2,339 research outputs found
Optical imaging spectroscopy
During the recent solar maximum the combination of imaging and spectroscopy in the visible part of the spectrum became a powerful tool for observational study of flares primarily because of the development of two-dimensional charge-coupled-device (CCD) arrays. In combination with appropriate new operational methods, this has led to the ability to observe, for the first time, the preflare and impulsive-phase physical processes associated with spatially resolved features of flare loops. As a result of concurrent theoretical developments, modeling progressed from an empirical to a physical level. This made it possible to interpret imaging spectra in terms of coronal pressure and heat flux, particle beam heating, chromospheric evaporation, and explosive chromospheric dynamics at the footpoints of flare loops. There is clear potential for further advances in the near future, taking advantage of improvements in digital recording speed (approx. 10-fold), number of photosensitive elements per array (approx. 10-fold), real-time data pre-reduction (potentially 10- to 100-fold), and using multiple CCD arrays. By the time of the next solar maximum imaging spectroscopy is expected to achieve spatial resolution or approx. arc 1 arc s, temporal resolution or approx. 5 s, and simultaneous critically-sampled spectroscopy of several lines and continua. As a result, continued increase in our understanding of the physical processes and configurations of solar flares in the chromosphere, temperature minimum region, and photosphere can be anticipated. Even greater progress toward a more global understanding of flares will obviously come about when simultaneous optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy are possible
On the detectability of key-MeV solar protons through their nonthermal Lyman-alpha emission
The intensity and timescale of nonthermal Doppler-shifted hydrogen L alpha photon emission as diagnostics of 10 keV to 10 MeV protons bombarding the solar chromosphere during flares are investigated. The steady-state excitation and ionization balance of the proton beam are determined, taking into account all important atomic interactions with the ambient chromosphere. For a proton energy flux comparable to the electron energy flux commonly inferred for large flares, L alpha wing intensities orders of magnitude larger than observed nonflaring values were found. Investigation of timescales for ionization and charge exchange leads researchers to conclude that over a wide range of values of mean proton energy and beam parameters, Doppler-shifted nonthermal L alpha emission is a useful observational diagnostic of the presence of 10 keV to 10 MeV superthermal proton beams in the solar flare chromosphere
Intrinsic pinning on structural domains in underdoped single crystals of Ba(FeCo)As
Critical current density was studied in single crystals of
Ba(FeCo)As for the values of spanning the entire doping
phase diagram. A noticeable enhancement was found for slightly underdoped
crystals with the peak at . Using a combination of polarized-light
imaging, x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements we associate this behavior
with the intrinsic pinning on structural domains in the orthorhombic phase.
Domain walls extend throughout the sample thickness in the direction of
vortices and act as extended pinning centers. With the increasing domain
structure becomes more intertwined and fine due to a decrease of the
orthorhombic distortion. This results in the energy landscape with maze-like
spatial modulations favorable for pinning. This finding shows that iron-based
pnictide superconductors, characterized by high values of the transition
temperature, high upper critical fields, and low anisotropy may intrinsically
have relatively high critical current densities.Comment: estimation of Jc correcte
An imaging vector magnetograph for the next solar maximum
Researchers describe the conceptual design of a new imaging vector magnetograph currently being constructed at the University of Hawaii. The instrument combines a modest solar telescope with a rotating quarter-wave plate, an acousto-optical tunable prefilter as a blocker for a servo-controlled Fabry-Perot etalon, CCD cameras, and on-line digital image processing. Its high spatial resolution (1/2 arcsec pixel size) over a large field of view (5 by 5 arcmin) will be sufficient to significantly measure, for the first time, the magnetic energy dissipated in major solar flares. Its millisecond tunability and wide spectral range (5000 to 7000 A) enable nearly simultaneous vector magnetic field measurements in the gas-pressure-dominated photosphere and magnetically-dominated chromosphere, as well as effective co-alignment with Solar-A's X ray images. Researchers expect to have the instrument in operation at Mees Solar Observatory (Haleakala) in early 1991. They have chosen to use tunable filters as wavelength-selection elements in order to emphasize the spatial relationships between magnetic field elements, and to permit construction of a compact, efficient instrument. This means that spectral information must be obtained from sequences of images, which can cause line profile distortions due to effects of atmospheric seeing
Anisotropy Reversal of the Upper Critical Field at Low Temperatures and Spin-Locked Superconductivity in K2Cr3As3
We report the first measurements of the anisotropic upper critical field
for KCrAs single crystals up to 60 T and K. Our results show that the upper critical field parallel to the Cr
chains, , exhibits a paramagnetically-limited behavior,
whereas the shape of the curve (perpendicular to the Cr
chains) has no evidence of paramagnetic effects. As a result, the curves
and cross at K, so that
the anisotropy parameter
increases from near to at 0.6 K. This behavior of is inconsistent with triplet
superconductivity but suggests a form of singlet superconductivity with the
electron spins locked onto the direction of Cr chains
Field Dependence of the Superconducting Basal Plane Anisotropy of TmNi2B2C
The superconductor TmNi2B2C possesses a significant four-fold basal plane
anisotropy, leading to a square Vortex Lattice (VL) at intermediate fields.
However, unlike other members of the borocarbide superconductors, the
anisotropy in TmNi2B2C appears to decrease with increasing field, evident by a
reentrance of the square VL phase. We have used Small Angle Neutron Scattering
measurements of the VL to study the field dependence of the anisotropy. Our
results provide a direct, quantitative measurement of the decreasing
anisotropy. We attribute this reduction of the basal plane anisotropy to the
strong Pauli paramagnetic effects observed in TmNi2B2C and the resulting
expansion of vortex cores near Hc2.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
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