1,020 research outputs found
New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection
A new measure to identify a small-scale dissipation region in collisionless
magnetic reconnection is proposed. The energy transfer from the electromagnetic
field to plasmas in the electron's rest frame is formulated as a
Lorentz-invariant scalar quantity. The measure is tested by two-dimensional
particle-in-cell simulations in typical configurations: symmetric and
asymmetric reconnection, with and without the guide field. The innermost region
surrounding the reconnection site is accurately located in all cases. We
further discuss implications for nonideal MHD dissipation
Energetic Electrons in Dipolarization Events: Spatial Properties and Anisotropy
Using the electromagnetic fields of an MHD simulation of magnetotail reconnection, flow bursts, and dipolarization, we further investigate the acceleration of electrons to suprathermal energies. Particular emphasis is on spatial properties and anisotropies as functions of energy and time. The simulation results are compared with Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms observations. The test particle approach successfully reproduces several observed injection features and puts them into a context of spatial maps of the injection region(s): a dominance of perpendicular anisotropies farther down the tail and closer to the equatorial plane, an increasing importance of parallel anisotropy closer to Earth and at higher latitudes, a drop in energy fluxes at energies below approximately 10 keV, coinciding with the plasma density drop, together with increases at higher energy, a triple peak structure of flux increases near 0 deg, 90 deg, and 180 deg, and a tendency of flux increases to extend to higher energy closer to Earth and at lower latitudes. We identified the plasma sheet boundary layers and adjacent lobes as a main source region for both increased and decreased energetic electron fluxes, related to the different effects of adiabatic acceleration at high and low energies. The simulated anisotropies tend to exceed the observed ones, particularly for perpendicular fluxes at high energies. The most plausible reason is that the MHD simulation lacks the effects of anisotropy-driven microinstabilities and waves, which would reduce anisotropies
Don't break a leg: Running birds from quail to ostrich prioritise leg safety and economy in uneven terrain
Cursorial ground birds are paragons of bipedal running that span a 500-fold mass range from quail to ostrich. Here we investigate the task-level control priorities of cursorial birds by analysing how they negotiate single-step obstacles that create a conflict between body stability (attenuating deviations in body motion) and consistent leg force–length dynamics (for economy and leg safety). We also test the hypothesis that control priorities shift between body stability and leg safety with increasing body size, reflecting use of active control to overcome size-related challenges. Weight-support demands lead to a shift towards straighter legs and stiffer steady gait with increasing body size, but it remains unknown whether non-steady locomotor priorities diverge with size. We found that all measured species used a consistent obstacle negotiation strategy, involving unsteady body dynamics to minimise fluctuations in leg posture and loading across multiple steps, not directly prioritising body stability. Peak leg forces remained remarkably consistent across obstacle terrain, within 0.35 body weights of level running for obstacle heights from 0.1 to 0.5 times leg length. All species used similar stance leg actuation patterns, involving asymmetric force–length trajectories and posture-dependent actuation to add or remove energy depending on landing conditions. We present a simple stance leg model that explains key features of avian bipedal locomotion, and suggests economy as a key priority on both level and uneven terrain. We suggest that running ground birds target the closely coupled priorities of economy and leg safety as the direct imperatives of control, with adequate stability achieved through appropriately tuned intrinsic dynamics
Increased hip adduction during running is associated with patellofemoral pain and differs between males and females: A case-control study.
