The multi-thermal and multi-stranded nature of coronal rain

In this work, we analyse coordinated observations spanning chromospheric, TR and coronal temperatures at very high resolution which reveal essential characteristics of thermally unstable plasmas. Coronal rain is found to be a highly multi-thermal phenomenon with a high degree of co-spatiality in the multi-wavelength emission. EUV darkening and quasi-periodic intensity variations are found to be strongly correlated to coronal rain showers. Progressive cooling of coronal rain is observed, leading to a height dependence of the emission. A fast-slow two-step catastrophic cooling progression is found, which may reflect the transition to optically thick plasma states. The intermittent and clumpy appearance of coronal rain at coronal heights becomes more continuous and persistent at chromospheric heights just before impact, mainly due to a funnel effect from the observed expansion of the magnetic field. Strong density inhomogeneities on spatial scales of 0.2"-0.5" are found, in which TR to chromospheric temperature transition occurs at the lowest detectable scales. The shape of the distribution of coronal rain widths is found to be independent of temperature with peaks close to the resolution limit of each telescope, ranging from 0.2" to 0.8". However we find a sharp increase of clump numbers at the coolest wavelengths and especially at higher resolution, suggesting that the bulk of the rain distribution remains undetected. Rain clumps appear organised in strands in both chromospheric and TR temperatures, suggesting an important role of thermal instability in the shaping of fundamental loop substructure. We further find structure reminiscent of the MHD thermal mode. Rain core densities are estimated to vary between 2x10^{10} cm^{-3} and 2.5x10^{11} cm^{-3} leading to significant downward mass fluxes per loop of 1-5x10^{9} g s^{-1}, suggesting a major role in the chromosphere-corona mass cycle.Comment: Abstract is only short version. See paper for full. Countless pages, figures (and movies, but not included here). Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Kinematics of coronal rain in a transversely oscillating loop : ponderomotive force and rain-excited oscillations

E.V. acknowledges support from the Warwick STFC Consolidated Grant ST/L000733/I. P.A. acknowledges support from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (grant agreement No. 647214). P.K. acknowledges support from a UK STFC PhD studentship. T.N. acknowledges support from the St Andrews STFC Consolidated Grant SN/N000609/1.Context. Coronal rain are cool dense blobs that form in solar coronal loops and are a manifestation of catastrophic cooling linked to thermal instability. Once formed, rain falls towards the solar surface at sub-ballistic speeds, which is not well-understood. Pressure forces seem to be the prime candidate to explain this. In many observations rain is accompanied by transverse oscillations and the interaction between the two needs to be explored. Aims. Therefore, an alternative kinematic model for coronal rain kinematics in transversely oscillating loops is developed to understand the physical nature of the observed sub-ballistic falling motion of rain. It explicitly explores the role of the ponderomotive force arising from the transverse oscillation on the rain motion as well as the capacity of rain to excite wave motion. Methods. An analytical model is presented that describes a rain blob guided by the coronal magnetic field supporting a one dimensional shear Alfvén wave as a point mass on an oscillating string. The model includes gravity and the ponderomotive force from the oscillation acting on the mass, as well as the inertia of the mass acting on the oscillation. Results. The kinematics of rain in the limit of negligible rain mass are explored and falling and trapped regimes are found, depending on wave amplitude. In the trapped regime for the fundamental mode, the rain blob bounces back and forth around the loop top at a long period inversely proportional to the oscillation amplitude. The model is compared with several observational rain studies, including one in-depth comparison with an observation that shows rain with up-and down bobbing motion. The role of rain inertia in exciting transverse oscillations is explored in inclined loops. Conclusions. It is found that the model requires displacement amplitudes of the transverse oscillation that are typically an order of magnitude larger than observed to explain the measured sub-ballistic motion of the rain. Therefore, it is concluded that the ponderomotive force is not the primary reason for understanding sub-ballistic motion, but it plays a role in cases of large loop oscillations.The appearance of rain causes the excitation of small-amplitude transverse oscillations that may explain observed events and provide a seismological tool to measure rain mass.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Kinematics of coronal rain in a transversely oscillating loop : ponderomotive force and rain-excited oscillations

