6,058 research outputs found
Secondary Rayleigh-Taylor type Instabilities in the Reconnection Exhaust Jet as a Mechanism for Supra-Arcade Downflows
Supra-arcade downflows (hereafter referred to as SADs) are low-emission,
elongated, finger-like features usually observed in active-region coronae above
post-eruption flare arcades. Observations exhibit downward moving SADs
intertwined with bright upward moving spikes. Whereas SADs are dark voids,
spikes are brighter, denser structures. Although SADs have been observed for
decades, the mechanism of formation of SADs remains an open issue. In our
three-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate
that secondary Rayleigh-Taylor type instabilities develop in the downstream
region of a reconnecting current sheet. The instability results in the
formation of low-density coherent structures that resemble SADs, and
high-density structures that appear to be spike-like. Comparison between the
simulation results and observations suggests that secondary Rayleigh-Taylor
type instabilities in the exhaust of reconnecting current sheets provide a
plausible mechanism for observed SADs and spikes
Jets or high velocity flows revealed in high-cadence spectrometer and imager co-observations?
We report on active region EUV dynamic events observed simultaneously at
high-cadence with SUMER/SoHO and TRACE. Although the features appear in the
TRACE Fe ix/x 171A images as jets seen in projection on the solar disk, the
SUMER spectral line profiles suggest that the plasma has been driven along a
curved large scale magnetic structure, a pre-existing loop. The SUMER
observations were carried out in spectral lines covering a large temperature
range from 10^4 K to 10^6 K. The spectral analysis revealed that a sudden
heating from an energy deposition is followed by a high velocity plasma flow.
The Doppler velocities were found to be in the range from 90 to 160 km/s. The
heating process has a duration which is below the SUMER exposure time of 25 s
while the lifetime of the events is from 5 to 15 min. The additional check on
soft X-ray Yohkoh images shows that the features most probably reach 3 MK
(X-ray) temperatures. The spectroscopic analysis showed no existence of cold
material during the events
The Dynamics of Radiative Shock Waves: Linear and Nonlinear Evolution
The stability properties of one-dimensional radiative shocks with a power-law
cooling function of the form are the main
subject of this work. The linear analysis originally presented by Chevalier &
Imamura, is thoroughfully reviewed for several values of the cooling index
and higher overtone modes. Consistently with previous results, it is
shown that the spectrum of the linear operator consists in a series of modes
with increasing oscillation frequency. For each mode a critical value of the
cooling index, , can be defined so that modes with are unstable, while modes with
are stable. The perturbative analysis is complemented by several numerical
simulations to follow the time-dependent evolution of the system for different
values of . Particular attention is given to the comparison between
numerical and analytical results (during the early phases of the evolution) and
to the role played by different boundary conditions. It is shown that an
appropriate treatment of the lower boundary yields results that closely follow
the predicted linear behavior. During the nonlinear regime, the shock
oscillations saturate at a finite amplitude and tend to a quasi-periodic cycle.
The modes of oscillations during this phase do not necessarily coincide with
those predicted by linear theory, but may be accounted for by mode-mode
coupling.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical
Journa
Comparison between open-site and below-canopy climatic conditions in Switzerland for different types of forests over 10years (1998â2007)
We compared below-canopy and open-site climatic conditions for 14 different forest sites in Switzerland and analysed the forest influence on local summer and winter climate according to the forest type (coniferous, mixed, deciduous), soil type, slope orientation, basal area and tree height. We compared below-canopy and open-field data for minimum, maximum and daily mean temperature, relative humidity, maximum and daily mean photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and wind speed from 1998 to 2007. We found clear differences between below-canopy and open-field temperatures, humidity, wind speed and PAR and could relate them to the specific site conditions and forest type. The forest influence on PAR and maximum temperature is clearly determined by the forest type, whereas the influence on minimum temperature is affected by both forest type and slope orientation and impact on humidity depends on the soil type. The wind speed is most impacted by topography and slope orientatio
EIS/Hinode observations of Doppler flow seen through the 40 arcsec wide slit
The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board Hinode is the
first solar telescope to obtain wide slit spectral images that can be used for
detecting Doppler flows in transition region and coronal lines on the Sun and
to relate them to their surrounding small scale dynamics. We select EIS lines
covering the temperature range 6x10^4 K to 2x10^6 K that give spectrally pure
images of the Sun with the 40 arcsec slit. In these images Doppler shifts are
seen as horizontal brightenings. Inside the image it is difficult to
distinguish shifts from horizontal structures but emission beyond the image
edge can be unambiguously identified as a line shift in several lines separated
from others on their blue or red side by more than the width of the
spectrometer slit (40 pixels). In the blue wing of He II, we find a large
number of events with properties (size and lifetime) similar to the
well-studied explosive events seen in the ultraviolet spectral range.
