Summary of symposium: Low luminosity sources

The author summarized certain aspects of the conference. He shares this task with another colleague thereby breaking the task into more manageable proportions. The author covers the low luminosity sources. He begins his review with a summary of some major themes of the conference and ends with a few speculations on possible theoretical mechanisms

Feathering Instability of Spiral Arms. I: Formulation of the Problem

In this paper we study the feathering substructures along spiral arms by considering the perturbational gas response to a spiral shock. Feathers are density fluctuations that jut out from the spiral arm to the inter-arm region at pitch angles given by the quantum numbers of the doubly-periodic structure. In a localized asymptotic approximation, related to the shearing sheet except that the inhomogeneities occur in space rather than in time, we derive the linearized perturbation equations for a razor-thin disk with turbulent interstellar gas, frozen-in magnetic field, and gaseous self-gravity. Apart from the modal quantum numbers, the individual normal modes of the system depend on seven dimensionless quantities that characterize the underlying time-independent axisymmetric state plus its steady, nonlinear, two-armed spiral-shock (TASS) response to a hypothesized background density-wave supported by the disk stars of the galaxy. We show that some of these normal modes have positive growth rates. Their over-density contours in the post-shock region are very reminiscent of observed feathering substructures in full magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The feathering substructures are parasitic instabilities intrinsic to the system; thus, their study not only provides potential diagnostics for important parameters that characterize the interstellar medium of external galaxies, but also yields a deeper understanding of the basic mechanism that drives the formation of the giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and the OB stars that outline observed grand-design spirals.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Ap

Relativistic Singular Isothermal Toroids

We construct self-similar, axisymmetric, time-independent solutions to Einstein's field equations for an isothermal gas with a flat rotation curve in the equatorial plane. The metric scales as $ds^2 \to a^2 ds^2$ under the transformation $r\to a r$ and $t \to a^{1-n} t$, where $n$ is a dimensionless measure of the strength of the gravitational field. The solution space forms a two-parameter family characterized by the ratios of the isothermal sound speed and the equatorial rotation speed to the speed of light. The isodensity surfaces are toroids, empty of matter along the rotation axis. Unlike the Newtonian case, the velocity field is not constant on a cylindrical radius. As the configuration rotates faster, an ergoregion develops in the form of the exterior of a cone centered about the rotation axis. The sequence of solutions terminates when frame dragging becomes infinite and the ergocone closes onto the axis. The fluid velocity of the last solution has finite value in the midplane but reaches the speed of light on the axis.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

Magnetocentrifugally Driven Flows from Young Stars and Disks. VI. Accretion with a Multipole Stellar Field

Previous analyses of magnetospheric accretion and outflow in classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs), within the context of both the X-wind model and other theoretical scenarios, have assumed a dipolar geometry for the stellar magnetic field if it were not perturbed by the presence of an accreting, electrically conducting disk. However, CTTS surveys reveal that accretion hot spots cover a small fraction of the stellar surface, and that the net field polarization on the stellar surface is small. Both facts imply that the magnetic field generated by the star has a complex non-dipolar structure. To address this discrepancy between theory and observations, we re-examine X-wind theory without the dipole constraint. Using simple physical arguments based on the concept of trapped flux, we show that a dipole configuration is in fact not essential. Independent of the precise geometry of the stellar magnetosphere, the requirement for a certain level of trapped flux predicts a definite relationship among various CTTS observables. Moreover, superposition of multipole stellar fields naturally yield small observed hot-spot covering fractions and small net surface polarizations. The generalized X-wind picture remains viable under these conditions, with the outflow from a small annulus near the inner disk edge little affected by the modified geometry, but with inflow highly dependent on the details of how the emergent stellar flux is linked and trapped by the inner disk regions. Our model is consistent with data, including recent spectropolarimetric measurements of the hot spot sizes and field strengths in V2129 Oph and BP Tau.Comment: ApJ accepted; 47 pages (submission format), 7 figure

Planetary ring dynamics and morphology

Evidence for a moonlet belt in the region between Saturn's close-in moonrings Pandora and Prometheus is discussed. It is argued that little-known observations of magnetospheric electron density by Pioneer 11 imply substantial, ongoing injections of mass into the 2000 km region which surrounds the F ring. A hypothesis is presented that these events result naturally from interparticle collisions between the smaller members of an optically thin belt of moonlets. Also discussed is work on Uranus ring structure and photometry, image processing and analysis of the Jonian ring strucure, photometric and structural studies of the A ring of Saturn, and improvements to an image processing system for ring studies

Magnetic Interactions in Pre-main-sequence Binaries

Young stars typically have strong magnetic fields, so that the magnetospheres of newly formed close binaries can interact, dissipate energy, and produce synchrotron radiation. The V773 Tau A binary system, a pair of T Tauri stars with a 51 day orbit, displays such a signature, with peak emission taking place near periastron. This paper proposes that the observed emission arises from the change in energy stored in the composite magnetic field of the system. We model the fields using the leading order (dipole) components and show that this picture is consistent with current observations. In this model, the observed radiation accounts for a fraction of the available energy of interaction between the magnetic fields from the two stars. Assuming antisymmetry, we compute the interaction energy E int as a function of the stellar radii, the stellar magnetic field strengths, the binary semimajor axis, and orbital eccentricity, all of which can be measured independently of the synchrotron radiation. The variability in time and energetics of the synchrotron radiation depend on the details of the annihilation of magnetic fields through reconnection events, which generate electric fields that accelerate charged particles, and how those charged particles, especially fast electrons, are removed from the interaction region. However, the major qualitative features are well described by the background changes in the global magnetic configuration driven by the orbital motion. The theory can be tested by observing a collection of pre-main-sequence binary systems.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90771/1/0004-637X_743_2_175.pd

Picosecond electric-field-induced threshold switching in phase-change materials

Many chalcogenide glasses undergo a breakdown in electronic resistance above a critical field strength. Known as threshold switching, this mechanism enables field-induced crystallization in emerging phase-change memory. Purely electronic as well as crystal nucleation assisted models have been employed to explain the electronic breakdown. Here, picosecond electric pulses are used to excite amorphous Ag$_4$In$_3$Sb$_{67}$Te$_{26}$. Field-dependent reversible changes in conductivity and pulse-driven crystallization are observed. The present results show that threshold switching can take place within the electric pulse on sub-picosecond time-scales - faster than crystals can nucleate. This supports purely electronic models of threshold switching and reveals potential applications as an ultrafast electronic switch.Comment: 6 pages manuscript with 3 figures and 8 pages supplementary materia