the coupled codes EMC3-EIRENE, allowing us to benchmark configurations based on target heat flux, impurity behavior, radiated power, and transitions to high recycling and detached regimes. Work supported by DOE-SC0006103.

  16. Robust Modeling of Stellar Triples in PHOEBE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conroy, Kyle E.; Prsa, Andrej; Horvat, Martin; Stassun, Keivan G.

    2017-01-01

    The number of known mutually-eclipsing stellar triple and multiple systems has increased greatly during the Kepler era. These systems provide significant opportunities to both determine fundamental stellar parameters of benchmark systems to unprecedented precision as well as to study the dynamical interaction and formation mechanisms of stellar and planetary systems. Modeling these systems to their full potential, however, has not been feasible until recently. Most existing available codes are restricted to the two-body binary case and those that do provide N-body support for more components make sacrifices in precision by assuming no stellar surface distortion. We have completely redesigned and rewritten the PHOEBE binary modeling code to incorporate support for triple and higher-order systems while also robustly modeling data with Kepler precision. Here we present our approach, demonstrate several test cases based on real data, and discuss the current status of PHOEBE's support for modeling these types of systems. PHOEBE is funded in part by NSF grant #1517474.

  17. Magnetospheric Truncation, Tidal Inspiral, and the Creation of Short-period and Ultra-short-period Planets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Eve J.; Chiang, Eugene, E-mail: evelee@berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

    2017-06-10

    Sub-Neptunes around FGKM dwarfs are evenly distributed in log orbital period down to ∼10 days, but dwindle in number at shorter periods. Both the break at ∼10 days and the slope of the occurrence rate down to ∼1 day can be attributed to the truncation of protoplanetary disks by their host star magnetospheres at corotation. We demonstrate this by deriving planet occurrence rate profiles from empirical distributions of pre-main-sequence stellar rotation periods. Observed profiles are better reproduced when planets are distributed randomly in disks—as might be expected if planets formed in situ—rather than piled up near disk edges, as would be the case if they migrated in by disk torques. Planets can be brought from disk edges to ultra-short (<1 day) periods by asynchronous equilibrium tides raised on their stars. Tidal migration can account for how ultra-short-period planets are more widely spaced than their longer-period counterparts. Our picture provides a starting point for understanding why the sub-Neptune population drops at ∼10 days regardless of whether the host star is of type FGK or early M. We predict planet occurrence rates around A stars to also break at short periods, but at ∼1 day instead of ∼10 days because A stars rotate faster than stars with lower masses (this prediction presumes that the planetesimal building blocks of planets can drift inside the dust sublimation radius).

  18. Magnetospheric Truncation, Tidal Inspiral, and the Creation of Short-period and Ultra-short-period Planets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Eve J.; Chiang, Eugene

    2017-01-01

    Sub-Neptunes around FGKM dwarfs are evenly distributed in log orbital period down to ∼10 days, but dwindle in number at shorter periods. Both the break at ∼10 days and the slope of the occurrence rate down to ∼1 day can be attributed to the truncation of protoplanetary disks by their host star magnetospheres at corotation. We demonstrate this by deriving planet occurrence rate profiles from empirical distributions of pre-main-sequence stellar rotation periods. Observed profiles are better reproduced when planets are distributed randomly in disks—as might be expected if planets formed in situ—rather than piled up near disk edges, as would be the case if they migrated in by disk torques. Planets can be brought from disk edges to ultra-short (<1 day) periods by asynchronous equilibrium tides raised on their stars. Tidal migration can account for how ultra-short-period planets are more widely spaced than their longer-period counterparts. Our picture provides a starting point for understanding why the sub-Neptune population drops at ∼10 days regardless of whether the host star is of type FGK or early M. We predict planet occurrence rates around A stars to also break at short periods, but at ∼1 day instead of ∼10 days because A stars rotate faster than stars with lower masses (this prediction presumes that the planetesimal building blocks of planets can drift inside the dust sublimation radius).

  19. The Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fok, M.-C.; Buzulukova, N. Y.; Chen, S.-H.; Glocer, A.; Nagai, T.; Valek, P.; Perez, J. D.

    2014-01-01

    Simulation studies of the Earth's radiation belts and ring current are very useful in understanding the acceleration, transport, and loss of energetic particles. Recently, the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) and the Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model were merged to form a Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere (CIMI) model. CIMI solves for many essential quantities in the inner magnetosphere, including ion and electron distributions in the ring current and radiation belts, plasmaspheric density, Region 2 currents, convection potential, and precipitation in the ionosphere. It incorporates whistler mode chorus and hiss wave diffusion of energetic electrons in energy, pitch angle, and cross terms. CIMI thus represents a comprehensive model that considers the effects of the ring current and plasmasphere on the radiation belts. We have performed a CIMI simulation for the storm on 5-9 April 2010 and then compared our results with data from the Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers and Akebono satellites. We identify the dominant energization and loss processes for the ring current and radiation belts. We find that the interactions with the whistler mode chorus waves are the main cause of the flux increase of MeV electrons during the recovery phase of this particular storm. When a self-consistent electric field from the CRCM is used, the enhancement of MeV electrons is higher than when an empirical convection model is applied. We also demonstrate how CIMI can be a powerful tool for analyzing and interpreting data from the new Van Allen Probes mission.

  20. Sodium Ion Dynamics in the Magnetospheric Flanks of Mercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aizawa, Sae; Delcourt, Dominique; Terada, Naoki

    2018-01-01

    We investigate the transport of planetary ions in the magnetospheric flanks of Mercury. In situ measurements from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft show evidences of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability development in this region of space, due to the velocity shear between the downtail streaming flow of solar wind originating protons in the magnetosheath and the magnetospheric populations. Ions that originate from the planet exosphere and that gain access to this region of space may be transported across the magnetopause along meandering orbits. We examine this transport using single-particle trajectory calculations in model Magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. We show that heavy ions of planetary origin such as Na+ may experience prominent nonadiabatic energization as they E × B drift across large-scale rolled up vortices. This energization is controlled by the characteristics of the electric field burst encountered along the particle path, the net energy change realized corresponding to the maximum E × B drift energy. This nonadiabatic energization also is responsible for prominent scattering of the particles toward the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field.

  1. Auroral electrojet dynamics during magnetic storms, connection with plasma precipitation and large-scale structure of the magnetospheric magnetic field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. I. Feldstein

    1999-04-01

    Full Text Available Effect of the equatorward shift of the eastward and westward electrojets during magnetic storms main phase is analyzed based on the meridional chains of magnetic observatories EISCAT and IMAGE and several Russian observatories (geomagnetic longitude ~110°, corrected geomagnetic latitudes 74°F 51°. Magnetic storms of various Dst index intensity where the main phase falls on 1000 UT - 2400 UT interval were selected so that one of the observatory chains was located in the afternoon - near midnight sector of MLT. The eastward electrojet center shifts equatorward with Dst intensity increase: when Dst ~ - 50 nT the electrojet center is located at F ~ 62°, when Dst ~ -300 nT it is placed at F ~54°. The westward electrojet center during magnetic storms main phase for intervals between substorms shifts equatorward with Dst increase: at F~ 62° when Dst ~ -100 nT and at F ~ 55° when Dst ~ -300 nT. During substorms within the magnetic storms intervals the westward electrojet widens poleward covering latitudes F~ 64°- 65°. DMSP (F08, F10 and F11 satellite observations of auroral energy plasma precipitations at upper atmosphere altitudes were used to determine precipitation region structure and location of boundaries of various plasma domains during magnetic storms on May 10-11, 1992, February 5-7 and February 21-22, 1994. Interrelationships between center location, poleward and equatorward boundaries of electrojets and characteristic plasma regions are discussed. The electrojet center, poleward and equatorward boundaries along the magnetic observatories meridional chain were mapped to the magnetosphere using the geomagnetic field paraboloid model. The location of auroral energy oxygen ion regions in the night and evening magnetosphere is determined. Considerations are presented on the mechanism causing the appearance in the inner magnetosphere during active intervals of magnetic storms of ions with energy of tens KeV. In the framework of the

  2. Stellar signatures of AGN-jet-triggered star formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dugan, Zachary; Silk, Joseph; Bryan, Sarah; Gaibler, Volker; Haas, Marcel

    2014-01-01

    To investigate feedback between relativistic jets emanating from active galactic nuclei and the stellar population of the host galaxy, we analyze the long-term evolution of the orbits of the stars formed in the galaxy-scale simulations by Gaibler et al. of jets in massive, gas-rich galaxies at z ∼ 2-3. We find strong, jet-induced differences in the resulting stellar populations of galaxies that host relativistic jets and galaxies that do not, including correlations in stellar locations, velocities, and ages. Jets are found to generate distributions of increased radial and vertical velocities that persist long enough to effectively augment the stellar structure of the host. The jets cause the formation of bow shocks that move out through the disk, generating rings of star formation within the disk. The bow shock often accelerates pockets of gas in which stars form, yielding populations of stars with significant radial and vertical velocities, some of which have large enough velocities to escape the galaxy. These stellar population signatures can serve to identify past jet activity as well as jet-induced star formation.