Patellofemoral pain is common amongst recreational runners and associated with altered running kinematics. However, it is currently unclear how sex may influence kinematic differences previously reported in runners with patellofemoral pain. This case-control study aimed to evaluate lower limb kinematics in males and females with and without patellofemoral pain during running. Lower limb 3D kinematics were assessed in 20 runners with patellofemoral pain (11 females, 9 males) and 20 asymptomatic runners (11 females, 9 males) during a 3 km treadmill run. Variables of interest included peak hip adduction, internal rotation and flexion angles; and peak knee flexion angle, given their previously reported association with patellofemoral pain. Age, height, mass, weekly run distance and step rate were not significantly different between groups. Mixed-sex runners with patellofemoral pain were found to run with a significantly greater peak hip adduction angle (mean difference = 4.9°, d = 0.91, 95% CI 1.4-8.2, p = 0.01) when compared to matched controls, but analyses for all other kinematic variables were non-significant. Females with patellofemoral pain ran with a significantly greater peak hip adduction angle compared to female controls (mean difference = 6.6°, p = 0.02, F = 3.41, 95% CI 0.4-12.8). Analyses for all other kinematic variables between groups (males and females with/without PFP) were non-significant. Differences in peak hip adduction between those with and without patellofemoral pain during running appear to be driven by females. This potentially highlights different kinematic treatment targets between males and females. Future research is encouraged to report lower limb kinematic variables in runners with patellofemoral pain separately for males and females
Spontaneous transition to a fast 3D turbulent reconnection regime
We show how the conversion of magnetic field energy via magnetic reconnection
can progress in a fully three-dimensional, fast, volume-filling regime. An
initial configuration representative of many laboratory, space and
astrophysical plasmas spontaneously evolves from the well-known regime of slow,
resistive reconnection to a new regime that allows to explain the rates of
energy transfer observed in jets emitted from accretion disks, in stellar/solar
flare processes as well as in laboratory plasmas. This process does not require
any pre-existing turbulence seed which often is not observed in the host
systems prior to the onset of the energy conversion. The dynamics critically
depends on the interplay of perturbations developing along the magnetic field
lines and across them, a process possible only in three-dimensions. The
simulations presented here are the first able to show this transition in a
fully three-dimensional configuration.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
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The fast and forceful kicking strike of the secretary bird
The study of animal locomotion has uncovered principles that can be applied to bio-inspired robotics, prosthetics and rehabilitation medicine, while also providing insight into musculoskeletal form and function [1, 2, 3, 4]. In particular, study of extreme behaviors can reveal mechanical constraints and trade-offs that have influenced evolution of limb form and function [1, 2]. Secretary birds (Sagittarius serpentarius; Figure 1A) are large terrestrial birds of prey endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, which feed on snakes, lizards and small mammals [5]. They frequently kick and stamp on the prey’s head until it is killed or incapacitated, particularly when dispatching larger lizards and venomous snakes [5]. The consequences of a missed strike when hunting venomous snakes can be deadly [5], so the kicking strikes of secretary birds require fast yet accurate neural control. Delivery of fast, forceful and accurate foot strikes that are sufficient to stun and kill prey requires precision targeting, demanding a high level of coordination between the visual and neuromuscular systems
On the propagation of bubbles in the geomagnetic tail
Using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we investigate the propagation of low-entropy magnetic flux tubes ("bubbles") in the magnetotail. Our simulations address fundamental properties of the propagation and dynamics of such flux tubes rather than the actual formation process. We find that the early evolution, after a sudden reduction of pressure and entropy on a localized flux tube, is governed by re-establishing the balance of the total pressure in the dawn-dusk and north-south directions through compression on a time scale less than about 20s for the typical magnetotail. The compression returns the equatorial pressure to its original unperturbed value, due to the fact that the magnetic field contributes only little to the total pressure, while farther away from the equatorial plane the magnetic field compression dominates. As a consequence the pressure is no longer constant along a flux tube. The subsequent evolution is characterized by earthward propagation at speeds of the order of 200-400km/s, depending on the initial amount of depletion and the cross-tail extent of a bubble. Simple acceleration without depletion does not lead to significant earthward propagation. It hence seems that both the entropy reduction and the plasma acceleration play an important role in the generation of fast plasma flows and their propagation into the near tail. Earthward moving bubbles are found to be associated with field-aligned current systems, directed earthward on the dawnward edge and tailward on the duskward edge. This is consistent with current systems attributed to observed bursty bulk flows and their auroral effects.<br><br><b>Key words.</b> Magnetospheric physics (magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; magnetotail; plasma sheet)nguage
193 Can we predict the outcome for recovery of plantar heel pain? An international prospective cohort study
Electron Power-Law Spectra in Solar and Space Plasmas
Particles are accelerated to very high, non-thermal energies in solar and
space plasma environments. While energy spectra of accelerated electrons often
exhibit a power law, it remains unclear how electrons are accelerated to high
energies and what processes determine the power-law index . Here, we
review previous observations of the power-law index in a variety of
different plasma environments with a particular focus on sub-relativistic
electrons. It appears that in regions more closely related to magnetic
reconnection (such as the `above-the-looptop' solar hard X-ray source and the
plasma sheet in Earth's magnetotail), the spectra are typically soft ( 4). This is in contrast to the typically hard spectra ( 4) that are observed in coincidence with shocks. The difference
implies that shocks are more efficient in producing a larger non-thermal
fraction of electron energies when compared to magnetic reconnection. A caveat
is that during active times in Earth's magnetotail, values seem
spatially uniform in the plasma sheet, while power-law distributions still
exist even in quiet times. The role of magnetotail reconnection in the electron
power-law formation could therefore be confounded with these background
conditions. Because different regions have been studied with different
instrumentations and methodologies, we point out a need for more systematic and
coordinated studies of power-law distributions for a better understanding of
possible scaling laws in particle acceleration as well as their universality.Comment: 67 pages, 15 figures; submitted to Space Science Reviews; comments
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