Heating of solar chromosphere by electromagnetic wave absorption in a plasma slab model

The heating of solar chromospheric inter-network regions by means of the absorption of electromagnetic (EM) waves that originate from the photospheric blackbody radiation is studied in the framework of a plasma slab model. The absorption is provided by the electron-neutral collisions in which electrons oscillate in the EM wave field and electron-neutral collisions damp the EM wave. Given the uncertain nature of the collision cross-section due to the plasma micro-turbulence, it is shown that for plausible physical parameters, the heating flux produced by the absorption of EM waves in the chromosphere is between $20 - 45$ % of the chromospheric radiative loss flux requirement. It is also established that there is an optimal value for the collision cross-section, $5 \times 10^{-18}$ m$^{2}$, that produces the maximal heating flux of 1990 W m$^{-2}$.Comment: Physics of Plasmas, in press, April 2011 issue (final printed version, typos in proofs corrected

Simple analysis of off-axis solenoid fields using the scalar magnetostatic potential: application to a Zeeman-slower for cold atoms

In a region free of currents, magnetostatics can be described by the Laplace equation of a scalar magnetic potential, and one can apply the same methods commonly used in electrostatics. Here we show how to calculate the general vector field inside a real (finite) solenoid, using only the magnitude of the field along the symmetry axis. Our method does not require integration or knowledge of the current distribution, and is presented through practical examples, including a non-uniform finite solenoid used to produce cold atomic beams via laser cooling. These examples allow educators to discuss the non-trivial calculation of fields off-axis using concepts familiar to most students, while offering the opportunity to introduce important advancements of current modern research.Comment: 6 pages. Accepted in the American Journal of Physic

On the use of low-cost computer peripherals for the assessment of motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease – Quantification of bradykinesia using target tracking tasks

The potential of computer games peripherals to measure the motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s diseases is assessed. Of particular interest is the quantification of bradykinesia. Previous studies used modified or custom haptic interfaces, here an unmodified force feedback joystick and steering wheel are used with a laptop. During testing an on screen cursor moves in response to movements of the peripheral, the user has to track a continuously moving target (pursuit tracking), or move to a predetermined target (step tracking). All tasks use movement in the horizontal axis, allowing use of joystick or steering wheel. Two pursuit tracking tasks are evaluated, pseudo random movement, and a swept frequency task. Two step tracking tasks are evaluated, movement between two or between two of five fixed targets. Thirteen patients and five controls took part on a weekly basis. Patients were assessed for bradykinesia at each session using standard clinical measures. A range of quantitative measures was developed to allow comparison between and within patients and controls using ANOVA. Both peripherals are capable of discriminating between controls and patients, and between patients with different levels of bradykinesia. Recommendations for test procedures and peripherals are given

Grain boundary ferromagnetism in vanadium-doped In2_2O3_3 thin films

Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in In$_2$O$_3 thin films doped with 5 at.temperatures ranging from 300 to 600$\,^{\circ}{\rm C}$. X-ray absorption fine structure measurement indicated that vanadium was substitutionally dissolved in the In$_2$O$_3$ host lattice, thus excluding the existence of secondary phases of vanadium compounds. Magnetic measurements based on SQUID magnetometry and magnetic circular dichroism confirm that the magnetism is at grain boundaries and also in the grains. The overall magnetization originates from the competing effects between grains and grain boundaries.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted by Europhysics Letter

The Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey

A blind HI survey of the extragalactic sky behind the southern Milky Way has been conducted with the multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. The survey covers the Galactic longitude range 212 < l < 36 and Galactic latitudes |b| < 5, and yields 883 galaxies to a recessional velocity of 12,000 km/s. The survey covers the sky within the HIPASS area to greater sensitivity, finding lower HI-mass galaxies at all distances, and probing more completely the large-scale structures at and beyond the distance of the Great Attractor. Fifty-one percent of the HI detections have an optical/NIR counterpart in the literature. A further 27% have new counterparts found in existing, or newly obtained, optical/NIR images. The counterpart rate drops in regions of high foreground stellar crowding and extinction, and for low-HI mass objects. Only 8% of all counterparts have a previous optical redshift measurement. A notable new galaxy is HIZOA J1353-58, a possible companion to the Circinus galaxy. Merging this catalog with the similarly-conducted northern extension (Donley et al. 2005), large-scale structures are delineated, including those within the Puppis and Great Attractor regions, and the Local Void. Several newly-identified structures are revealed here for the first time. Three new galaxy concentrations (NW1, NW2 and NW3) are key in confirming the diagonal crossing of the Great Attractor Wall between the Norma cluster and the CIZA J1324.7-5736 cluster. Further contributors to the general mass overdensity in that area are two new clusters (CW1 and CW2) in the nearer Centaurus Wall, one of which forms part of the striking 180 deg (100/h Mpc) long filament that dominates the southern sky at velocities of ~3000 km/s, and the suggestion of a further Wall at the Great Attractor distance at slightly higher longitudes.Comment: Published in Astronomical Journal 9 February 2016 (accepted 26 September 2015); 42 pages, 7 tables, 18 figures, main figures data tables only available in the on-line version of journa