  3. Color-size Relations of Disc Galaxies with Similar Stellar Masses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, W.; Chang, R. X.; Shen, S. Y.; Zhang, B.

    2011-01-01

    To investigate the correlations between colors and sizes of disc galaxies with similar stellar masses, a sample of 7959 local face-on disc galaxies is collected from the main galaxy sample of the Seventh Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR7). Our results show that, under the condition that the stellar masses of disc galaxies are similar, the relation between u-r and size is weak, while g-r, r-i and r-z colors decrease with disk size. This means that the color-size relations of disc galaxies with similar stellar masses do exist, i.e., the more extended disc galaxies with similar stellar masses tend to have bluer colors. An artificial sample is constructed to confirm that this correlation is not driven by the color-stellar mass relations and size-stellar mass relation of disc galaxies. Our results suggest that the mass distribution of disk galaxies may have an important influence on their stellar formation history, i.e., the galaxies with more extended mass distribution evolve more slowly.

  4. The kappa Distribution as Tool in Investigating Hot Plasmas in the Magnetospheres of Outer Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krimigis, S. M.; Carbary, J. F.

    2014-12-01

    The first use of a Maxwellian distribution with a high-energy tail (a κ-function) was made by Olbert (1968) and applied by Vasyliunas (1968) in analyzing electron data. The k-function combines aspects of both Maxwellian and power law forms to provide a reasonably complete description of particle density, temperature, pressure and convection velocity, all of which are key parameters of magnetospheric physics. Krimigis et al (1979) used it to describe flowing plasma ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere measured by Voyager 1, and obtained temperatures in the range of 20 to 35 keV. Sarris et al (1981) used the κ-function to describe plasmas in Earth's distant plasma sheet. The κ-function, in various formulations and names (e. g., γ-thermal distribution, Krimigis and Roelof, 1983) has been used routinely to parametrize hot, flowing plasmas in the magnetospheres of the outer planets, with typical kT ~ 10 to 50 keV. Using angular measurements, it has been possible to obtain pitch angle distributions and convective flow directions in sufficient detail for computations of temperatures and densities of hot particle pressures. These 'hot' pressures typically dominate the cold plasma pressures in the high beta (β > 1) magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, but are of less importance in the relatively empty (β Cambridge University Press, New York, 1983

  5. Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Observations of Magnetic Flux Ropes in the Earth's Plasma Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, J. A.; Akhavan-Tafti, M.; Poh, G.; Le, G.; Russell, C. T.; Nakamura, R.; Baumjohann, W.; Torbert, R. B.; Gershman, D. J.; Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Burch, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    A major discovery by the Cluster mission and the previous generation of science missions is the presence of earthward and tailward moving magnetic flux ropes in the Earth's plasma sheet. However, the lack of high-time resolution plasma measurements severely limited progress concerning the formation and evolution of these reconnection generated structures. We use high-time resolution magnetic and electric field and plasma measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission's first tail season to investigate: 1) the distribution of flux rope diameters relative to the local ion and electron inertial lengths; 2) the internal force balance sustaining these structures; and 3) the magnetic connectivity of the flux ropes to the Earth and/or the interplanetary medium; 4) the specific entropy of earthward moving flux ropes and the possible effect of "buoyancy" on how deep they penetrate into the inner magnetosphere; and 5) evidence for coalescence of adjacent flux ropes and/or the division of existing flux ropes through the formation of secondary X-lines. The results of these initial analyses will be discussed in terms of their implications for reconnection-driven magnetospheric dynamics and substorms.

  6. Observations of magnetospheric ionization enhancements using upper-hybrid resonance noise band data from the RAE-1 satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosier, S. R.

    1975-01-01

    Noise bands associated with the upper-hybrid resonance were used to provide direct evidence for the existence of regions of enhanced density in the equatorial magnetosphere near L = 2. Density enhancements ranging from several percent to as high as 45 percent are observed with radial dimensions of several hundred kilometers. The enhancement characteristics strongly suggest their identification as magnetospheric whistler ducts.

  7. Magnetospheric and atmospheric physics at the University of Natal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, A.D.M.

    1982-01-01

    A historical outline of geophysical work done at the University of Natal from 1938-1982 is given. Mention is also made of experimental work concerning whistlers and VLF, low-light level TV and geomagnetic pulsations. Current work on the magnetosphere, namely plasma convection in plasmasphere, auroral features, geomagnetic pulsations and the measuring of plasma properties is discussed

  8. Helical post stellarator. Part 1: Vacuum configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moroz, P.E.

    1997-08-01

    Results on a novel type of stellarator configuration, the Helical Post Stellarator (HPS), are presented. This configuration is different significantly from all previously known stellarators due to its unique geometrical characteristics and unique physical properties. Among those are: the magnetic field has only one toroidal period (M = 1), the plasma has an extremely low aspect ratio, A ∼ 1, and the variation of the magnetic field, B, along field lines features a helical ripple on the inside of the torus. Among the main advantages of a HPS for a fusion program are extremely compact, modular, and simple design compatible with significant rotational transform, large plasma volume, and improved particle transport characteristics

  9. The WEGA Stellarator: Results and Prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otte, M.; Andruczyk, D.; Koenig, R.; Laqua, H. P.; Lischtschenko, O.; Marsen, S.; Schacht, J.; Podoba, Y. Y.; Wagner, F.; Warr, G. B.; Holzhauer, E.; Howard, J.; Krupnik, L.; Zhezhera, A.; Urban, J.; Preinhalter, J.

    2008-01-01

    In this article an overview is given on results from magnetic flux surface measurements, applied ECR heating scenarios for 2.45 GHz and 28 GHz, fluctuation and transport studies and plasma edge biasing experiments performed in the WEGA stellarator. Examples for the development of new diagnostics and the machine control system are given that will be used at Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, which is currently under construction in Greifswald

  10. 3-D Hybrid Simulation of Quasi-Parallel Bow Shock and Its Effects on the Magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Y.; Wang, X.Y.

    2005-01-01

    A three-dimensional (3-D) global-scale hybrid simulation is carried out for the structure of the quasi-parallel bow shock, in particular the foreshock waves and pressure pulses. The wave evolution and interaction with the dayside magnetosphere are discussed. It is shown that diamagnetic cavities are generated in the turbulent foreshock due to the ion beam plasma interaction, and these compressional pulses lead to strong surface perturbations at the magnetopause and Alfven waves/field line resonance in the magnetosphere

  11. Progress in modular-stellarator fusion-power-reactor conceptual designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sviatoslavsky, I.N.; Van Sciver, S.W.; Kulcinski, G.L.

    1982-01-01

    Recent encouraging experimental results on stellarators/torsatrons/heliotrons (S/T/H) have revived interest in these concepts as possible fusion power reactors. The use of modular coils to generate the stellarator topology has added impetus to this renewed interest. Studies of the modular coil approach to stellarators by UW-Madison and Los Alamos National Laboratory are summarized in this paper

  12. Production of an electron-positron plasma in a pulsar magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurevich, A.V.; Istomin, Y.N.

    1985-01-01

    A study is made of the production of electron-positron plasma in the vacuum state (''breakdown'' of the vacuum) in the presence of an inhomogeneous electric field and a strong curvilinear magnetic field. Such conditions are encountered in the magnetosphere of a rotating neutron star. A general system of kinetic equations is derived for the electrons, positrons, and γ photons in the curvilinear magnetic field with allowance for the production of electron-positron pairs and the emission of curvature and synchrotron photons. The conditions of occurrence of ''breakdown'' are determined, and the threshold value of the jump in the value of the electric field at the surface of the star is found. The process of multiplication of particles in the magnetosphere is investigated, and the distribution functions of the electrons, positrons, and photons are found. The extinction limit of pulsars is determined. It is shown that the theory is in agreement with observational data

  13. Flute instability in the plasma shell of the earth's magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, V.N.; Pokhotelov, O.A.