Context. Coronal rain are cool dense blobs that form in solar coronal loops and are a manifestation of catastrophic cooling linked to thermal instability. Once formed, rain falls towards the solar surface at sub-ballistic speeds, which is not well-understood. Pressure forces seem to be the prime candidate to explain this. In many observations rain is accompanied by transverse oscillations and the interaction between the two needs to be explored. Aims. Therefore, an alternative kinematic model for coronal rain kinematics in transversely oscillating loops is developed to understand the physical nature of the observed sub-ballistic falling motion of rain. It explicitly explores the role of the ponderomotive force arising from the transverse oscillation on the rain motion as well as the capacity of rain to excite wave motion. Methods. An analytical model is presented that describes a rain blob guided by the coronal magnetic field supporting a onedimensional shear Alfvén wave as a point mass on an oscillating string. The model includes gravity and the ponderomotive force from the oscillation acting on the mass, as well as the inertia of the mass acting on the oscillation. Results. The kinematics of rain in the limit of negligible rain mass are explored and falling and trapped regimes are found, depending on wave amplitude. In the trapped regime for the fundamental mode, the rain blob bounces back and forth around the loop top at a long period inversely proportional to the oscillation amplitude. The model is compared with several observational rain studies, including one in-depth comparison with an observation that shows rain with up-and down bobbing motion. The role of rain inertia in exciting transverse oscillations is explored in inclined loops. Conclusions. It is found that the model requires displacement amplitudes of the transverse oscillation that are typically an order of magnitude larger than observed to explain the measured sub-ballistic motion of the rain. Therefore, it is concluded that the ponderomotive force is not the primary reason for understanding sub-ballistic motion, but it plays a role in cases of large loop oscillations. The appearance of rain causes the excitation of small-amplitude transverse oscillations that may explain observed events and provide a seismological tool to measure rain mass

Mapping the potential yield of upland rice in Rondonia State.

The rice farming has a high socioeconomical importance for Brazilian population, and represents since the 1970?s, it is the main crop for agricultural borders opening. Aiming characterize the potential yield and to define the regions most favorable for growth upland rice, it was simulated the potential grain yield (PGY), potential evapotranspiration (ETP) and maximum transpiration (TRC) by anoriented process crop model. The simulations were based on cultivar BRSPrimavera, considering eight planting dates (Nov 1st, 10th, 20th, Dec 1st, 10th, 20th, 30th and Jan 9th), for 33 years of data weather (1980-2013), in seven locations at Rondônia state: Ariquemes, Cacoal, Guajara-Mirim, Ji-Paraná, Machadinho do Oeste, Porto Velho and Vilhena. The upland rice crop cycle ranged from 95 days from emergence (DAE) in Ariquemes to 99 DAE in Machadinho do Oeste. The PGY, ETP and TRC data set were spatialized for the region. Rondônia showed an average and standard deviation potential yield of 4393 and 477 kg ha-1. The average ETP was 584,8 mm/cycle, with variance of 1259.9 mm/cycle. Maximum and minimum values of ETP was found for Guajara-Mirim and Vilhena, planting dates of Nov 1st and Jan 9th, respectively. The spatialization of results demonstrated a trend of PGY reduction as the sowing date is delayed. The highest potential yield were found at Vilhena (4952.7 kg/ha) and Ariquemes (4461.4 kg/ha)

Irrigation efficiency simulation for common bean during dry season, in the municipality of Goiânia, Goiás.

