Coronal radiation belts

The magnetic field of the solar corona has a large-scale dipole character, which maps into the bipolar field in the solar wind. Using standard representations of the coronal field, we show that high-energy ions can be trapped stably in these large-scale closed fields. The drift shells that describe the conservation of the third adiabatic invariant may have complicated geometries. Particles trapped in these zones would resemble the Van Allen Belts and could have detectable consequences. We discuss potential sources of trapped particles

A Hubble Space Telescope ACS Search for Brown Dwarf Binaries in the Pleiades Open Cluster

We present the results of a high-resolution imaging survey for brown dwarf binaries in the Pleiades open cluster. The observations were carried out with the Advance Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Our sample consists of 15 bona-fide brown dwarfs. We confirm 2 binaries and detect their orbital motion, but we did not resolve any new binary candidates in the separation range between 5.4AU and 1700AU and masses in the range 0.035--0.065~Msun. Together with the results of our previous study (Martin et al., 2003), we can derive a visual binary frequency of 13.3$^{+13.7}_{-4.3}$\% for separations greater than 7~AU masses between 0.055--0.065~M_{\sun} and mass ratios between 0.45--0.9$<q<$1.0. The other observed properties of Pleiades brown dwarf binaries (distributions of separation and mass ratio) appear to be similar to their older counterparts in the field.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Does J/ψ→π+π−J/\psi \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-} fix the Electromagnetic Form Factor Fπ(t)F_{\pi}(t) at t=MJ/ψ2t=M_{J/\psi}^2?

We show that the $J/\psi \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decay is a reliable source of information for the electromagnetic form factor of the pion at $t=M_{J/\psi}^2=9.6 {\rm GeV}^2$ by using general arguments to estimate, or rather, put upper bounds on, the background processes that could spoil this extraction. We briefly comment on the significance of the resulting $F_{\pi}(M_{J/\psi}^2)$.Comment: 10 pages revtex manuscript, one figure--not included, U. of MD PP #94-00

Timelike form factors at high energy

The difference between the timelike and spacelike meson form factors is analysed in the framework of perturbative QCD with Sudakov effects included. It is found that integrable singularities appear but that the asymptotic behavior is the same in the timelike and spacelike regions. The approach to asymptotia is quite slow and a rather constant enhancement of the timelike value is expected at measurable large $Q^{2}$. This is in agreement with the trend shown by experimental data.Comment: 17 pages, report DAPNIA/SPhN 94 0

Relationship between X-ray and ultraviolet emission of flares from dMe stars observed by XMM-Newton

We present simultaneous ultraviolet and X-ray observations of the dMe-type flaring stars AT Mic, AU Mic, EV Lac, UV Cet and YZ CMi obtained with the XMM-Newton observatory. During 40 hours of simultaneous observation we identify 13 flares which occurred in both wave bands. For the first time, a correlation between X-ray and ultraviolet flux for stellar flares has been observed. We find power-law relationships between these two wavelength bands for the flare luminosity increase, as well as for flare energies, with power-law exponents between 1 and 2. We also observe a correlation between the ultraviolet flare energy and the X-ray luminosity increase, which is in agreement with the Neupert effect and demonstrates that chromospheric evaporation is taking place.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, accepted by A&A (30 Sept. 2004

Space Weather Application Using Projected Velocity Asymmetry of Halo CMEs

Halo coronal mass ejections (HCMEs) originating from regions close to the center of the Sun are likely to be responsible for severe geomagnetic storms. It is important to predict geo-effectiveness of HCMEs using observations when they are still near the Sun. Unfortunately, coronagraphic observations do not provide true speeds of CMEs due to the projection effects. In the present paper, we present a new technique allowing estimate the space speed and approximate source location using projected speeds measured at different position angles for a given HCME (velocity asymmetry). We apply this technique to HCMEs observed during 2001-2002 and find that the improved speeds are better correlated with the travel times of HCMEs to Earth and with the magnitudes ensuing geomagnetic storms.Comment: accepted for [publication in Solar Physic

