Magneto-seismology: effect of inhomogeneous magnetic field on transversal coronal loop oscillations

The extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) imagers onboard the planned Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Solar Orbiter (SO) will offer us the best chance yet of using observations of post-flare loop oscillations to probe the fine structure of the corona. Recently developed magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave theory has shown that the properties of loop oscillations depend on their plasma fine structure. Up to this point, many studies have concentrated solely on the effect of plasma density stratification on coronal loop oscillations. In this paper we develop MHD wave theory which models the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetic field on coronal loop oscillations. The results have the potential to be used in testing the efficacy of photospheric magnetic field extrapolations and have important implications regarding magneto-seismology of the corona

Tecno-ecologías de la presencia y la apertura afroindígena

In this article, we propose to conceive the rainforest and the Internet as techno-ecologies of the presence, that is, devices and contexts of relation aimed at making the Other present. We focus on ways of generating co-presentiality that, in a physical or virtual manner, precede the communicative field. In other words: we suggest that the forms of relationship between those present constitute the genesis (not the result) of media. Comparing some of the creative communicative uses that Afro-indigenous groups make of the rainforest and of the Internet, we depart from the idea of the​​“communication media” as mere technological mediator among people. As an alternative, we adopt a relational and ontogenetic perspective of media, paying attention to how socio-ecological relations create fields of co-presentiality and communication. Moving our attention from the technical nature of the media towards its practical genesis and social transformability, our ethnographic cases show how media, as techno-ecologies of presence, are configured, reinvented, and permanently opened to the incorporation of the difference.En este ensayo proponemos concebir la selva y la red como tecno-ecologías de la presencia, a saber: dispositivos y contextos de relación orientados a hacer presente al Otro. Nos centramos en formas de generar co-presencialidad que, física o virtualmente, preceden al campo comunicativo, es decir, establecen las formas de relación entre los presentes como génesis (no resultado) del medio de comunicación. Comparando algunos de los usos comunicativos que los colectivos Afroindígenas hacen de la selva y la red, nos distanciamos de la idea de «medio de comunicación» como mero mediador tecnológico entre personas. Como alternativa, adoptamos una perspectiva relacional y ontogenética de los medios, atendiendo a cómo relaciones socio-ecológicas crean campos de co-presencialidad y comunicación. Desplazando la atención puesta en la naturaleza técnica de los medios hacia su génesis práctica y transformabilidad social, nuestros casos etnográficos muestran como los medios, en tanto que tecno-ecologías de la presencia, son configurados, reinventados, y permanentemente abiertos a la incorporación de la diferencia

Anderson Photon-Phonon Colocalization in Certain Random Superlattices

International audienceFundamental observations in physics ranging from gravitational wave detection to laser cooling of a nanomechanical oscillator into its quantum ground state rely on the interaction between the optical and the mechanical degrees of freedom. A key parameter to engineer this interaction is the spatial overlap between the two fields, optimized in carefully designed resonators on a case-by-case basis. Disorder is an alternative strategy to confine light and sound at the nanoscale. However, it lacks an a priori mechanism guaranteeing a high degree of colocalization due to the inherently complex nature of the underlying interference processes. Here, we propose a way to address this challenge by using GaAs=AlAs vertical distributed Bragg reflectors with embedded geometrical disorder. Because of a remarkable coincidence in the physical parameters governing light and motion propagation in these two materials, the equations for both longitudinal acoustic waves and normal-incidence light become practically equivalent for excitations of the same wavelength. This guarantees spatial overlap between the electromagnetic and displacement fields of specific photon-phonon pairs, leading to strong light-matter interaction. In particular, a statistical enhancement in the vacuum optomechanical coupling rate, g o , is found, making this system a promising candidate to explore Anderson localization of high frequency (∼20 GHz) phonons enabled by cavity optomechanics. The colocalization effect shown here unlocks the access to unexplored localization phenomena and the engineering of light-matter interactions mediated by Anderson-localized states

THz Generation via Optical Rectification in Nanomaterials: Universal Modeling Approach and Effective chi(2)chi^{(2)} Description

Optical rectification (OR) at the nanoscale has attracted an increasing interest in the prospect of providing efficient ultracompact terahertz (THz) sources. Here, a universal modeling approach capable of addressing both isotropic and anisotropic all-dielectric nonlinear nanomaterials on an ultra-broad spectral range, covering the highly dispersive phonon-polariton window, and different orientations of the crystallographic axes with respect to the geometry of the structure is reported. This analysis is exemplified by considering two study cases, that is, nanopillars of AlGaAs and of LiNbO3. A close comparison between the two cases is established in terms of THz generation efficiency from 4 to 14 THz. Phonon-polariton contributions to the OR process are disentangled from the electronic one, and a model order reduction based on the reciprocity theorem is applied and validated on both the considered configurations. These results, combined with the inspection of the THz near-field features, pave the way to the design and optimization of nonlinear metasurfaces for THz generation and detection at the nanoscale

