Anharmonic oscillatory flow braking in the Earth's magnetotail

Plasma sheet bursty bulk flows often oscillate around their equilibrium position at about 10 REdowntail. The radial magnetic field, pressure, and flux tube volume profiles usually behave differently earthward and tailward of this position. Using data from five Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) probes, we reconstruct these profiles with the help of an empirical model and apply thin filament theory to show that the oscillatory flow braking can occur in an asymmetric potential. Thus, the thin filament oscillations appear to be anharmonic, with a power spectrum exhibiting peaks at both the fundamental frequency and the first harmonic. Such anharmonic oscillatory braking can explain the presence of the first harmonic in Pi2 pulsations (frequency doubling), which are simultaneously observed by magnetometers on the ground near the conjugate THEMIS footprints

Panspermia, Past and Present: Astrophysical and Biophysical Conditions for the Dissemination of Life in Space

Astronomically, there are viable mechanisms for distributing organic material throughout the Milky Way. Biologically, the destructive effects of ultraviolet light and cosmic rays means that the majority of organisms arrive broken and dead on a new world. The likelihood of conventional forms of panspermia must therefore be considered low. However, the information content of dam-aged biological molecules might serve to seed new life (necropanspermia).Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Review

The Scientific Foundations of Forecasting Magnetospheric Space Weather

The magnetosphere is the lens through which solar space weather phenomena are focused and directed towards the Earth. In particular, the non-linear interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field leads to the formation of highly inhomogenous electrical currents in the ionosphere which can ultimately result in damage to and problems with the operation of power distribution networks. Since electric power is the fundamental cornerstone of modern life, the interruption of power is the primary pathway by which space weather has impact on human activity and technology. Consequently, in the context of space weather, it is the ability to predict geomagnetic activity that is of key importance. This is usually stated in terms of geomagnetic storms, but we argue that in fact it is the substorm phenomenon which contains the crucial physics, and therefore prediction of substorm occurrence, severity and duration, either within the context of a longer-lasting geomagnetic storm, but potentially also as an isolated event, is of critical importance. Here we review the physics of the magnetosphere in the frame of space weather forecasting, focusing on recent results, current understanding, and an assessment of probable future developments.Peer reviewe

Personal cognitive assistant: Concept and key principals [ПЕРСОНАЛЬНЫЙ КОГНИТИВНЫЙ АССИСТЕНТ: КОНЦЕПЦИЯ И ПРИНЦИПЫ РАБОТЫ]

The paper proposes the concept of cognitive personal assistant. The cognitive assistant is a virtual intelligent agent that has its own sign-based world model and builds a world model of the user, which it helps to solve various problems. The architecture of the cognitive assistant is described, the main functions that it should implement are considered, and the main methods and technologies that are used in the construction of such assistants are presented. Two subject areas in which the use of cognitive assistants is the most promising are considered. © 2019 Federal Research Center "Computer Science and Control" of Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Персональный когнитивный ассистент: концепция и принципы работы

The paper proposes the concept of cognitive personal assistant. The cognitive assistant is a virtual intelligent agent that has its own sign-based world model and builds a world model of the user, which it helps to solve various problems. The architecture of the cognitive assistant is described, the main functions that it should implement are considered, and the main methods and technologies that are used in the construction of such assistants are presented. Two subject areas in which the use of cognitive assistants is the most promising are considered.Предложена концепция когнитивного персонального ассистента. Когнитивный ассистент выступает виртуальным интеллектуальным агентом, обладающим своей собственной картиной мира (КМ) и строящим КМ пользователя, которому он помогает решать различные задачи. Описана архитектура когнитивного ассистента, рассмотрены основные функции, которые он должен реализовывать, и представлены основные методы и технологии, которые используются при построении такого рода ассистентов. Рассмотрены две предметные области, в которых использование когнитивных ассистентов наиболее перспективно

CONVERGENCE OF CONTEMPORARY LEGAL SYSTEMS (BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF EUROPE, AFRICA, THE US, AND SOME MUSLIM COUNTRIES)

The relevance of the study of the convergence of contemporary legal systems is due, on the one hand, to the interpenetration of the legal norms of various legal systems (legal families) in recent decades and the blurring of the boundaries of legal systems and on the other hand, to the processes of law codification that have taken place in different countries in recent years and decades. The objective of the article is to find the optimal ways of convergence of contemporary legal systems on the example of some European countries (European Union), the US, as well as some African and Muslim countries. The deductive method was the leading method in the research, which made it possible to study the legal nature of the convergence of modern legal systems. The article concludes that the legislation in the US legal system has a more specific weight and is more significant than the statutory law of England. This is mainly due to the existence of a whole system of constitutions: federal, existing for more than two hundred years, largely outdated but still playing a significant role, and state constitutions of different age. Despite the significant influence of European legal systems, Muslim law remains an independent legal family with a serious impact on millions of people in all parts of the world

Transient electron precipitation during oscillatory BBF braking: THEMIS observations and theoretical estimates

International audience[1] We use Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) data acquired on 17 March 2008 between 10:22 and 10:32 UT to study the mechanism of transient electron injection into the loss cone during oscillatory bursty bulk flow (BBF) braking. During braking, transient regions of piled-up magnetic fluxes are formed. Perpendicular electron anisotropy observed in these regions (presumably caused by betatron perpendicular electron heating) may be a free-energy source of coexisting whistler waves. Parallel electrons with energies between 1 and 5 keV disappear inside these regions, and transient auroral forms (both rather discrete arcs and diffuse-like aurora around the arcs) are observed simultaneously by the ground all-sky imager at Fort Yukon. We use quasi-linear theory of electron resonant interaction with whistler waves and also estimate the effectiveness of electron nonlinear capture by strong whistler waves. We suggest that electron injection into the loss cone is caused by: (1) scattering by whistler waves and (2) parallel acceleration of electrons captured by stronger whistler waves