4,750 research outputs found
Turbulence, magnetic fields and plasma physics in clusters of galaxies
Observations of galaxy clusters show that the intracluster medium (ICM) is
likely to be turbulent and is certainly magnetized. The properties of this
magnetized turbulence are determined both by fundamental nonlinear
magnetohydrodynamic interactions and by the plasma physics of the ICM, which
has very low collisionality. Cluster plasma threaded by weak magnetic fields is
subject to firehose and mirror instabilities. These saturate and produce
fluctuations at the ion gyroscale, which can scatter particles, increasing the
effective collision rate and, therefore, the effective Reynolds number of the
ICM. A simple way to model this effect is proposed. The model yields a
self-accelerating fluctuation dynamo whereby the field grows explosively fast,
reaching the observed, dynamically important, field strength in a fraction of
the cluster lifetime independent of the exact strength of the seed field. It is
suggested that the saturated state of the cluster turbulence is a combination
of the conventional isotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, characterized by
folded, direction-reversing magnetic fields and an Alfv\'en-wave cascade at
collisionless scales. An argument is proposed to constrain the reversal scale
of the folded field. The picture that emerges appears to be in qualitative
agreement with observations of magnetic fields in clusters.Comment: revtex, 9 pages, 5 figures; invited talk for the 47th APS DPP
Meeting, Denver, CO, Oct 2005; minor corrections to match the published
versio
Single and double slit scattering of wave packets
The scattering of wave packets from a single slit and a double slit with the
Schr\"odinger equation, is studied numerically and theoretically.
The phenomenon of diffraction of wave packets in space and time in the
backward region, previously found for barriers and wells, is encountered here
also.
A new phenomenon of forward diffraction that occurs only for packets thiner
than the slit, or slits, is calculated numerically as well as, in a theoretical
approximation to the problem. This diffraction occurs at the opposite end of
the usual diffraction phenomena with monochromatic waves.Comment: Latex format, 35 pages, 15 eps (some colored) figure
An Investigation of Be/X-ray Pulsars with OGLE-III Data
We have studied five seasons of OGLE-III data for eight SMC Be/X-ray pulsars
for which no other survey data were available. We have determined orbital
periods for four of these binary systems, one of which also shows nonradial
pulsations. Optical identification of SMC X-2 is reconsidered, but no periods
were found for either of the two possible candidates
FUSE Spectra of the Black Hole Binary LMC X-3
Far-ultraviolet spectra of LMC X-3 were taken covering photometric phases
0.47 to 0.74 in the 1.7-day orbital period of the black-hole binary (phase zero
being superior conjunction of the X-ray source). The continuum is faint and
flat, but appears to vary significantly during the observations. Concurrent
RXTE/ASM observations show the system was in its most luminous X-ray state
during the FUSE observations. The FUV spectrum contains strong terrestrial
airglow emission lines, while the only stellar lines clearly present are
emissions from the O VI resonance doublet. Their flux does not change
significantly during the FUSE observations. These lines are modelled as two
asymmetrical profiles, including the local ISM absorptions due to C II and
possibly O VI. Velocity variations of O VI emission are consistent with the
orbital velocity of the black hole and provide a new constraint on its mass.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table, 4 diagrams To appear in A
Steady Hall Magnetohydrodynamics Near a X-type Magnetic Neutral Line
Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) properties near a two-dimensional (2D) X-type
magnetic neutral line in the steady state are considered via heuristic and
rigorous developments. Upon considering the steady-state as the asymptotic
limit of the corresponding \textit{time-dependent} problem and using a rigorous
development, Hall effects are shown to be able to sustain the hyperbolicity of
the magnetic field (and hence a more open X-point configuration) near the
neutral line in the steady state. The heuristic development misses this subtle
connection of the steady state with the corresponding \textit{time-dependent}
problem and predicts only an elongated current-sheet configuration (as in
resistive MHD). However, the heuristic development turns out to be useful in
providing insight into the lack of dependence of the reconnection rate on the