    1987-01-01

    In the plasma shell of the earth's magnetosphere, the surfaces of constant pressure may not coincide with surfaces of constant specific volume. This circumstance forces a reexamination of the theory for the flute instability, in which the pressure has been assumed to remain constant on surfaces of constant specific volume. The MHD equations for flute waves in a curvilinear magnetic field are used to show that an instability of a new type, with a pressure which does not remain constant on surfaces of constant specific volume, can occur in the plasma shell of the magnetosphere. An expression is derived for the growth rate of this instability. Analysis of the equation also shows that perturbations with wavelengths shorter than the ion Larmor radius are stable by virtue of magnetodrift effects. The growth rates of the flute instabilities are calculated for both a dipole magnetic field and an arbitrary magnetic-field configuration. Growth rates calculated for typical values of the characteristics of the earth's plasma shell are reported

  14. Magnetosphere energetics during substorm events IMP 8 and Geotail observations

    CERN Document Server

    Belehaki, A

    2001-01-01

    Magnetospheric energetics during substorm events is studied in this paper. Three events were selected, a weak substorm, a large isolated one and finally a prolonged period of substorm activity with multiple intensifications. It is assumed that the energy, that entered the magnetosphere due to electromagnetic coupling with the solar wind, is described by the epsilon parameter, proposed by Perreault and Akasofu (1978). High resolution, magnetic field and plasma data from the MGF and LEP experiments on board Geotail were analyzed to determine the timing of plasmoid release, its dimensions, its convection velocity and finally the energy carried by each plasmoid. Plasmoids were defined as structures with rotating magnetic fields and enhanced total pressure. Tailward plasmoid bulk speed in the distant tail varied from 350 to 750 km/s. Their dimensions in the X/sub GSM/ direction was found to be from 4.5 to 28 R/sub E/, and their duration did not exceed 5 min. The average energy carried by each plasmoid in the dista...

  15. Cosmic Rays in Magnetospheres of the Earth and other Planets

    CERN Document Server

    Dorman, Lev

    2009-01-01

    This monograph describes the behaviour of cosmic rays in the magnetosphere of the Earth and of some other planets. Recently this has become an important topic both theoretically, because it is closely connected with the physics of the Earth’s magnetosphere, and practically, since cosmic rays determine a significant part of space weather effects on satellites and aircraft. The book contains eight chapters, dealing with – The history of the discovery of geomagnetic effects caused by cosmic rays and their importance for the determination of the nature of cosmic rays or gamma rays – The first explanations of geomagnetic effects within the framework of the dipole approximation of the Earth’s magnetic field – Trajectory computations of cutoff rigidities, transmittance functions, asymptotic directions, and acceptance cones in the real geomagnetic field taking into account higher harmonics – Cosmic ray latitude-longitude surveys on ships, trains, tracks, planes, balloons and satellites for determining the...

  16. Ion Composition and Energization in the Earth's Inner Magnetosphere and the Effects on Ring Current Buildup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keika, K.; Kistler, L. M.; Brandt, P. C.

    2014-12-01

    In-situ observations and modeling work have confirmed that singly-charged oxygen ions, O+, which are of Earth's ionospheric origin, are heated/accelerated up to >100 keV in the magnetosphere. The energetic O+ population makes a significant contribution to the plasma pressure in the Earth's inner magnetosphere during magnetic storms, although under quiet conditions H+ dominates the plasma pressure. The pressure enhancements, which we term energization, are caused by adiabatic heating through earthward transport of source population in the plasma sheet, local acceleration in the inner magnetosphere and near-Earth plasma sheet, and enhanced ion supply from the topside ionosphere. The key issues regarding stronger O+ energization than H+ are non-adiabatic local acceleration, responsible for increase in O+ temperature, and more significant O+ supply than H+, responsible for increase in O+ density. Although several acceleration mechanisms and O+ supply processes have been proposed, it remains an open question what mechanism(s)/process(es) play the dominant role in stronger O+ energization. In this paper we summarize important spacecraft observations including those from Van Allen Probes, introduces the proposed mechanisms/processes that generate O+-rich energetic plasma population, and outlines possible scenarios of O+ pressure abundance in the Earth's inner magnetosphere.

  17. Low frequency wave sources in the outer magnetosphere, magnetosheath, and near Earth solar wind

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. D. Constantinescu

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The interaction of the solar wind with the Earth magnetosphere generates a broad variety of plasma waves through different mechanisms. The four Cluster spacecraft allow one to determine the regions where these waves are generated and their propagation directions. One of the tools which takes full advantage of the multi-point capabilities of the Cluster mission is the wave telescope technique which provides the wave vector using a plane wave representation. In order to determine the distance to the wave sources, the source locator – a generalization of the wave telescope to spherical waves – has been recently developed. We are applying the source locator to magnetic field data from a typical traversal of Cluster from the cusp region and the outer magnetosphere into the magnetosheath and the near Earth solar wind. We find a high concentration of low frequency wave sources in the electron foreshock and in the cusp region. To a lower extent, low frequency wave sources are also found in other magnetospheric regions.

  18. Mapping using the Tsyganenko long magnetospheric model and its relationship to Viking auroral images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elphinstone, R.D.; Hearn, D.; Murphree, J.S.; Cogger, L.L.

    1991-01-01

    The Tsyganenko long magnetospheric model (1987) has been used in conjunction with ultra-violet images taken by the Viking spacecraft to investigate the relationship of the auroral distribution to different magnetospheric regions. The model describes the large-scale structure of the magnetosphere reasonably well for dipole tilt angles near zero, but it appears to break down at higher tilt angles. Even so, a wide variety of auroral configurations can be accurately described by the model. It appears that the open-closed field line boundary is a poor indicator of auroral arc systems with the possible exception of high-latitude polar arcs. The auroral distribution typically called the oval maps to a region in the equatorial plane quite close to the Earth and can be approximately located by mapping the model current density maximum from the equatorial plane into the ionosphere. Although the model may break down along the flanks of the magnetotail, the large-scale auroral distribution generally reflects variations in the near-Earth region and can be modeled quite effectively

  19. The galaxy population of Abell 1367: the stellar mass-metallicity relation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mouhcine, M.; Kriwattanawong, W.; James, P. A.

    2011-04-01

    Using wide baseline broad-band photometry, we analyse the stellar population properties of a sample of 72 galaxies, spanning a wide range of stellar masses and morphological types, in the nearby spiral-rich and dynamically young galaxy cluster Abell 1367. The sample galaxies are distributed from the cluster centre out to approximately half the cluster Abell radius. The optical/near-infrared colours are compared with simple stellar population synthesis models from which the luminosity-weighted stellar population ages and metallicities are determined. The locus of the colours of elliptical galaxies traces a sequence of varying metallicity at a narrow range of luminosity-weighted stellar ages. Lenticular galaxies in the red sequence, however, exhibit a substantial spread of luminosity-weighted stellar metallicities and ages. For red-sequence lenticular galaxies and blue cloud galaxies, low-mass galaxies tend to be on average dominated by stellar populations of younger luminosity-weighted ages. Sample galaxies exhibit a strong correlation between integrated stellar mass and luminosity-weighted stellar metallicity. Galaxies with signs of morphological disturbance and ongoing star formation activity, tend to be underabundant with respect to passive galaxies in the red sequence of comparable stellar masses. We argue that this could be due to tidally driven gas flows towards the star-forming regions, carrying less enriched gas and diluting the pre-existing gas to produce younger stellar populations with lower metallicities than would be obtained prior to the interaction. Finally, we find no statistically significant evidence for changes in the luminosity-weighted ages and metallicities for either red-sequence or blue-cloud galaxies, at fixed stellar mass, with location within the cluster. We dedicate this work to the memory of our friend and colleague C. Moss who died suddenly recently.

  20. Measuring the magnetic connectivity of the geosynchronous region of the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomsen, M.; Hones, E.; McComas, D.; Reeves, G.; Weiss, L.