Double Penguins and the Contribution of Vector Meson--like States to the Decays B→K∗γ, B→ργB \to K^* \gamma, \, B \to \rho \gamma

Using perturbative QCD, the contribution at the leading twist, leading $\alpha_s$ level, of charm and up quark loops to the decays $B \rightarrow K^* \gamma$ and $B \rightarrow \rho \gamma$ is presented. In the case of $B \rightarrow \rho \gamma$, the relative importance of these contributions depend upon the unknown CKM matrix elements $V_{bu}$ and $V_{td}$. Assuming that the ratio $r = V_{bc}V^*_{cd}/V_{bt}V^*_{td}$ is bounded between $-2.25 \le r \le -.5$ as is suggested by the Particle Data Group, the error in extracting $|V_{td}/V_{ts}|$ by these decays is estimated.Comment: 4 double column pages, revtex, 3 figures attached, 2 figures added indicating less optimism concerning the accuracy at which $|V_{td}/V_{ts}|$ can be extracted: to appear in PR

Effects of antenatal betamethasone on preterm human and mouse ductus arteriosus: comparison with baboon data.

BackgroundAlthough studies involving preterm infants ≤34 weeks gestation report a decreased incidence of patent ductus arteriosus after antenatal betamethasone, studies involving younger gestation infants report conflicting results.MethodsWe used preterm baboons, mice, and humans (≤276/7 weeks gestation) to examine betamethasone's effects on ductus gene expression and constriction both in vitro and in vivo.ResultsIn mice, betamethasone increased the sensitivity of the premature ductus to the contractile effects of oxygen without altering the effects of other contractile or vasodilatory stimuli. Betamethasone's effects on oxygen sensitivity could be eliminated by inhibiting endogenous prostaglandin/nitric oxide signaling. In mice and baboons, betamethasone increased the expression of several developmentally regulated genes that mediate oxygen-induced constriction (K+ channels) and inhibit vasodilator signaling (phosphodiesterases). In human infants, betamethasone increased the rate of ductus constriction at all gestational ages. However, in infants born ≤256/7 weeks gestation, betamethasone's contractile effects were only apparent when prostaglandin signaling was inhibited, whereas at 26-27 weeks gestation, betamethasone's contractile effects were apparent even in the absence of prostaglandin inhibitors.ConclusionsWe speculate that betamethasone's contractile effects may be mediated through genes that are developmentally regulated. This could explain why betamethasone's effects vary according to the infant's developmental age at birth

Turbulence in the Solar Atmosphere: Manifestations and Diagnostics via Solar Image Processing

Intermittent magnetohydrodynamical turbulence is most likely at work in the magnetized solar atmosphere. As a result, an array of scaling and multi-scaling image-processing techniques can be used to measure the expected self-organization of solar magnetic fields. While these techniques advance our understanding of the physical system at work, it is unclear whether they can be used to predict solar eruptions, thus obtaining a practical significance for space weather. We address part of this problem by focusing on solar active regions and by investigating the usefulness of scaling and multi-scaling image-processing techniques in solar flare prediction. Since solar flares exhibit spatial and temporal intermittency, we suggest that they are the products of instabilities subject to a critical threshold in a turbulent magnetic configuration. The identification of this threshold in scaling and multi-scaling spectra would then contribute meaningfully to the prediction of solar flares. We find that the fractal dimension of solar magnetic fields and their multi-fractal spectrum of generalized correlation dimensions do not have significant predictive ability. The respective multi-fractal structure functions and their inertial-range scaling exponents, however, probably provide some statistical distinguishing features between flaring and non-flaring active regions. More importantly, the temporal evolution of the above scaling exponents in flaring active regions probably shows a distinct behavior starting a few hours prior to a flare and therefore this temporal behavior may be practically useful in flare prediction. The results of this study need to be validated by more comprehensive works over a large number of solar active regions.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure