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Ion acceleration at the earth's bow shock: a review of observations in the upstream region
Positive ions are accelerated at or near the earth's bow shock and propagate into the upstream region. Two distinctly different populations of these ions, distinguished by their greatly different spectral and angular widths, can be identified there. The type of ion population observed in the upstream region is strongly correlated with the presence or absence of long-period compressive waves in the solar wind. Very few ions are accelerated in the vicinity of the shock to energies much above about 100 keV. It is not yet clear whether the most energetic ions (i.e., those near 100 keV) are accelerated at the shock or in broad disturbed region upstream from the shock. In either case stochastic acceleration by turbulent electrostatic fields seems to be the most viable candidate for the acceleration of the most energetic particles
Updated Nucleosynthesis Constraints on Unstable Relic Particles
We revisit the upper limits on the abundance of unstable massive relic
particles provided by the success of Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations. We
use the cosmic microwave background data to constrain the baryon-to-photon
ratio, and incorporate an extensively updated compilation of cross sections
into a new calculation of the network of reactions induced by electromagnetic
showers that create and destroy the light elements deuterium, he3, he4, li6 and
li7. We derive analytic approximations that complement and check the full
numerical calculations. Considerations of the abundances of he4 and li6 exclude
exceptional regions of parameter space that would otherwise have been permitted
by deuterium alone. We illustrate our results by applying them to massive
gravitinos. If they weigh ~100 GeV, their primordial abundance should have been
below about 10^{-13} of the total entropy. This would imply an upper limit on
the reheating temperature of a few times 10^7 GeV, which could be a potential
difficulty for some models of inflation. We discuss possible ways of evading
this problem.Comment: 40 pages LaTeX, 18 eps figure
Solar parameters for modeling interplanetary background
The goal of the Fully Online Datacenter of Ultraviolet Emissions (FONDUE)
Working Team of the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland,
was to establish a common calibration of various UV and EUV heliospheric
observations, both spectroscopic and photometric. Realization of this goal
required an up-to-date model of spatial distribution of neutral interstellar
hydrogen in the heliosphere, and to that end, a credible model of the radiation
pressure and ionization processes was needed. This chapter describes the solar
factors shaping the distribution of neutral interstellar H in the heliosphere.
Presented are the solar Lyman-alpha flux and the solar Lyman-alpha resonant
radiation pressure force acting on neutral H atoms in the heliosphere, solar
EUV radiation and the photoionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and their
evolution in time and the still hypothetical variation with heliolatitude.
Further, solar wind and its evolution with solar activity is presented in the
context of the charge exchange ionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and in the
context of dynamic pressure variations. Also the electron ionization and its
variation with time, heliolatitude, and solar distance is presented. After a
review of all of those topics, we present an interim model of solar wind and
the other solar factors based on up-to-date in situ and remote sensing
observations of solar wind. Results of this effort will further be utilised to
improve on the model of solar wind evolution, which will be an invaluable asset
in all heliospheric measurements, including, among others, the observations of
Energetic Neutral Atoms by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX).Comment: Chapter 2 in the planned "Cross-Calibration of Past and Present Far
UV Spectra of Solar System Objects and the Heliosphere", ISSI Scientific
Report No 12, ed. R.M. Bonnet, E. Quemerais, M. Snow, Springe
The Physical Processes of CME/ICME Evolution
As observed in Thomson-scattered white light, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are manifest as large-scale expulsions of plasma magnetically driven from the corona in the most energetic eruptions from the Sun. It remains a tantalizing mystery as to how these erupting magnetic fields evolve to form the complex structures we observe in the solar wind at Earth. Here, we strive to provide a fresh perspective on the post-eruption and interplanetary evolution of CMEs, focusing on the physical processes that define the many complex interactions of the ejected plasma with its surroundings as it departs the corona and propagates through the heliosphere. We summarize the ways CMEs and their interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) are rotated, reconfigured, deformed, deflected, decelerated and disguised during their journey through the solar wind. This study then leads to consideration of how structures originating in coronal eruptions can be connected to their far removed interplanetary counterparts. Given that ICMEs are the drivers of most geomagnetic storms (and the sole driver of extreme storms), this work provides a guide to the processes that must be considered in making space weather forecasts from remote observations of the corona.Peer reviewe