    1996-01-01

    This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The purpose of this project was to determine the magnetic connectivity of the geosynchronous region of the magnetosphere to the auroral zone in the polar ionosphere in order to test and refine current magnetospheric magnetic field models. The authors used plasma data from LANL instruments on three geosynchronous satellites and from USAF instruments on three low-altitude, polar-orbiting, DMSP satellites. Magnetic connectivity is tested by comparing plasma energy spectra at DMSP and geosynchronous satellites when they are in near conjunction. The times of closest conjugacy are used to evaluate the field models. They developed the tools for each step of the process and applied them to the study of a one-week test set of conjunctions. They automated the analysis tools and applied them to four months of two-satellite observations. This produced a database of about 130 definitive magnetic conjunctions. They compared this database with the predictions of the widely-used Tsyganenko magnetic field model and showed that in most cases one of the various parameterizations of the model could reproduce the observed field line connection. Further, they explored various measurables (e.g., magnetospheric activity indices or the geosynchronous field orientation) that might point to the appropriate parameterization of the model for these conjunctions, and ultimately, for arbitrary times

  1. A Comet Engulfs Mars: MAVEN Observations of Comet Siding Spring's Influence on the Martian Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espley, Jared R.; Dibraccio, Gina A.; Connerney, John E. P.; Brain, David; Gruesbeck, Jacob; Soobiah, Yasir; Halekas, Jasper S.; Combi, Michael; Luhmann, Janet; Ma, Yingjuan

    2015-01-01

    The nucleus of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) passed within 141,000?km of Mars on 19 October 2014. Thus, the cometary coma and the plasma it produces washed over Mars for several hours producing significant effects in the Martian magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. We present observations from Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) particles and field's instruments that show the Martian magnetosphere was severely distorted during the comet's passage. We note four specific major effects: (1) a variable induced magnetospheric boundary, (2) a strong rotation of the magnetic field as the comet approached, (3) severely distorted and disordered ionospheric magnetic fields during the comet's closest approach, and (4) unusually strong magnetosheath turbulence lasting hours after the comet left. We argue that the comet produced effects comparable to that of a large solar storm (in terms of incident energy) and that our results are therefore important for future studies of atmospheric escape, MAVEN's primary science objective.

  2. On the influence of the magnetization of a model solar wind on a laboratory magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, H.U.; Yur, G.; White, R.S.; Birn, J.; Wessel, F.J.

    1991-01-01

    The interaction of a magnetized plasma beam with a stationary dipole field, analogous to the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere, is explored in a laboratory experiment. Experimental parameters are chosen to scale qualitatively similar to the parameters in the Earth's magnetosphere. The authors find that the magnetization of the laboratory solar wind, generated by injecting a plasma across a preexisting magnetic field, requires a certain minimum magnetic field strength. Differences between the resulting magnetospheres for northward and southward solar wind or interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF) are demonstrated by global pictures and by magnetic field measurements above the north polar region. These measurements show patterns of the variation of the transverse field component which are similar to those found by satellite measurements above the Earth. This indicates the presence of similar field-aligned current systems. They demonstrate particularly the presence (for northward IMF) and absence (for southward IMF) of the pattern attributed to the NBZ (northward B z ) current system

  3. A COMPARISON OF STELLAR ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCE TECHNIQUES AND MEASUREMENTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hinkel, Natalie R.; Young, Patrick A.; Pagano, Michael D.; Desch, Steven J.; Anbar, Ariel D. [School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Adibekyan, Vardan; Mena, Elisa Delgado; Sousa, Sergio G.; Santos, Nuno C. [Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Blanco-Cuaresma, Sergi [Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, CH-1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Carlberg, Joleen K. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 667, Greenbelt MD 20771 (United States); Liu, Fan [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 (Australia); Nordlander, Thomas; Korn, Andreas; Gruyters, Pieter; Heiter, Ulrike [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Jofré, Paula [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Soubiran, Caroline, E-mail: natalie.hinkel@gmail.com [CNRS/Univ. Bordeaux, LAB, UMR 5804, F-33270, Floirac (France)

    2016-09-01

    Stellar elemental abundances are important for understanding the fundamental properties of a star or stellar group, such as age and evolutionary history, as well as the composition of an orbiting planet. However, as abundance measurement techniques have progressed, there has been little standardization between individual methods and their comparisons. As a result, different stellar abundance procedures determine measurements that vary beyond the quoted error for the same elements within the same stars. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the systematic variations between methods and offer recommendations for producing more accurate results in the future. We invited a number of participants from around the world (Australia, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States) to calculate 10 element abundances (C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Fe, Ni, Ba, and Eu) using the same stellar spectra for four stars (HD 361, HD 10700, HD 121504, and HD 202206). Each group produced measurements for each star using (1) their own autonomous techniques, (2) standardized stellar parameters, (3) a standardized line list, and (4) both standardized parameters and a line list. We present the resulting stellar parameters, absolute abundances, and a metric of data similarity that quantifies the homogeneity of the data. We conclude that standardization of some kind, particularly stellar parameters, improves the consistency between methods. However, because results did not converge as more free parameters were standardized, it is clear there are inherent issues within the techniques that need to be reconciled. Therefore, we encourage more conversation and transparency within the community such that stellar abundance determinations can be reproducible as well as accurate and precise.

  4. The stellar metallicity gradients in galaxy discs in a cosmological scenario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tissera, Patricia B.; Machado, Rubens E. G.; Sanchez-Blazquez, Patricia; Pedrosa, Susana E.; Sánchez, Sebastián F.; Snaith, Owain; Vilchez, Jose

    2016-08-01

    Context. The stellar metallicity gradients of disc galaxies provide information on disc assembly, star formation processes, and chemical evolution. They also might store information on dynamical processes that could affect the distribution of chemical elements in the gas phase and the stellar components. Understanding their joint effects within a hierarchical clustering scenario is of paramount importance. Aims: We studied the stellar metallicity gradients of simulated discs in a cosmological simulation. We explored the dependence of the stellar metallicity gradients on stellar age and on the size and mass of the stellar discs. Methods: We used a catalogue of galaxies with disc components selected from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation performed including a physically motivated supernova feedback and chemical evolution. Disc components were defined based on angular momentum and binding energy criteria. The metallicity profiles were estimated for stars with different ages. We confront our numerical findings with results from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) Survey. Results: The simulated stellar discs are found to have metallicity profiles with slopes in global agreement with observations. Low stellar mass galaxies tend to have a larger variety of metallicity slopes. When normalized by the half-mass radius, the stellar metallicity gradients do not show any dependence and the dispersion increases significantly, regardless of the galaxy mass. Galaxies with stellar masses o f around 1010M⊙ show steeper negative metallicity gradients. The stellar metallicity gradients correlate with the half-mass radius. However, the correlation signal is not present when they are normalized by the half-mass radius. Stellar discs with positive age gradients are detected to have negative and positive metallicity gradients, depending on the relative importance of recent star formation activity in the central regions. Conclusions: Our results suggest that inside

  5. Models of hot stellar systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Albada, T.S.

    1986-01-01

    Elliptical galaxies consist almost entirely of stars. Sites of recent star formation are rare, and most stars are believed to be several billion years old, perhaps as old as the Universe itself (--10/sup 10/ yrs). Stellar motions in ellipticals show a modest amount of circulation about the center of the system, but most support against the force of gravity is provided by random motions; for this reason ellipticals are called 'hot' stellar systems. Spiral galaxies usually also contain an appreciable amount of gas (--10%, mainly atomic hydrogen) and new stars are continually being formed out of this gas, especially in the spiral arms. In contrast to ellipticals, support against gravity in spiral galaxies comes almost entirely from rotation; random motions of the stars with respect to rotation are small. Consequently, spiral galaxies are called 'cold' stellar systems. Other than in hot systems, in cold systems the collective response of stars to variations in the force field is an essential part of the dynamics. The present overview is limited to mathematical models of hot systems. Computational methods are also discussed

  6. CCFpams: Atmospheric stellar parameters from cross-correlation functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malavolta, Luca; Lovis, Christophe; Pepe, Francesco; Sneden, Christopher; Udry, Stephane

    2017-07-01

    CCFpams allows the measurement of stellar temperature, metallicity and gravity within a few seconds and in a completely automated fashion. Rather than performing comparisons with spectral libraries, the technique is based on the determination of several cross-correlation functions (CCFs) obtained by including spectral features with different sensitivity to the photospheric parameters. Literature stellar parameters of high signal-to-noise (SNR) and high-resolution HARPS spectra of FGK Main Sequence stars are used to calibrate the stellar parameters as a function of CCF areas.

  7. Propagation of Dipolarization Signatures Observed by the Van Allen Probes in the Inner Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohtani, S.; Motoba, T.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Kletzing, C.

