5,371 research outputs found
Thermal and non-thermal emission from reconnecting twisted coronal loops
Twisted magnetic fields should be ubiquitous in flare-producing active
regions where the magnetic fields are strongly non-potential. It has been shown
that reconnection in helical magnetic coronal loops results in plasma heating
and particle acceleration distributed within a large volume, including the
lower coronal and chromospheric sections of the loops. This scenario can be an
alternative to the standard flare model, where particles are accelerated only
in a small volume located in the upper corona. We use a combination of MHD
simulations and test-particle methods, which describe the development of kink
instability and magnetic reconnection in twisted coronal loops using resistive
compressible MHD, and incorporate atmospheric stratification and large-scale
loop curvature. The resulting distributions of hot plasma let us estimate
thermal X-ray emission intensities. The electric and magnetic fields obtained
are used to calculate electron trajectories using the guiding-centre
approximation. These trajectories combined with the MHD plasma density
distributions let us deduce synthetic HXR bremsstrahlung intensities. Our
simulations emphasise that the geometry of the emission patterns produced by
hot plasma in flaring twisted coronal loops can differ from the actual geometry
of the underlying magnetic fields. The twist angles revealed by the emission
threads (SXR) are consistently lower than the field-line twist present at the
onset of the kink-instability. HXR emission due to the interaction of energetic
electrons with the stratified background are concentrated at the loop
foot-points in these simulations, even though the electrons are accelerated
everywhere within the coronal volume of the loop. The maximum of HXR emission
consistently precedes that of SXR emission, with the HXR light-curve being
approximately proportional to the temporal derivative of the SXR light-curve.Comment: (accepted for publication on A&A
X-ray photoemission characterization of La_{0.67}(Ca_{x}Sr_{1-x})_{0.33}MnO_{3} films
The Curie temperature and x-ray photoemission spectra of thin films of
La_{0.67}(Ca_{x}Sr_{1-x})_{0.33}MnO_{3} (LCSMO) have been studied as a function
of the Ca/Sr ratio. The films were grown by off-axis cosputtering from
individual targets of La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}MnO_{3} (LCMO) and
La_{0.67}Sr_{0.33}MnO_{3} (LSMO) onto (100) oriented NdGaO_{3} substrates. The
films grow with a (100) orientation, with no other orientations observed by
x-ray diffraction. For the alloy mixtures, the Curie temperature, T_C, varies
slowly as the Ca/Sr is decreased, remaining 300 K, while for the LCMO
and LSMO films T_C is 260 and 330 K, respectively. The Mn-O valence structure
is composed of two dominant peaks, whose positions undergo a change as the Ca
fraction is decreased. The core lines behave as linear combinations of lines
from pure LCMO and LSMO.Comment: 3 pages, 5 eps figures. To be published in Journal of Applied Physics
(Proceedings of MMM'98
Characterization of transport and magnetic properties in thin film La(0.67)(Ca(x)Sr(1-x))(0.33)MnO(3) mixtures
We have grown thin films of (100) oriented
La_{0.67}(Ca_{x}Sr_{1-x})_{0.33}MnO_{3} on (100) NdGaO_{3} substrates by
off-axis sputtering. We have looked at the changes in the resistivity and
magnetoresistance of the samples as the Ca/Sr ratio was varied. We find that as
the calcium fraction is decreased, the lattice match to the substrate
decreases, and the films become more disordered, as observed in transport
measurements and the variation in Curie and peak resistance temperatures. We
find a correlation between the temperature independent and T^2 terms to the low
temperature resistivity. The room temperature magnetoresistance exhibits a
maximum as the peak temperature is increased by the substitution of Sr for Ca,
and a change in the field dependence to the resistivity at room temperature is
observed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 eps figures, to be published in Journal of Applied Physic
Void-mediated formation of Sn quantum dots in a Si matrix
Atomic scale analysis of Sn quantum dots (QDs) formed during the molecular beam-epitaxy (MBE) growth of Sn_xSi_(1−x) (0.05 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.1) multilayers in a Si matrix revealed a void-mediated formation mechanism. Voids below the Si surface are induced by the lattice mismatch strain between Sn_xSi_(1−x) layers and Si, taking on their equilibrium tetrakaidecahedron shape. The diffusion of Sn atoms into these voids leads to an initial rapid coarsening of quantum dots during annealing. Since this formation process is not restricted to Sn, a method to grow QDs may be developed by controlling the formation of voids and the diffusion of materials into these voids during MBE growth
A Nanoflare Distribution Generated by Repeated Relaxations Triggered by Kink Instability
Context: It is thought likely that vast numbers of nanoflares are responsible
for the corona having a temperature of millions of degrees. Current
observational technologies lack the resolving power to confirm the nanoflare
hypothesis. An alternative approach is to construct a magnetohydrodynamic
coronal loop model that has the ability to predict nanoflare energy
distributions.
Aims: This paper presents the initial results generated by such a model. It
predicts heating events with a range of sizes, depending on where the
instability threshold for linear kink modes is encountered. The aims are to
calculate the distribution of event energies and to investigate whether kink
instability can be predicted from a single parameter.
Methods: The loop is represented as a straight line-tied cylinder. The
twisting caused by random photospheric motions is captured by two parameters,
representing the ratio of current density to field strength for specific
regions of the loop. Dissipation of the loop's magnetic energy begins during
the nonlinear stage of the instability, which develops as a consequence of
current sheet reconnection. After flaring, the loop evolves to the state of
lowest energy where, in accordance with relaxation theory, the ratio of current
to field is constant throughout the loop and helicity is conserved.
Results: The results suggest that instability cannot be predicted by any
simple twist-derived property reaching a critical value. The model is applied
such that the loop undergoes repeated episodes of instability followed by
energy-releasing relaxation. Hence, an energy distribution of the nanoflares
produced is collated.
Conclusions: The final energy distribution features two nanoflare populations
that follow different power laws. The power law index for the higher energy
population is more than sufficient for coronal heating.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure
Singular del Pezzo surfaces that are equivariant compactifications
We determine which singular del Pezzo surfaces are equivariant
compactifications of G_a^2, to assist with proofs of Manin's conjecture for
such surfaces. Additionally, we give an example of a singular quartic del Pezzo
surface that is an equivariant compactification of a semidirect product of G_a
and G_m.Comment: 14 pages, main result extended to non-closed ground field
Ab Initio Structural Energetics of Beta-Si3N4 Surfaces
Motivated by recent electron microscopy studies on the Si3N4/rare-earth oxide
interfaces, the atomic and electronic structures of bare beta-Si3N4 surfaces
are investigated from first principles. The equilibrium shape of a Si3N4
crystal is found to have a hexagonal cross section and a faceted dome-like base
in agreement with experimental observations. The large atomic relaxations on
the prismatic planes are driven by the tendency of Si to saturate its dangling
bonds, which gives rise to resonant-bond configurations or planar sp^2-type
bonding. We predict three bare surfaces with lower energies than the open-ring
(10-10) surface observed at the interface, which indicate that
non-stoichiometry and the presence of the rare-earth oxide play crucial roles
in determining the termination of the Si3N4 matrix grains.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 Figures, 1 tabl
The Revealed Preference Approach to Collective Consumption Behavior: Testing, Recovery, and Welfare Analysis
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