mechanism breaking the frozen-in condition of the magnetic field lines. The
latter result can be understood in terms of the ability of the ions and
electrons to transport equal amounts of magnetic flux per unit time out of the
reconnection region.Comment: 1-10 page
First simultaneous observations of flux transfer events at the high-latitude magnetopause by the cluster spacecraft and pulsed radar signatures in the conjugate ionosphere by the CUTLASS and EISCAT radars
Cluster magnetic field data are studied during an outbound pass through the post-noon high-latitude magnetopause region on 14 February 2001. The onset of several minute perturbations in the magnetospheric field was observed in conjunction with a southward turn of the interplanetary magnetic field observed upstream by the ACE spacecraft and lagged to the subsolar magnetopause. These perturbations culminated in the observation of four clear magnetospheric flux transfer events (FTEs) adjacent to the magnetopause, together with a highly-structured magnetopause boundary layer containing related field features. Furthermore, clear FTEs were observed later in the magnetosheath. The magnetospheric FTEs were of essentially the same form as the original “flux erosion events” observed in HEOS-2 data at a similar location and under similar interplanetary conditions by Haerendel et al. (1978). We show that the nature of the magnetic perturbations in these events is consistent with the formation of open flux tubes connected to the northern polar ionosphere via pulsed reconnection in the dusk sector magnetopause. The magnetic footprint of the Cluster spacecraft during the boundary passage is shown to map centrally within the fields-of-view of the CUTLASS SuperDARN radars, and to pass across the field-aligned beam of the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR) system. It is shown that both the ionospheric flow and the backscatter power in the CUTLASS data pulse are in synchrony with the magnetospheric FTEs and boundary layer structures at the latitude of the Cluster footprint. These flow and power features are subsequently found to propagate poleward, forming classic “pulsed ionospheric flow” and “poleward-moving radar auroral form” structures at higher latitudes. The combined Cluster-CUTLASS observations thus represent a direct demonstration of the coupling of momentum and energy into the magnetosphere-ionosphere system via pulsed magnetopause reconnection. The ESR observations also reveal the nature of the structured and variable polar ionosphere produced by the structured and time-varying precipitation and flow
Small-scale-field Dynamo
Generation of magnetic field energy, without mean field generation, is
studied. Isotropic mirror-symmetric turbulence of a conducting fluid amplifies
the energy of small-scale magnetic perturbations if the magnetic Reynolds
number is high, and the dimensionality of space d satisfies 2.103 < d <8.765.
The result does not depend on the model of turbulence, incompressibility and
isotropy being the only requirements.Comment: 11 pages Plain TeX, no figures, Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
On stability of the three-dimensional fixed point in a model with three coupling constants from the expansion: Three-loop results
The structure of the renormalization-group flows in a model with three
quartic coupling constants is studied within the -expansion method up
to three-loop order. Twofold degeneracy of the eigenvalue exponents for the
three-dimensionally stable fixed point is observed and the possibility for
powers in to appear in the series is investigated.
Reliability and effectiveness of the -expansion method for the given
model is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, no figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. B, V.57
(1998
Nonlinear growth of firehose and mirror fluctuations in turbulent galaxy-cluster plasmas
In turbulent high-beta astrophysical plasmas (exemplified by the galaxy
cluster plasmas), pressure-anisotropy-driven firehose and mirror fluctuations
grow nonlinearly to large amplitudes, dB/B ~ 1, on a timescale comparable to
the turnover time of the turbulent motions. The principle of their nonlinear
evolution is to generate secularly growing small-scale magnetic fluctuations
that on average cancel the temporal change in the large-scale magnetic field
responsible for the pressure anisotropies. The presence of small-scale magnetic
fluctuations may dramatically affect the transport properties and, thereby, the
large-scale dynamics of the high-beta astrophysical plasmas.Comment: revtex, 4 pages, 1 figure; replaced to match published versio
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