    2017-12-01

    Dipolarization, the change of the local magnetic field from a stretched to a more dipolar configuration, is one of the most fundamental processes of magnetospheric physics. It is especially critical for the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere. The associated electric field accelerates ions and electrons and transports them closer to Earth. Such injected ions intensify the ring current, and electrons constitute the seed population of the radiation belt. Those ions and electrons may also excite various waves that play important roles in the enhancement and loss of the radiation belt electrons. Despite such critical consequences, the general characteristics of dipolarization in the inner magnetosphere still remain to be understood. The Van Allen Probes mission, which consists of two probes that orbit through the equatorial region of the inner magnetosphere, provides an ideal opportunity to examine dipolarization signatures in the core of the ring current. In the present study we investigate the spatial expansion of the dipolarization region by examining the correlation and time delay of dipolarization signatures observed by the two probes. Whereas in general it requires three-point measurements to deduce the propagation of a signal on a certain plane, we statically examined the observed time delays and found that dipolarization signatures tend to propagate radially inward as well as away from midnight. In this paper we address the propagation of dipolarization signatures quantitatively and compare with the propagation velocities reported previously based on observations made farther away from Earth. We also discuss how often and under what conditions the dipolarization region expands.

  8. Magnetospheric Control of Density and Composition in the Polar Ionosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-24

    verified calculation of three-dimensional plasma continuity at the geomagnetic pole [Dahlgren et al., 2012a; Perry et al., 2015; Semeter et al., 2014...variations in a camera system. This data flow describes a forward model, which may be reversed to reconstruct the magnetospheric drivers, in this case

  9. Assessment of global stellarator confinement: Status of the international stellarator confinement scaling data base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dinklage, A.; Beidler, C.D.; Dose, V.; Geiger, J.; Kus, A.; Preuss, R.; Ascasibar, E.; Tribaldos, V.; Harris, J.H.; Murakami, S.; Sano, F.; Okamura, S.; Suzuki, Y.; Watanabe, K.Y.; Yamada, H.; Yokoyama, M.; Stroth, U.; Talmadge, J.

    2005-01-01

    Different stellarator/heliotron devices along with their respective flexibility cover a large magnetic configuration space. Since the ultimate goal of stellarator research aims at an alternative fusion reactor concept, the exploration of the most promising configurations requires a comparative assessment of the plasma performance and how different aspects of a 3D configuration influence it. Therefore, the International Stellarator Confinement Database (ISCDB) has been re- initiated in 2004 and the ISS95 database has been extended to roughly 3000 discharges from eight different devices. Further data-sets are continuously added. A revision of a data set restricted to comparable scenarios lead to the ISS04 scaling law which confirmed ISS95 but also revealed clearly the necessity to incorporate configuration descriptive parameters. In other words, an extension beyond the set of regression parameters used for ISS95/ISS04 appears to be necessary and candidates, such as the elongation are investigated. Since grouping of data is a key-issue for deriving ISS04, basic assumptions are revised, e.g. the dependence on the heating scheme. Moreover, an assessment of statistical approaches is investigated with respect to their impact on the scaling. A crucial issue is the weighting of data groups which is discussed in terms of error-in-variable techniques and Bayesian model comparison. The latter is employed for testing scaling ansatzes depending on scaling invariance principles hence allowing the assessment of applicability of theory-based scaling laws on stellarator confinement. 1. ISCDB resources are jointly hosted by NIFS and IPP, see http://iscdb.nifs.ac.jp and http://www.ipp.mpg.de/ISS. (author)

  10. Stellarator physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-07-01

    This document consists of the proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop on Stellarators, held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA, 10-14 April, 1989. The document consists of a summary of presentations, an overview of experimental results, and papers presented at the workshop on transport, impurities and divertors, diagnostics, ECH confinement experiments, equilibrium and stability studies, RF heating, confinement, magnetic configurations, and new experiments. Refs, figs and tabs

  11. Magnetospheric particle detection efficiency of a conical telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miah, M.A.; Mitchell, J.W.; Wefel, J.P.

    1989-01-01

    A semianalytic program has been developed to map the pitch angles of magnetospheric particles onto a detector telescope acceptance cone. The telescope fractional efficiency is defined as the fraction of the pitch angle cone in common with the telescope cone multiplied by the fractional perpendicular component of the exposed detector area, and normalized by 2π. Calculations have been performed as a function of the satellite's location, orbital inclination and the zenith angle of the telescope axis, both in dipole and real geomagnetic field models. At the dipole equator, the peak efficiency occurs at 90 0 pitch angle. In the real geomagnetic field model, the average value of the pitch angle for maximum efficiency is ≅ 88 0 . The efficiency function depends strongly upon latitude and is independent of longitude in a dipole field, but depends on longitude in the real field model. In either field model, altitude, angle of tilt and orbital inclination have little effect upon efficiency. The efficiency function calculated at the dipole equator can be used at the minimum magnetic field equator with little error, but not for points away from the B min position. The results are applied to calculate the absolute flux of magnetospheric particles observed near the equator. (orig.)

  12. THE FORMATION OF SECONDARY STELLAR GENERATIONS IN MASSIVE YOUNG STAR CLUSTERS FROM RAPIDLY COOLING SHOCKED STELLAR WINDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wünsch, R.; Palouš, J.; Ehlerová, S. [Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Boční II 1401, 141 31 Prague (Czech Republic); Tenorio-Tagle, G. [Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Optica y Electrónica, AP 51, 72000 Puebla, México (Mexico)

    2017-01-20

    We study a model of rapidly cooling shocked stellar winds in young massive clusters and estimate the circumstances under which secondary star formation, out of the reinserted winds from a first stellar generation (1G), is possible. We have used two implementations of the model: a highly idealized, computationally inexpensive, spherically symmetric semi-analytic model, and a complex, three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic, simulation; they are in a good mutual agreement. The results confirm our previous findings that, in a cluster with 1G mass 10{sup 7} M {sub ⊙} and half-mass–radius 2.38 pc, the shocked stellar winds become thermally unstable, collapse into dense gaseous structures that partially accumulate inside the cluster, self-shield against ionizing stellar radiation, and form the second generation (2G) of stars. We have used the semi-analytic model to explore a subset of the parameter space covering a wide range of the observationally poorly constrained parameters: the heating efficiency, η {sub he}, and the mass loading, η {sub ml}. The results show that the fraction of the 1G stellar winds accumulating inside the cluster can be larger than 50% if η {sub he} ≲ 10%, which is suggested by the observations. Furthermore, for low η {sub he}, the model provides a self-consistent mechanism predicting 2G stars forming only in the central zones of the cluster. Finally, we have calculated the accumulated warm gas emission in the H30 α recombination line, analyzed its velocity profile, and estimated its intensity for super star clusters in interacting galaxies NGC4038/9 (Antennae) showing that the warm gas should be detectable with ALMA.

  13. ACCELERATED FITTING OF STELLAR SPECTRA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ting, Yuan-Sen; Conroy, Charlie [Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Rix, Hans-Walter [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2016-07-20

    Stellar spectra are often modeled and fitted by interpolating within a rectilinear grid of synthetic spectra to derive the stars’ labels: stellar parameters and elemental abundances. However, the number of synthetic spectra needed for a rectilinear grid grows exponentially with the label space dimensions, precluding the simultaneous and self-consistent fitting of more than a few elemental abundances. Shortcuts such as fitting subsets of labels separately can introduce unknown systematics and do not produce correct error covariances in the derived labels. In this paper we present a new approach—Convex Hull Adaptive Tessellation (chat)—which includes several new ideas for inexpensively generating a sufficient stellar synthetic library, using linear algebra and the concept of an adaptive, data-driven grid. A convex hull approximates the region where the data lie in the label space. A variety of tests with mock data sets demonstrate that chat can reduce the number of required synthetic model calculations by three orders of magnitude in an eight-dimensional label space. The reduction will be even larger for higher dimensional label spaces. In chat the computational effort increases only linearly with the number of labels that are fit simultaneously. Around each of these grid points in the label space an approximate synthetic spectrum can be generated through linear expansion using a set of “gradient spectra” that represent flux derivatives at every wavelength point with respect to all labels. These techniques provide new opportunities to fit the full stellar spectra from large surveys with 15–30 labels simultaneously.