Comparison with X-Ray Telescope (XRT) images shows many Doppler shift events at
the footpoints of small X-ray loops. The most spectacular event observed showed
a strong blue shift in transition region and lower corona lines from a small
X-ray spot that lasted less than 7 min. The emission appears to be near a cool
coronal loop connecting an X-ray bright point to an adjacent region of quiet
Sun. The width of the emission implies a line-of-sight velocity of 220 km/s. In
addition, we show an example of an Fe XV shift with a velocity about 120 km/s,
coming from what looks like a narrow loop leg connecting a small X-ray
brightening to a larger region of X-ray emission.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Solar Physic
Planar Josephson Tunnel Junctions in a Transverse Magnetic Field
Traditionally, since the discovery of the Josephson effect in 1962, the
magnetic diffraction pattern of planar Josephson tunnel junctions has been
recorded with the field applied in the plane of the junction. Here we discuss
the static junction properties in a transverse magnetic field where
demagnetization effects imposed by the junction geometry and configuration of
the electrodes are important. Measurements of the critical current versus
magnetic field in planar Nb-based high-quality junctions with different
geometry, size and critical current density show that it is advantageous to use
a transverse magnetic field rather than an in-plane field to suppress the
Josephson tunnel current and Fiske resonances in practical applications.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Journal of Applied Physic
Small-scale flows in SUMER and TRACE high-cadence co-observations
We report on the physical properties of small-scale transient flows observed
simultaneously at high cadence with the SUMER spectrometer and the TRACE imager
in the plage area of an active region. Our major objective is to provide a
better understanding of the nature of transient phenomena in the solar
atmosphere by using high-cadence imager and spectrometer co-observations at
similar spatial and temporal resolution. A sequence of TRACE Fe IX/X 171 A and
high-resolution MDI images were analysed together with simultaneously obtained
SUMER observations in spectral lines covering a temperature range from 10 000 K
to 1 MK. We reveal the existence of numerous transient flows in small-scale
loops (up to 30 Mm) observed in the plage area of an active region. These flows
have temperatures from 10 000 K (the low temperature limit of our observations)
to 250 000 K. The coronal response of these features is uncertain due to a
blending of the observed coronal line Mg X 624.85 A. The duration of the events
ranges from 60 s to 19 min depending on the loop size. Some of the flows reach
supersonic velocities. The Doppler shifts often associated with explosive
events or bi-directional jets can actually be identified with flows (some of
them reaching supersonic velocities) in small-scale loops. Additionally, we
demonstrate how a line-of-sight effect can give misleading information on the
nature of the observed phenomena if only either an imager or a spectrometer is
used.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted by A&
Chapter 23: Climate change and Great Barrier Reef: industries and communities
Climate change is driving shifts in environmental conditions that, together with other human
pressures, are impacting the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Individuals, communities, and industries in the
GBR catchment depend directly or indirectly on the GBR for ecosystem goods and services. These take
the form of direct economic benefits (including commercial activities such as tourism and fishing),
social services (including recreational activities and cultural linkages) and environmental services
(including shoreline protection from barrier reefs and mangrove stands).This is Chapter 23 of Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment. The entire book can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/11017/13
Solar sail capture trajectories at Mercury
Mercury is an ideal environment for future planetary exploration by solar sail since it has proved difficult to reach with conventional propulsion and hence remains largely unexplored. In addition, its proximity to the Sun provides a solar sail acceleration of order ten times the sail characteristic acceleration at 1 AU. Conventional capture techniques are shown to be unsuitable for solar sails and a new method is presented. It is shown that capture is bound by upper and lower limits on the orbital elements of the approach orbit and that failure to be within limits results in a catastrophic collision with the planet. These limits are presented for a range of capture inclinations and sail characteristic accelerations. It is found that sail hyperbolic excess velocity is a critical parameter during capture at Mercury, with only a narrow allowed band in order to avoid collision with the planet. The new capture methodis demonstrated for a Mercury sample return mission
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