2,093 research outputs found
How efficient are coronal mass ejections at accelerating solar energetic particles?
The largest solar energetic particle (SEP) events are thought to be due to particle acceleration at a shock driven by a fast coronal mass ejection (CME). We investigate the efficiency of this process by comparing the total energy content of energetic particles with the kinetic energy of the associated CMEs. The energy content of 23 large SEP events from 1998 through 2003 is estimated based on data from ACE, GOES, and SAMPEX, and interpreted using the results of particle transport simulations and inferred longitude distributions. CME data for these events are obtained from SOHO. When compared to the estimated kinetic energy of the associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs), it is found that large SEP events can extract ~10% or more of the CME kinetic energy. The largest SEP events appear to require massive, very energetic CMEs
Synthesis of 3-D coronal-solar wind energetic particle acceleration modules
1. Introduction Acute space radiation hazards pose one of the most serious risks to future human and robotic exploration. Large solar energetic particle (SEP) events are dangerous to astronauts and equipment. The ability to predict when and where large SEPs will occur is necessary in order to mitigate their hazards. The Coronal-Solar Wind Energetic Particle Acceleration (C-SWEPA) modeling effort in the NASA/NSF Space Weather Modeling Collaborative [Schunk, 2014] combines two successful Living With a Star (LWS) (http://lws. gsfc.nasa.gov/) strategic capabilities: the Earth-Moon-Mars Radiation Environment Modules (EMMREM) [Schwadron et al., 2010] that describe energetic particles and their effects, with the Next Generation Model for the Corona and Solar Wind developed by the Predictive Science, Inc. (PSI) group. The goal of the C-SWEPA effort is to develop a coupled model that describes the conditions of the corona, solar wind, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and associated shocks, particle acceleration, and propagation via physics-based modules. Assessing the threat of SEPs is a difficult problem. The largest SEPs typically arise in conjunction with X class flares and very fast (\u3e1000 km/s) CMEs. These events are usually associated with complex sunspot groups (also known as active regions) that harbor strong, stressed magnetic fields. Highly energetic protons generated in these events travel near the speed of light and can arrive at Earth minutes after the eruptive event. The generation of these particles is, in turn, believed to be primarily associated with the shock wave formed very low in the corona by the passage of the CME (injection of particles from the flare site may also play a role). Whether these particles actually reach Earth (or any other point) depends on their transport in the interplanetary magnetic field and their magnetic connection to the shock
Subdiffusive transport in intergranular lanes on the Sun. The Leighton model revisited
In this paper we consider a random motion of magnetic bright points (MBP)
associated with magnetic fields at the solar photosphere. The MBP transport in
the short time range [0-20 minutes] has a subdiffusive character as the
magnetic flux tends to accumulate at sinks of the flow field. Such a behavior
can be rigorously described in the framework of a continuous time random walk
leading to the fractional Fokker-Planck dynamics. This formalism, applied for
the analysis of the solar subdiffusion of magnetic fields, generalizes the
Leighton's model.Comment: 7 page
The subthreshold-active KV7 current regulates neurotransmission by limiting spike-induced Ca2+ influx in hippocampal mossy fiber synaptic terminals
Little is known about the properties and function of ion channels that affect synaptic terminal-resting properties. One particular subthreshold-active ion channel, the Kv7 potassium channel, is highly localized to axons, but its role in regulating synaptic terminal intrinsic excitability and release is largely unexplored. Using electrophysiological recordings together with computational modeling, we found that the KV7 current was active at rest in adult hippocampal mossy fiber synaptic terminals and enhanced their membrane conductance. The current also restrained action potential-induced Ca2+ influx via N- and P/Q-type Ca2+ channels in boutons. This was associated with a substantial reduction in the spike half-width and afterdepolarization following presynaptic spikes. Further, by constraining spike-induced Ca2+ influx, the presynaptic KV7 current decreased neurotransmission onto CA3 pyramidal neurons and short-term synaptic plasticity at the mossy fiber–CA3 synapse. This is a distinctive mechanism by which KV7 channels influence hippocampal neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity
Forbush decreases and turbulence levels at CME fronts
We seek to estimate the average level of MHD turbulence near coronal mass
ejection (CME) fronts as they propagate from the Sun to the Earth. We examine
the cosmic ray data from the GRAPES-3 tracking muon telescope at Ooty, together
with the data from other sources for three well observed Forbush decrease
events. Each of these events are associated with frontside halo Coronal Mass
Ejections (CMEs) and near-Earth magnetic clouds. In each case, we estimate the
magnitude of the Forbush decrease using a simple model for the diffusion of
high energy protons through the largely closed field lines enclosing the CME as
it expands and propagates from the Sun to the Earth. We use estimates of the
cross-field diffusion coefficient derived from published results of
extensive Monte Carlo simulations of cosmic rays propagating through turbulent
magnetic fields. Our method helps constrain the ratio of energy density in the
turbulent magnetic fields to that in the mean magnetic fields near the CME
fronts. This ratio is found to be 2% for the 11 April 2001 Forbush
decrease event, 6% for the 20 November 2003 Forbush decrease event and
249% for the much more energetic event of 29 October 2003.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. (Abstract
abridged) Typos correcte
Green Infrastructure Assessment Tools for Varying Scales in Coastal South Carolina
2010 S.C. water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur
Evaluation of the realism of an MRI simulator for stroke lesion prediction using convolutional neural network
Résumé en françai
On the Structure and Scale of Cosmic Ray Modified Shocks
Strong astrophysical shocks, diffusively accelerating cosmic rays (CR) ought
to develop CR precursors. The length of such precursor is believed to
be set by the ratio of the CR mean free path to the shock speed,
i.e., , which is formally
independent of the CR pressure . However, the X-ray observations of
supernova remnant shocks suggest that the precursor scale may be significantly
shorter than which would question the above estimate unless the
magnetic field is strongly amplified and the gyroradius is strongly
reduced over a short (unresolved) spatial scale. We argue that while the CR
pressure builds up ahead of the shock, the acceleration enters into a strongly
nonlinear phase in which an acoustic instability, driven by the CR pressure
gradient, dominates other instabilities (at least in the case of low
plasma). In this regime the precursor steepens into a strongly nonlinear front
whose size scales with \emph{the CR pressure}as , where is the scale of
the developed acoustic turbulence, and is the ratio of CR to gas
pressure. Since , the precursor scale reduction may be strong
in the case of even a moderate gas heating by the CRs through the acoustic and
(possibly also) the other instabilities driven by the CRs.Comment: EPS 2010 paper, to appear in PPC
Gamma-ray spectrum of RX J1713.7-3946 in the Fermi era and future detection of neutrinos
The recently launched satellite, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, is expected
to find out if cosmic-ray (CR) protons are generated from supernova remnants
(SNRs), especially RX J1713.7-3946, by observing the GeV-to-TeV gamma-rays. The
GeV emission is thought to be bright if the TeV emission is hadronic, i.e., of
proton origin, while dim if leptonic. We reexamine the above view using a
simple theoretical model of nonlinear acceleration of particles to calculate
the gamma-ray spectrum of Galactic young SNRs. If the nonlinear effects of CR
acceleration are considered, it may be impossible to distinguish the evidence
of proton acceleration from leptonic in the gamma-ray spectrum of Galactic
young SNRs like RX J1713.7-3946. On the other hand, future km^3-class neutrino
observations will likely find a clear evidence of the proton acceleration
there.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, A&A in pres
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