  14. Stellar-to-halo mass relation of cluster galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemiec, Anna; Jullo, Eric; Limousin, Marceau; Giocoli, Carlo

    2017-01-01

    In the formation of galaxy groups and clusters, the dark matter haloes containing satellite galaxies are expected to be tidally stripped in gravitational interactions with the host. We use galaxy-galaxy weak lensing to measure the average mass of dark matter haloes of satellite galaxies as a function of projected distance to the centre of the host, since stripping is expected to be greater for satellites closer to the centre of the cluster. We further classify the satellites according to their stellar mass: assuming that the stellar component of the galaxy is less disrupted by tidal stripping, stellar mass can be used as a proxy of the infall mass. We study the stellar to halo mass relation of satellites as a function of the cluster-centric distance to measure tidal stripping. We use the shear catalogues of the DES science veri cation archive, the CFHTLenS and the CFHT Stripe 82 surveys, and we select satellites from the redMaPPer catalogue of clusters. For galaxies located in the outskirts of clusters, we nd a stellar to halo mass relation in good agreement with the theoretical expectations from Moster, Naab & White (2013) for central galaxies. In the centre of the cluster, we nd that this relation is shifted to smaller halo mass for a given stellar mass. We interpret this nding as further evidence for tidal stripping of dark matter haloes in high density environments.

  15. Deriving stellar parameters with the SME software package

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piskunov, N.

    2017-09-01

    Photometry and spectroscopy are complementary tools for deriving accurate stellar parameters. Here I present one of the popular packages for stellar spectroscopy called SME with the emphasis on the latest developments and error assessment for the derived parameters.

  16. Teaching stellar interferometry with polymer optical fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illarramendi, M. A.; Arregui, L.; Zubia, J.; Hueso, R.; Sanchez-Lavega, A.

    2017-08-01

    In this manuscript we show the design of a simple experiment that reproduces the operation of the Michelson stellar interferometer by using step-index polymer optical fibers. The emission of stellar sources, single or binary stars, has been simulated by the laser light emerging from the output surface of the 2 meter-long polymer optical fiber. This light has an emission pattern that is similar to the emission pattern of stellar sources - circular, uniform, spatially incoherent, and quasi-monochromatic. Light coming from the fiber end faces passes through two identical pinholes located on a lid covering the objective of a small telescope, thus producing interference. Interference fringes have been acquired using a camera that is coupled to a telescope. The experiments have been carried out both outdoors in the daytime and indoors. By measuring the fringe visibilities, we have determined the size of our artificial stellar sources and the distance between them, when placing them at distances of 54 m from the telescope in the indoor measurements and of 75 m in the outdoor ones.

  17. Electric current model of magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfen, H.

    1979-05-01

    A dualism between the field and the particle approach exists also in plasma physics. A number of phenomena, such as the formation of double layers and the energy transport form one region to another, can be understood only by the particle (electric current) description. Hence a translation of the traditional field description into a particle (electric current) description is essential. Such a translation has earlier been made for the heliosphere. The purpose of this paper is to outline a similar application to the magnetosphere, focussing on the energy transfer from the solar wind. As a first approximation a magnetic field consisting of a dipole field and homogeneous magnetic field is used whereas in a second approximation the configuration is more realistic. (author)

  18. Stellar axion models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nowakowski, Daniel; Kuster, Markus; Meister, Claudia V.; Fuelbert, Florian; Hoffmann, Dieter H.H. [TU Darmstadt (Germany). Institut fuer Kernphysik; Weiss, Achim [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Garching (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    An axion helioscope is typically operated to observe the sun as an axion source. Additional pointings at celestial sources, e.g. stars in other galaxies, result in possible detections of axions from distant galactic objects. For the observation of supplementary axion sources we therefore calculate the thereotical axion flux from distant stars by extending axionic flux models for the axion Primakoff effect in the sun to other main sequence stars. The main sequence star models used for our calculations are based on full stellar structure calculations. To deduce the effective axion flux of stellar objects incident on the Earth the All-Sky catalogue was used to obtain the spectral class and distance of the stars treated. Our calculations of the axion flux in the galactic plane show that for a zero age main sequence star an maximum axion flux of {phi}{sub a}=303.43 cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} could be expected. Furthermore we present estimates of axion fluxes from time-evolved stars.

  19. The fluctuation theory of the stellar mass loss

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andriesse, C.D.

    1981-01-01

    The idea that fluctuations in the mass flow are as significant as the very existence of the flow has led to the development of a fluctuation theory of the stellar mass loss. A general theory for fluctuations in non-equilibrium systems - and such are stellar atmospheres - was developed long ago. In developing the general theory to a specific stellar theory, however, the arguments have not come up in their logical order. The present sketch of this theory improves on that order and is offered as a framework for further study. (Auth.)

  20. A new method of diagnostics for the magnetospheric plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etcheto, Jacqueline; Petit, Michel

    1977-01-01

    A new diagnostic technique for magnetospheric plasma, based on in situ excitation of the plasma resonances, has been used for the first time on board the Geos satellite. The preliminary results are very gratifying: electron density and magnetic field intensity are derived reliably and accurately from the resonances observed; hopefully, temperature and electric field will be deduced from the data as well [fr

  1. Stellar Relics from the Early Galaxy T. Sivarani

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    metal-poor stars is used to study the chemical history of the galaxy. Apart from this,. 5 .... They fit a color-magnitude diagram in order to trace different stellar population and derived a ... distinctly different stellar population with a different origin.

  2. Influence of the solar wind and IMF on Jupiter's magnetosphere: Results from global MHD simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkango, Y.; Jia, X.; Toth, G.; Hansen, K. C.

    2017-12-01

    Due to its large size, rapid rotation and presence of substantial internal plasma sources, Jupiter's magnetosphere is fundamentally different from that of the Earth. How and to what extent do the external factors, such as the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), influence the internally-driven magnetosphere is an open question. In this work, we solve the 3D semi-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations using a well-established code, BATSRUS, to model the Jovian magnetosphere and study its interaction with the solar wind. Our global model adopts a non-uniform mesh covering the region from 200 RJ upstream to 1800 RJ downstream with the inner boundary placed at a radial distance of 2.5 RJ. The Io plasma torus centered around 6 RJ is generated in our model through appropriate mass-loading terms added to the set of MHD equations. We perform systematic numerical experiments in which we vary the upstream solar wind properties to investigate the impact of solar wind events, such as interplanetary shock and IMF rotation, on the global magnetosphere. From our simulations, we extract the location of the magnetopause boundary, the bow shock and the open-closed field line boundary (OCB), and determine their dependence on the solar wind properties and the IMF orientation. For validation, we compare our simulation results, such as density, temperature and magnetic field, to published empirical models based on in-situ measurements.

  3. Solar wind conditions for a quiet magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerns, K.J.; Gussenhoven, M.S.

    1990-01-01

    The conditions of the solar wind that lead to a quiet magnetosphere are determined under the assumption that the quiet or baseline magnetosphere can be identified by prolonged periods of low values of the am index. The authors analyzed solar wind data from 1978 to 1984 (7 years) during periods in which am ≤ 3 nT to identify those solar wind parameters that deviate significantly from average values. Parallel studies were also performed for prolonged periods of Kp = 0, 0+ and AE z ) show distinctive variations from average values. They independently varied these solar wind parameters and the length of time the conditions must persist to minimize am. This was done with the additional requirement that the conditions yield a reasonable number of occurrences (5% of the data set). The resulting baseline conditions are V ≤ 390 km/s; 180 degree - arctan |B y /B z | ≤ 101 degree, when b z ≤ 0 (no restriction on B z positive); B ≤ 6.5 nT; and persistence of these conditions for at least 5 hours. Minimizing the am index does not require a clear upper limit on the value of B z as might be anticipated from the work of Gussenhoven (1988) and Berthelier (1980). Apparently, this is a result of the requirement that the conditions must occur 5% of the time. When the requirement is lowered to 1% occurrence, an upper limit to B z emerges

  4. Quantitative magnetotail characteristics of different magnetospheric states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Shukhtina

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Quantitative relationships allowing one to compute the lobe magnetic field, flaring angle and tail radius, and to evaluate magnetic flux based on solar wind/IMF parameters and spacecraft position are obtained for the middle magnetotail, X=(–15,–35RE, using 3.5 years of simultaneous Geotail and Wind spacecraft observations. For the first time it was done separately for different states of magnetotail including the substorm onset (SO epoch, the steady magnetospheric convection (SMC and quiet periods (Q. In the explored distance range the magnetotail parameters appeared to be similar (within the error bar for Q and SMC states, whereas at SO their values are considerably larger. In particular, the tail radius is larger by 1–3 RE at substorm onset than during Q and SMC states, for which the radius value is close to previous magnetopause model values. The calculated lobe magnetic flux value at substorm onset is ~1GWb, exceeding that at Q (SMC states by ~50%. The model magnetic flux values at substorm onset and SMC show little dependence on the solar wind dynamic pressure and distance in the tail, so the magnetic flux value can serve as an important discriminator of the state of the middle magnetotail.

