Whistler instability driven by the sunward electron deficit in the solar wind

Context. Solar wind electrons play an important role in the energy balance of the solar wind acceleration by carrying energy into interplanetary space in the form of electron heat flux. The heat flux is stored in the complex electron velocity distribution functions (VDFs) shaped by expansion, Coulomb collisions, and field-particle interactions. Aims. We investigate how the suprathermal electron deficit in the anti-strahl direction, which was recently discovered in the near-Sun solar wind, drives a kinetic instability and creates whistler waves with wave vectors that are quasi-parallel to the direction of the background magnetic field. Methods. We combined high-cadence measurements of electron pitch-angle distribution functions and electromagnetic waves pro- vided by Solar Orbiter during its first orbit. Our case study is based on a burst-mode data interval from the Electrostatic Analyser System (SWA-EAS) at a distance of 112 RS (0.52 au) from the Sun, during which several whistler wave packets were detected by Solar Orbiter’s Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument. Results. The sunward deficit creates kinetic conditions under which the quasi-parallel whistler wave becomes unstable. We directly test our predictions for the existence of these waves through solar wind observations. We find whistler waves that are quasi-parallel and almost circularly polarised, propagating away from the Sun, coinciding with a pronounced sunward deficit in the electron VDF. The cyclotron-resonance condition is fulfilled for electrons moving in the direction opposite to the direction of wave propagation, with energies corresponding to those associated with the sunward deficit. Conclusions. We conclude that the sunward deficit acts as a source of quasi-parallel whistler waves in the solar wind. The quasilinear diffusion of the resonant electrons tends to fill the deficit, leading to a reduction in the total electron heat flux

Action research and democracy

This contribution explores the relationship between research and learning democracy. Action research is seen as being compatible with the orientation of educational and social work research towards social justice and democracy. Nevertheless, the history of action research is characterized by a tension between democracy and social engineering. In the social-engineering approach, action research is conceptualized as a process of innovation aimed at a specific Bildungsideal. In a democratic approach action research is seen as research based on cooperation between research and practice. However, the notion of democratic action research as opposed to social engineering action research needs to be theorized. So called democratic action research involving the implementation by the researcher of democracy as a model and as a preset goal, reduces cooperation and participation into instruments to reach this goal, and becomes a type of social engineering in itself. We argue that the relationship between action research and democracy is in the acknowledgment of the political dimension of participation: ‘a democratic relationship in which both sides exercise power and shared control over decision-making as well as interpretation’. This implies an open research design and methodology able to understand democracy as a learning process and an ongoing experiment

Antioxidant activity relationship of phenolic compounds in Hypericum perforatum L.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The St John's Wort (<it>Hypericum perforatum</it>; Clusiaceae) has been used in traditional and modern medicine for a long time due to its high content of biologically active phenolics. The purpose of this work was to develop a method for their fractionation and identification, and to determine the most active antioxidant compounds in plant extract.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An LC-MS method which enables fast qualitative and semiquantitative analysis was developed. The composition determined is in agreement with the previous results, where 6 flavonoids, 4 naphthodianthrones and 4 phloroglucinols have been identified. Significant antioxidant activity was determined for most of the fractions by DPPH assay (the lowest IC₅₀of 0.52 μg/ml), NO scavenging (6.11 μg/ml), superoxide scavenging (1.86 μg/ml), lipid peroxidation (0.0079 μg/ml) and FRAP (the highest reduction capacity of 104 mg Fe equivalents/g) assays.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LC-MS technique has been successfully applied for a quick separation and identification of the major components of <it>H. perforatum </it>fractions. Majority of the fractions analyzed have expressed a very high antioxidative activity when compared to synthetic antioxidants. The antioxidant activity could be attributed to flavonoids and phenolic acids, while phloroglucinols and naphthodianthrones showed no significant activity. It is demonstrated that it is possible to obtain, by fractionation, <it>H. perforatum </it>preparations with significantly increased phloroglucinols-to-naphthodianthrones ratio (up to 95:5).</p

