On a Generalized Fifth-Order Integrable Evolution Equation and its Hierarchy

A general form of the fifth-order nonlinear evolution equation is considered. Helmholtz solution of the inverse variational problem is used to derive conditions under which this equation admits an analytic representation. A Lennard type recursion operator is then employed to construct a hierarchy of Lagrangian equations. It is explicitly demonstrated that the constructed system of equations has a Lax representation and two compatible Hamiltonian structures. The homogeneous balance method is used to derive analytic soliton solutions of the third- and fifth-order equations.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur

Lagrangian Approach to Dispersionless KdV Hierarchy

We derive a Lagrangian based approach to study the compatible Hamiltonian structure of the dispersionless KdV and supersymmetric KdV hierarchies and claim that our treatment of the problem serves as a very useful supplement of the so-called r-matrix method. We suggest specific ways to construct results for conserved densities and Hamiltonian operators. The Lagrangian formulation, via Noether's theorem, provides a method to make the relation between symmetries and conserved quantities more precise. We have exploited this fact to study the variational symmetries of the dispersionless KdV equation.Comment: Published in SIGMA (Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and pplications) at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA

Dynamical systems theory for nonlinear evolution equations

We observe that the fully nonlinear evolution equations of Rosenau and Hymann, often abbreviated as $K(n,\,m)$ equations, can be reduced to Hamiltonian form only on a zero-energy hypersurface belonging to some potential function associated with the equations. We treat the resulting Hamiltonian equations by the dynamical systems theory and present a phase-space analysis of their stable points. The results of our study demonstrate that the equations can, in general, support both compacton and soliton solutions. For the $K(2,\,2)$ and $K(3,\,3)$ cases one type of solutions can be obtained from the other by continuously varying a parameter of the equations. This is not true for the $K(3,\,2)$ equation for which the parameter can take only negative values. The $K(2,\,3)$ equation does not have any stable point and, in the language of mechanics, represents a particle moving with constant acceleration.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Polar Network Index as a magnetic proxy for the solar cycle studies

The Sun has a polar magnetic field which oscillates with the 11 year sunspot cycle. This polar magnetic field is an important component of the dynamo process which is operating in the solar convection zone and produces the sunspot cycle. We have systematic direct measurements of the Sun's polar magnetic field only from about mid 1970s. There are, however, indirect proxies which give us information about this field at earlier times. The Ca K spectroheliograms taken in Kodaikanal Solar Observatory during 1904 - 2007 have now been digitized with the 4k x 4k CCD and have higher resolution (0.86 arcsec) than the other available historical datasets. From these Ca-K spectroheliograms, we have developed a completely new proxy (Polar Network Index, PNI) for the Sun's polar magnetic field. We calculate the PNI from the digitized images using an automated algorithm and calibrate our measured PNI against the polar field as measured by the Wilcox Solar Observatory for the period of 1976 - 1990. This calibration allows us to estimate polar fields for the earlier period up to 1904. The dynamo calculations done with this proxy as input data reproduce the Sun's magnetic behavior for the past century reasonably well.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures Accepted for publication in APJ

Model for the spatio-temporal intermittency of the energy dissipation in turbulent flows

Modeling the intermittent behavior of turbulent energy dissipation processes both in space and time is often a relevant problem when dealing with phenomena occurring in high Reynolds number flows, especially in astrophysical and space fluids. In this paper, a dynamical model is proposed to describe the spatio-temporal intermittency of energy dissipation rate in a turbulent system. This is done by using a shell model to simulate the turbulent cascade and introducing some heuristic rules, partly inspired by the well known $p$-model, to construct a spatial structure of the energy dissipation rate. In order to validate the model and to study its spatially intermittency properties, a series of numerical simulations have been performed. These show that the level of spatial intermittency of the system can be simply tuned by varying a single parameter of the model and that scaling laws in agreement with those obtained from experiments on fully turbulent hydrodynamic flows can be recovered. It is finally suggested that the model could represent a useful tool to simulate the spatio-temporal intermittency of turbulent energy dissipation in those high Reynolds number astrophysical fluids where impulsive energy release processes can be associated to the dynamics of the turbulent cascade.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure

Properties of simulated sunspot umbral dots

Realistic 3D radiative MHD simulations reveal the magneto-convective processes underlying the formation of the photospheric fine structure of sunspots, including penumbral filaments and umbral dots. Here we provide results from a statistical analysis of simulated umbral dots and compare them with reports from high-resolution observations. A multi-level segmentation and tracking algorithm has been used to isolate the bright structures in synthetic bolometric and continuum brightness images. Areas, brightness, and lifetimes of the resulting set of umbral dots are found to be correlated: larger umbral dots tend to be brighter and live longer. The magnetic field strength and velocity structure of umbral dots on surfaces of constant optical depth in the continuum at 630 nm indicate that the strong field reduction and high velocities in the upper parts of the upflow plumes underlying umbral dots are largely hidden from spectro-polarimetric observations. The properties of the simulated umbral dots are generally consistent with the results of recent high-resolution observations. However, the observed population of small, short-lived umbral dots is not reproduced by the simulations, possibly owing to insufficient spatial resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&