    Key words. Magnetospheric physics (solar windmagnetosphere- interactions, magnetotail, storms and substorms

  5. Development of code PRETOR for stellarator simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dies, J.; Fontanet, J.; Fontdecaba, J.M.; Castejon, F.; Alejandre, C.

    1998-01-01

    The Department de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear (DFEN) of the UPC has some experience in the development of the transport code PRETOR. This code has been validated with shots of DIII-D, JET and TFTR, it has also been used in the simulation of operational scenarios of ITER fast burnt termination. Recently, the association EURATOM-CIEMAT has started the operation of the TJ-II stellarator. Due to the need of validating the results given by others transport codes applied to stellarators and because all of them made some approximations, as a averaging magnitudes in each magnetic surface, it was thought suitable to adapt the PRETOR code to devices without axial symmetry, like stellarators, which is very suitable for the specific needs of the study of TJ-II. Several modifications are required in PRETOR; the main concerns to the models of: magnetic equilibrium, geometry and transport of energy and particles. In order to solve the complex magnetic equilibrium geometry the powerful numerical code VMEC has been used. This code gives the magnetic surface shape as a Fourier series in terms of the harmonics (m,n). Most of the geometric magnitudes are also obtained from the VMEC results file. The energy and particle transport models will be replaced by other phenomenological models that are better adapted to stellarator simulation. Using the proposed models, it is pretended to reproduce experimental data available from present stellarators, given especial attention to the TJ-II of the association EURATOM-CIEMAT. (Author)

  6. Stellar Wakes from Dark Matter Subhalos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschmann, Malte; Kopp, Joachim; Safdi, Benjamin R; Wu, Chih-Liang

    2018-05-25

    We propose a novel method utilizing stellar kinematic data to detect low-mass substructure in the Milky Way's dark matter halo. By probing characteristic wakes that a passing dark matter subhalo leaves in the phase-space distribution of ambient halo stars, we estimate sensitivities down to subhalo masses of ∼10^{7}  M_{⊙} or below. The detection of such subhalos would have implications for dark matter and cosmological models that predict modifications to the halo-mass function at low halo masses. We develop an analytic formalism for describing the perturbed stellar phase-space distributions, and we demonstrate through idealized simulations the ability to detect subhalos using the phase-space model and a likelihood framework. Our method complements existing methods for low-mass subhalo searches, such as searches for gaps in stellar streams, in that we can localize the positions and velocities of the subhalos today.

  7. Stellar Wakes from Dark Matter Subhalos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschmann, Malte; Kopp, Joachim; Safdi, Benjamin R.; Wu, Chih-Liang

    2018-05-01

    We propose a novel method utilizing stellar kinematic data to detect low-mass substructure in the Milky Way's dark matter halo. By probing characteristic wakes that a passing dark matter subhalo leaves in the phase-space distribution of ambient halo stars, we estimate sensitivities down to subhalo masses of ˜107 M⊙ or below. The detection of such subhalos would have implications for dark matter and cosmological models that predict modifications to the halo-mass function at low halo masses. We develop an analytic formalism for describing the perturbed stellar phase-space distributions, and we demonstrate through idealized simulations the ability to detect subhalos using the phase-space model and a likelihood framework. Our method complements existing methods for low-mass subhalo searches, such as searches for gaps in stellar streams, in that we can localize the positions and velocities of the subhalos today.

  8. Toy Model of Frame-Dragging Magnetosphere for the M87 Jet

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-01-27

    Jan 27, 2016 ... Toy Model of Frame-Dragging Magnetosphere for the M87 Jet ... The outermost layer of jet is driven by the frame-dragging effect in the Kerr ... All these have helped shorten the publication time and have improved the visibility ...

  9. The art of mapping the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stern, D.P.

    1994-01-01

    A comprehensive review is presented of the mathematical methods used to represent magnetic fields in the Earth's magnetosphere, of the way existing data-based models use these methods and of the associated problems and concepts. The magnetic field has five main components: the internal field, the magnetopause, the ring current, the tail and Birkeland currents. Methods of representing separately each of these are discussed, as is the deformation of magnetic fields; Appendix B traces the connection between deformations and the Cauchy integral. A summary section lists the uses of data-based models and their likely evolution, and Appendix A supplements the text with a set of problems. 55 refs., 20 figs

  10. Diagnostics Plan for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D. Johnson; T. Brown; H. Neilson; G. Schilling; H. Takahashi; M. Zarnstorff; M. Cole; E. Lazarus; and M. Fenstermacher

    2002-01-01

    The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) is a stellarator-tokamak hybrid seeking to combine the good confinement, high beta and moderate aspect ratio of the tokamak with the quasi-steady-state operation and good stability properties of the stellarator. A preliminary list of measurement requirements, intended to satisfy the needs of the phased research plan, provides the basis for a full complement of plasma diagnostics. It is important to consider this full set, even at this early stage, to assess the adequacy of the stellarator design for diagnostic port access. The 3-D nature of the plasma is a measurement challenge, as is the necessity for high spatial resolution to assess the quality of magnetic surfaces. Other diagnostic requirements include the need for re-entrant views that penetrate the cryostat, for a convenient e-beam probe for field line mapping, and for a diagnostic neutral beam for active spectroscopy

  11. Origins Of Magnetospheric Physics An Expanded Edition

    CERN Document Server

    Van Allen, James A

    2004-01-01

    Early in 1958, instruments on the space satellites Explorer I and Explorer III revealed the presence of radiation belts, enormous populations of energetic particles trapped in the magnetic field of the earth. Originally published in 1983 but long out of print until now, Origins of Magnetospheric Physics tells the story of this dramatic and hugely transformative period in scientific and Cold War history. Writing in an accessible style and drawing on personal journals, correspondence, published papers, and the recollections of colleagues, James Van Allen documents a trail-blazing era in space hi

  12. STELLAR TRANSITS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Béky, Bence; Kocsis, Bence

    2013-01-01

    Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are typically surrounded by a dense stellar population in galactic nuclei. Stars crossing the line of site in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) produce a characteristic transit light curve, just like extrasolar planets do when they transit their host star. We examine the possibility of finding such AGN transits in deep optical, UV, and X-ray surveys. We calculate transit light curves using the Novikov-Thorne thin accretion disk model, including general relativistic effects. Based on the expected properties of stellar cusps, we find that around 10 6 solar mass SMBHs, transits of red giants are most common for stars on close orbits with transit durations of a few weeks and orbital periods of a few years. We find that detecting AGN transits requires repeated observations of thousands of low-mass AGNs to 1% photometric accuracy in optical, or ∼10% in UV bands or soft X-ray. It may be possible to identify stellar transits in the Pan-STARRS and LSST optical and the eROSITA X-ray surveys. Such observations could be used to constrain black hole mass, spin, inclination, and accretion rate. Transit rates and durations could give valuable information on the circumnuclear stellar clusters as well. Transit light curves could be used to image accretion disks with unprecedented resolution, allowing us to resolve the SMBH silhouette in distant AGNs.

  13. The Effect of Storm Driver and Intensity on Magnetospheric Ion Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keesee, Amy M.; Katus, Roxanne M.; Scime, Earl E.

    2017-09-01

    Energy deposited in the magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms drives ion heating and convection. Ions are also heated and transported via internal processes throughout the magnetosphere. Injection of the plasma sheet ions to the inner magnetosphere drives the ring current and, thus, the storm intensity. Understanding the ion dynamics is important to improving our ability to predict storm evolution. In this study, we perform superposed epoch analyses of ion temperatures during storms, comparing ion temperature evolution by storm driver and storm intensity. The ion temperatures are calculated using energetic neutral atom measurements from the Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers (TWINS) mission. The global view of these measurements provide both spatial and temporal information. We find that storms driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) tend to have higher ion temperatures throughout the main phase than storms driven by corotating interaction regions (CIRs) but that the temperatures increase during the recovery phase of CIR-driven storms. Ion temperatures during intense CME-driven storms have brief intervals of higher ion temperatures than those during moderate CME-driven storms but have otherwise comparable ion temperatures. The highest temperatures during CIR-driven storms are centered at 18 magnetic local time and occur on the dayside for moderate CME-driven storms. During the second half of the main phase, ion temperatures tend to decrease in the postmidnight to dawn sector for CIR storms, but an increase is observed for CME storms. This increase begins with a sharp peak in ion temperatures for intense CME storms, likely a signature of substorm activity that drives the increased ring current.