Selective spatial damping of propagating kink wavesto resonant absorption

There is observational evidence of propagating kink waves driven by photospheric motions. These disturbances, interpreted as kink magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are attenuated as they propagate upwards in the solar corona. In this paper we show that resonant absorption provides a simple explanation to the spatial damping of these waves. Kink MHD waves are studied using a cylindrical model of solar magnetic flux tubes which includes a non-uniform layer at the tube boundary. Assuming that the frequency is real and the longitudinal wavenumber complex, the damping length and damping per wavelength produced by resonant absorption are analytically calculated. The damping length of propagating kink waves due resonant absorption is a monotonically decreasing function of frequency. For kink waves with low frequencies the damping length is exactly inversely proportional to frequency and we denote this as the TGV relation. When moving to high frequencies the TGV relation continues to be an exceptionally good approximation of the actual dependency of the damping length on frequency. This dependency means that resonant absorption is selective as it favours low frequency waves and can efficiently remove high frequency waves from a broad band spectrum of kink waves. It is selective as the damping length is inversely proportional to frequency so that the damping becomes more severe with increasing frequency. This means that radial inhomogeneity can cause solar waveguides to be a natural low-pass filter for broadband disturbances. Hence kink wave trains travelling along, e.g., coronal loops, will have a greater proportion of the high frequency components dissipated lower down in the atmosphere. This could have important consequences with respect to the spatial distribution of wave heating in the solar atmospher

Resonantly damped surface and body MHD waves in a solar coronal slab with oblique propagation

The theory of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in solar coronal slabs in a zero-$\beta$ configuration and for parallel propagation of waves does not allow the existence of surface waves. When oblique propagation of perturbations is considered both surface and body waves are able to propagate. When the perpendicular wave number is larger than a certain value, the body kink mode becomes a surface wave. In addition, a sausage surface mode is found below the internal cut-off frequency. When non-uniformity in the equilibrium is included, surface and body modes are damped due to resonant absorption. In this paper, first, a normal-mode analysis is performed and the period, the damping rate, and the spatial structure of eigenfunctions are obtained. Then, the time-dependent problem is solved, and the conditions under which one or the other type of mode is excited are investigated.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Detecting the presence-absence of bluefin tuna by automated analysis of medium-range sonars on fishing vessels

This study presents a methodology for the automated analysis of commercial medium-range sonar signals for detecting presence/absence of bluefin tuna (Tunnus thynnus) in the Bay of Biscay. The approach uses image processing techniques to analyze sonar screenshots. For each sonar image we extracted measurable regions and analyzed their characteristics. Scientific data was used to classify each region into a class (“tuna” or “no-tuna”) and build a dataset to train and evaluate classification models by using supervised learning. The methodology performed well when validated with commercial sonar screenshots, and has the potential to automatically analyze high volumes of data at a low cost. This represents a first milestone towards the development of acoustic, fishery-independent indices of abundance for bluefin tuna in the Bay of Biscay. Future research lines and additional alternatives to inform stock assessments are also discussed

Stellar magnetic field parameters from a Bayesian analysis of high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations

In this paper we describe a Bayesian statistical method designed to infer the magnetic properties of stars observed using high-resolution circular spectropolarimetry in the context of large surveys. This approach is well suited for analysing stars for which the stellar rotation period is not known, and therefore the rotational phases of the observations are ambiguous. The model assumes that the magnetic observations correspond to a dipole oblique rotator, a situation commonly encountered in intermediate and high-mass stars. Using reasonable assumptions regarding the model parameter prior probability density distributions, the Bayesian algorithm determines the posterior probability densities corresponding to the surface magnetic field geometry and strength by performing a comparison between the observed and computed Stokes V profiles. Based on the results of numerical simulations, we conclude that this method yields a useful estimate of the surface dipole field strength based on a small number (i.e. 1 or 2) of observations. On the other hand, the method provides only weak constraints on the dipole geometry. The odds ratio, a parameter computed by the algorithm that quantifies the relative appropriateness of the magnetic dipole model versus the non-magnetic model, provides a more sensitive diagnostic of the presence of weak magnetic signals embedded in noise than traditional techniques. To illustrate the application of the technique to real data, we analyse seven ESPaDOnS and Narval observations of the early B-type magnetic star LP Ori. Insufficient information is available to determine the rotational period of the star and therefore the phase of the data; hence traditional modelling techniques fail to infer the dipole strength. In contrast, the Bayesian method allows a robust determination of the dipole polar strength, $B_d=911^{+138}_{-244}$ G.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Engineering nanoscale hypersonic phonon transport

Controlling the vibrations in solids is crucial to tailor their mechanical properties and their interaction with light. Thermal vibrations represent a source of noise and dephasing for many physical processes at the quantum level. One strategy to avoid these vibrations is to structure a solid such that it possesses a phononic stop band, i.e., a frequency range over which there are no available mechanical modes. Here, we demonstrate the complete absence of mechanical vibrations at room temperature over a broad spectral window, with a 5.3 GHz wide band gap centered at 8.4 GHz in a patterned silicon nanostructure membrane measured using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. By constructing a line-defect waveguide, we directly measure GHz localized modes at room temperature. Our experimental results of thermally excited guided mechanical modes at GHz frequencies provides an eficient platform for photon-phonon integration with applications in optomechanics and signal processing transduction