Goiás State is considered the major common beans producer in the autumn/winter season. In this season, the common beans production is fully irrigated by Center Pivot. However, due to the water scarcity water, the water dispute among human consumption, power generation, industries and agriculture is increasing. Then, it is important to optimize their consumption in the agriculture. Crop models are excellent tools for that and were used in this study to simulate the irrigation efficiency during the winter season for two cultivars, Pérola and BRS Radiante. Five planting dates from April to August and five irrigation amounts (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm) applied when the soil water content reaches 50% of field capacity (CC) were considered. For cultivar Pérola, longer cycle, the best irrigation efficiency was obtained at the end of planting season, in the month of August, for the fixed irrigation amounts of 20 and 25 mm respectively. In the other hand, for the short cycle cultivar, BRS Radiante, the best irrigation efficiency was obtained only at the begin of planting date season, April

The multi-thermal and multi-stranded nature of coronal rain

We analyze coordinated observations of coronal rain in loops, spanning chromospheric, transition region (TR), and coronal temperatures with sub-arcsecond spatial resolution. Coronal rain is found to be a highly multithermal phenomenon with a high degree of co-spatiality in the multi-wavelength emission. EUV darkening and quasi-periodic intensity variations are found to be strongly correlated with coronal rain showers. Progressive cooling of coronal rain is observed, leading to a height dependence of the emission. A fast-slow two-step catastrophic cooling progression is found, which may reflect the transition to optically thick plasma states. The intermittent and clumpy appearance of coronal rain at coronal heights becomes more continuous and persistent at chromospheric heights just before impact, mainly due to a funnel effect from the observed expansion of the magnetic field. Strong density inhomogeneities of 0.″2-0.″5 are found, in which a transition from temperatures of 105 to 104 K occurs. The 0.″2-0.″8 width of the distribution of coronal rain is found to be independent of temperature. The sharp increase in the number of clumps at the coolest temperatures, especially at higher resolution, suggests that the bulk distribution of the rain remains undetected. Rain clumps appear organized in strands in both chromospheric and TR temperatures. We further find structure reminiscent of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) thermal mode (also known as entropy mode), thereby suggesting an important role of thermal instability in shaping the basic loop substructure. Rain core densities are estimated to vary between 2 × 1010 and 2.5 × 1011cm−3, leading to significant downward mass fluxes per loop of 1–5 × 109 g s−1, thus suggesting a major role in the chromosphere-corona mass cycle.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Aminoacids and flavonoids profiling in tempranillo berries can be modulated by the arbuscular mychorrhizal fungi

(1) Background: Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo is cultivated over the world for its wine of high quality. The association of Tempranillo with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) induced the accumulation of phenolics and carotenoids in leaves, affected the metabolism of abscisic acid (ABA) during berry ripening, and modulated some characteristics and quality aspects of grapes. The objective of this study was to elucidate if AMF influenced the profiles and the content of primary and secondary metabolites determinants for berry quality in Tempranillo. (2) Methods: Fruit-bearing cuttings inoculated with AMF or uninoculated were cultivated under controlled conditions. (3) Results: Mycorrhizal symbiosis modified the profile of metabolites in Tempranillo berries, especially those of the primary compounds. The levels of glucose and amino acids clearly increased in berries of mycorrhized Tempranillo grapevines, including those of the aromatic precursor amino acids. However, mycorrhizal inoculation barely influenced the total amount and the profiles of anthocyanins and flavonols in berries. (4) Conclusions: Mycorrhizal inoculation of Tempranillo grapevines may be an alternative to the exogenous application of nitrogen compounds in order to enhance the contents of amino acids in grapes, which may affect the aromatic characteristics of wines

An essential role of acetylcholine-glutamate synergy at habenular synapses in nicotine dependence

A great deal of interest has been focused recently on the habenula and its critical role in aversion, negative-reward and drug dependence. Using a conditional mouse model of the ACh-synthesizing enzyme choline acetyltransferase (Chat), we report that local elimination of acetylcholine (ACh) in medial habenula (MHb) neurons alters glutamate corelease and presynaptic facilitation. Electron microscopy and immuno-isolation analyses revealed colocalization of ACh and glutamate vesicular transporters in synaptic vesicles (SVs) in the central IPN. Glutamate reuptake in SVs prepared from the IPN was increased by ACh, indicating vesicular synergy. Mice lacking CHAT in habenular neurons were insensitive to nicotine-conditioned reward and withdrawal. These data demonstrate that ACh controls the quantal size and release frequency of glutamate at habenular synapses, and suggest that the synergistic functions of ACh and glutamate may be generally important for modulation of cholinergic circuit function and behavior