[Plasma 2020 Decadal] The essential role of multi-point measurements in turbulence investigations: the solar wind beyond single scale and beyond the Taylor Hypothesis

This paper briefly reviews a number of fundamental measurements that need to be made in order to characterize turbulence in space plasmas such as the solar wind. It has long been known that many of these quantities require simultaneous multipoint measurements to attain a proper characterization that would reveal the fundamental physics of plasma turbulence. The solar wind is an ideal plasma for such an investigation, and it now appears to be technologically feasible to carry out such an investigation, following the pioneering Cluster and MMS missions. Quantities that need to be measured using multipoint measurements include the two-point, two-time second correlation function of velocity, magnetic field and density, and higher order statistical objects such as third and fourth order structure functions. Some details of these requirements are given here, with a eye towards achieving closure on fundamental questions regarding the cascade rate, spectral anisotropy, characteristic coherent structures, intermittency, and dissipation mechanisms that describe plasma turbuelence, as well as its variability with plasma parameters in the solar wind. The motivation for this discussion is the current planning for a proposed Helioswarm mission that would be designed to make these measurements,leading to breakthrough understanding of the physics of space and astrophysical turbulence

Seismic evidence for a lower-mantle origin of the Iceland plume

Iceland, one of the most thoroughly investigated hotspots1,2,3, is generally accepted to be the manifestation of an upwelling mantle plume4. Yet whether the plume originates from the lower mantle or from a convective instability at a thermal boundary layer between the upper and lower mantle near 660 km depth5,6 remains unconstrained. Tomographic inversions of body-wave delay times show that low seismic velocities extend to at least 400 km depth beneath central Iceland7,8, but cannot resolve structure at greater depth. Here we report lateral variations in the depths of compressional-to-shear wave conversions at the two seismic discontinuities marking the top and bottom of the mantle transition zone beneath Iceland. We find that the transition zone is 20 km thinner than in the average Earth9 beneath central and southern Iceland, but is of normal thickness beneath surrounding areas, a result indicative of a hot and narrow plume originating from the lower mantle.This work was supported by the US NSFPeer Reviewe

Global link between deformation and volcanic eruption quantified by satellite imagery

A key challenge for volcanological science and hazard management is that few of the world’s volcanoes are effectively monitored. Satellite imagery covers volcanoes globally throughout their eruptive cycles, independent of ground-based monitoring, providing a multidecadal archive suitable for probabilistic analysis linking deformation with eruption. Here we show that, of the 198 volcanoes systematically observed for the past 18 years, 54 deformed, of which 25 also erupted. For assessing eruption potential, this high proportion of deforming volcanoes that also erupted (46%), together with the proportion of non-deforming volcanoes that did not erupt (94%), jointly represent indicators with ‘strong’ evidential worth. Using a larger catalogue of 540 volcanoes observed for 3 years, we demonstrate how this eruption–deformation relationship is influenced by tectonic, petrological and volcanic factors. Satellite technology is rapidly evolving and routine monitoring of the deformation status of all volcanoes from space is anticipated, meaning probabilistic approaches will increasingly inform hazard decisions and strategic development

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Recovery of a high-pressure phase formed under laser-driven compression

The recovery of metastable structures formed at high pressure has been a long-standing goal in the field of condensed matter physics. While laser-driven compression has been used as a method to generate novel structures at high pressure, to date no high-pressure phases have been quenched to ambient conditions. Here we demonstrate, using in situ x-ray diffraction and recovery methods, the successful quench of a high-pressure phase which was formed under laser-driven shock compression. We show that tailoring the pressure release path from a shock-compressed state to eliminate sample spall, and therefore excess heating, increases the recovery yield of the high-pressure ω phase of zirconium from 0% to 48%. Our results have important implications for the quenchability of novel phases of matter demonstrated to occur at extreme pressures using nanosecond laser-driven compression