  14. Whistlers in space plasma, their role for particle populations in the inner magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shklyar, David

    Of many wave modes, which propagate in the plasmaspheric region of the magnetosphere, whistler waves play the most important role in the dynamics of energetic particles (chiefly elec-trons, but not excepting protons), as their resonant interactions are very efficient. There are three main sources of whistler mode waves in the magnetosphere, namely, lightning strokes, VLF transmitter signals, and far and away various kinds of kinetic instabilities leading to generation of whistler mode waves. Resonant interactions of energetic electrons with whistlers may lead to electron acceleration, scattering into loss-cone, and consequent precipitation into the iono-sphere and atmosphere. While electron resonant interaction with lightning-induced whistlers and VLF transmitter signals may, to a certain approximation, be considered as particle dy-namics in given electromagnetic fields, resonant wave-particle interaction in the case of plasma instability is intrinsically a self-consistent process. An important aspect of whistler-electron interactions (particularly in the case of plasma instability) is the possibility of energy exchange between different energetic electron populations. Thus, in many cases, whistler wave growth rate is determined by "competition" between the first cyclotron and Cerenkov resonances, one (depending on energetic electron distribution) leading to wave growth and the other one to wave damping. Since particles which give rise to wave growth loose their energy, while parti-cles which lead to wave damping gain energy at the expense of the wave, and since the first cyclotron and Cerenkov resonances correspond to different particle energies, wave generation as the result of plasma instability may lead, at the same time, to energy exchange between two populations of energetic particles. While the role of whistlers in dynamics of energetic electrons in the magnetosphere is gener-ally recognized, their role for protons seems to be underestimated. At the same

  15. Is the Mercier criterion relevant to stellarator stability?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carreras, B.A.; Lynch, V.E.; Ichiguchi, K.; Wakatani, M.; Tatsuno, T.

    2001-01-01

    Local flattening of the pressure profile at the resonant surfaces may significantly change the stellarator stability properties. This flattening may be an intrinsic consequence of the three-dimensional nature of the equilibrium and may invalidate the local stability criteria often used in stellarator design. (author)

  16. Close stellar encounters in globular clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailyn, C.D.

    1989-01-01

    Stellar encounters are expected to produce a variety of interesting objects in the cores of globular clusters, either through the formation of binaries by tidal capture, or direct collisions. Here, I describe several attempts to observe the products of stellar encounters. In particular, the use of color maps has demonstrated the existence of a color gradient in the core of M15, which seems to be caused by a population of faint blue objects concentrated towards the cluster center. (author)

  17. Compact Starburst Galaxies with Fast Outflows: Spatially Resolved Stellar Mass Profiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Sophia; Diamond-Stanic, Aleksandar; Lipscomb, Charles; Ohene, Senyo; Rines, Josh; Moustakas, John; Sell, Paul; Tremonti, Christy; Coil, Alison; Rudnick, Gregory; Hickox, Ryan C.; Geach, James; Kepley, Amanda

    2018-01-01

    Powerful galactic winds driven by stellar feedback and black hole accretion are thought to play an important role in regulating star formation in galaxies. In particular, strong stellar feedback from supernovae, stellar winds, radiation pressure, and cosmic rays is required by simulations of star-forming galaxies to prevent the vast majority of baryons from cooling and collapsing to form stars. However, it remains unclear whether these stellar processes play a significant role in expelling gas and shutting down star formation in massive progenitors of quiescent galaxies. What are the limits of stellar feedback? We present multi-band photometry with HST/WFC3 (F475W, F814W, F160W) for a dozen compact starburst galaxies at z~0.6 with half-light radii that suggest incredibly large central escape velocities. These massive galaxies are driving fast (>1000 km/s) outflows that have been previously attributed to stellar feedback associated with the compact (r~100 pc) starburst. But how compact is the stellar mass? In the context of the stellar feedback hypothesis, it is unclear whether these fast outflows are being driven at velocities comparable to the escape velocity of an incredibly dense stellar system (as predicted by some models of radiation-pressure winds) or at velocities that exceed the central escape velocity by large factor. Our spatially resolved measurements with HST show that the stellar mass is more extended than the light, and this requires that the physical mechanism responsible for driving the winds must be able to launch gas at velocities that are factors of 5-10 beyond the central escape velocity.

  18. Magnetospheric convection electric field dynamics andstormtime particle energization: case study of the magneticstorm of 4 May 1998

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. V. Khazanov

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available It is shown that narrow channels of high electric field are an effective mechanism for injecting plasma into the inner magnetosphere. Analytical expressions for the electric field cannot produce these channels of intense plasma flow, and thus, result in less entry and adiabatic energization of the plasma sheet into near-Earth space. For the ions, omission of these channels leads to an underprediction of the strength of the stormtime ring current and therefore, an underestimation of the geoeffectiveness of the storm event. For the electrons, omission of these channels leads to the inability to create a seed population of 10-100 keV electrons deep in the inner magnetosphere. These electrons can eventually be accelerated into MeV radiation belt particles. To examine this, the 1-7 May 1998 magnetic storm is studied with a plasma transport model by using three different convection electric field models: Volland-Stern, Weimer, and AMIE. It is found that the AMIE model can produce particle fluxes that are several orders of magnitude higher in the L = 2 – 4 range of the inner magnetosphere, even for a similar total cross-tail potential difference. Key words. Space plasma physics (charged particle motion and acceleration – Magnetospheric physics (electric fields, storms and substorms

  19. Simulation and modeling of whistler-mode wave growth through cyclotron resonance with energetic electrons in the magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, C.R.

    1987-01-01

    New models and simulations of wave growth experienced by electromagnetic waves propagating through the magnetosphere in the whistler mode are presented. For these waves, which have frequencies below the electron gyro and plasma frequencies, the magnetospheric plasma acts like a natural amplifier often amplifying the waves by ∼ 30 dB. The mechanism for growth is cyclotron resonance between the circularly polarized waves and the gyrating energetic electrons which make up the Van Allen radiation belts. The main emphasis is to simulate single-frequency wave pulses, in the 2-6 kHz range, that have been injected into the magnetosphere, near L ∼ 4, by the Stanford transmitting facility at Siple station, Antarctica. However, the results can also be applied to naturally occurring signals, signals from other transmitters, non-CW signals, and signals in other parts of the magnetosphere not probed by the Siple Station transmitter. Results show the importance of the transient aspects in the wave-growth process. The wave growth established as the wave propagates toward the equator, is given a spatially advancing wave phase structure by the geomagnetic inhomogeneity. Through the feedback of this radiation upon other electrons, conditions are set up that results in the linearly increasing output frequency with time

  20. Azimuthal magnetic fields in Saturn’s magnetosphere: effects associated with plasma sub-corotation and the magnetopause-tail current system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. J. Bunce

    Full Text Available We calculate the azimuthal magnetic fields expected to be present in Saturn’s magnetosphere associated with two physical effects, and compare them with the fields observed during the flybys of the two Voyager spacecraft. The first effect is associated with the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents which result from the sub-corotation of the magnetospheric plasma. This is calculated from empirical models of the plasma flow and magnetic field based on Voyager data, with the effective Pedersen conductivity of Saturn’s ionosphere being treated as an essentially free parameter. This mechanism results in a ‘lagging’ field configuration at all local times. The second effect is due to the day-night asymmetric confinement of the magnetosphere by the solar wind (i.e. the magnetopause and tail current system, which we have estimated empirically by scaling a model of the Earth’s magnetosphere to Saturn. This effect produces ‘leading’ fields in the dusk magnetosphere, and ‘lagging’ fields at dawn. Our results show that the azimuthal fields observed in the inner regions can be reasonably well accounted for by plasma sub-corotation, given a value of the effective ionospheric Pedersen conductivity of ~ 1–2 mho. This statement applies to field lines mapping to the equator within ~ 8 RS (1 RS is taken to be 60 330 km of the planet on the dayside inbound passes, where the plasma distribution is dominated by a thin equatorial heavy-ion plasma sheet, and to field lines mapping to the equator within ~ 15 RS on the dawn side outbound passes. The contributions of the magnetopause-tail currents are estimated to be much smaller than the observed fields in these regions. If, however, we assume that the azimuthal fields observed in these regions are not due to sub-corotation but to some other process, then the above effective conductivities define an upper limit, such that values above ~ 2 mho can definitely be