255 research outputs found
The Grad-Shafranov Reconstruction of Toroidal Magnetic Flux Ropes: Method Development and Benchmark Studies
We develop an approach of Grad-Shafranov (GS) reconstruction for toroidal
structures in space plasmas, based on in-situ spacecraft measurements. The
underlying theory is the GS equation that describes two-dimensional
magnetohydrostatic equilibrium as widely applied in fusion plasmas. The
geometry is such that the arbitrary cross section of the torus has rotational
symmetry about the rotation axis , with a major radius . The magnetic
field configuration is thus determined by a scalar flux function and a
functional that is a single-variable function of . The algorithm is
implemented through a two-step approach: i) a trial-and-error process by
minimizing the residue of the functional to determine an optimal
axis orientation, and ii) for the chosen , a minimization process
resulting in the range of . Benchmark studies of known analytic solutions
to the toroidal GS equation with noise additions are presented to illustrate
the two-step procedures and to demonstrate the performance of the numerical GS
solver, separately. For the cases presented, the errors in and are
9 and 22\%, respectively, and the relative percent error in the
numerical GS solutions is less than 10\%. We also make public the computer
codes for these implementations and benchmark studies.Comment: submitted to Sol. Phys. late Dec 2016; under review; code will be
made public once review is ove
Speeds and arrival times of solar transients approximated by self-similar expanding circular fronts
The NASA STEREO mission opened up the possibility to forecast the arrival
times, speeds and directions of solar transients from outside the Sun-Earth
line. In particular, we are interested in predicting potentially geo-effective
Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) from observations of density
structures at large observation angles from the Sun (with the STEREO
Heliospheric Imager instrument). We contribute to this endeavor by deriving
analytical formulas concerning a geometric correction for the ICME speed and
arrival time for the technique introduced by Davies et al. (2012, ApJ, in
press) called Self-Similar Expansion Fitting (SSEF). This model assumes that a
circle propagates outward, along a plane specified by a position angle (e.g.
the ecliptic), with constant angular half width (lambda). This is an extension
to earlier, more simple models: Fixed-Phi-Fitting (lambda = 0 degree) and
Harmonic Mean Fitting (lambda = 90 degree). This approach has the advantage
that it is possible to assess clearly, in contrast to previous models, if a
particular location in the heliosphere, such as a planet or spacecraft, might
be expected to be hit by the ICME front. Our correction formulas are especially
significant for glancing hits, where small differences in the direction greatly
influence the expected speeds (up to 100-200 km/s) and arrival times (up to two
days later than the apex). For very wide ICMEs (2 lambda > 120 degree), the
geometric correction becomes very similar to the one derived by M\"ostl et al.
(2011, ApJ, 741, id. 34) for the Harmonic Mean model. These analytic
expressions can also be used for empirical or analytical models to predict the
1 AU arrival time of an ICME by correcting for effects of hits by the flank
rather than the apex, if the width and direction of the ICME in a plane are
known and a circular geometry of the ICME front is assumed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in "Solar Physics
On the formation of tilted flux ropes in the Earth's magnetotail observed with ARTEMIS
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95540/1/jgra21806.pd
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Differences between the CME fronts tracked by an expert, an automated algorithm, and the Solar Stormwatch project
Observations from the Heliospheric Imager (HI) instruments aboard the twin STEREO spacecraft have enabled the compilation of several catalogues of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), each characterizing the propagation of CMEs through the inner heliosphere. Three such catalogues are the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)-HI event list, the Solar Stormwatch CME catalogue, and, presented here, the J-tracker catalogue. Each catalogue uses a different method to characterize the location of CME fronts in the HI images: manual identification by an expert, the statistical reduction of the manual identifications of many citizen scientists, and an automated algorithm. We provide a quantitative comparison of the differences between these catalogues and techniques, using 51 CMEs common to each catalogue. The time-elongation profiles of these CME fronts are compared, as are the estimates of the CME kinematics derived from application of three widely used single-spacecraft-fitting techniques. The J-tracker and RAL-HI profiles are most similar, while the Solar Stormwatch profiles display a small systematic offset. Evidence is presented that these differences arise because the RAL-HI and J-tracker profiles follow the sunward edge of CME density enhancements, while Solar Stormwatch profiles track closer to the antisunward (leading) edge. We demonstrate that the method used to produce the time-elongation profile typically introduces more variability into the kinematic estimates than differences between the various single-spacecraft-fitting techniques. This has implications for the repeatability and robustness of these types of analyses, arguably especially so in the context of space weather forecasting, where it could make the results strongly dependent on the methods used by the forecaster
Turbulence Properties of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections in the Inner Heliosphere: Dependence on Proton Beta and Flux Rope Structure
Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) have low proton beta across a
broad range of heliocentric distances and a magnetic flux rope structure at
large scales, making them a unique environment for studying solar wind
fluctuations. Power spectra of magnetic field fluctuations in 28 ICMEs observed
between 0.25 and 0.95 au by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe have been
examined. At large scales, the spectra were dominated by power contained in the
flux ropes. Subtraction of the background flux rope fields reduced the mean
spectral index from to at . Rope subtraction
also revealed shorter correlation lengths in the magnetic field. The spectral
index was typically near in the inertial range at all radial distances
regardless of rope subtraction, and steepened to values consistently below
with transition to kinetic scales. The high-frequency break point terminating
the inertial range evolved approximately linearly with radial distance and was
closer in scale to the proton inertial length than the proton gyroscale, as
expected for plasma at low proton beta. Magnetic compressibility at inertial
scales did not show any significant correlation with radial distance, in
contrast to the solar wind generally. In ICMEs, the distinctive spectral
properties at injection scales appear mostly determined by the global flux rope
structure while transition-kinetic properties are more influenced by the low
proton beta; the intervening inertial range appears independent of both ICME
features, indicative of a system-independent scaling of the turbulence.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal Letters 2023 September 2
Methodological considerations in the analysis of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella)
Analysis of fecal glucocorticoid (GC) metabolites has recently become the standard method to monitor adrenocortical activity in primates noninvasively. However, given variation in the production, metabolism, and excretion of GCs across species and even between sexes, there are no standard methods that are universally applicable. In particular, it is important to validate assays intended to measure GC production, test extraction and storage procedures, and consider the time course of GC metabolite excretion relative to the production and circulation of the native hormones. This study examines these four methodological aspects of fecal GC metabolite analysis in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). Specifically, we conducted an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge on one male and one female capuchin to test the validity of four GC enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) and document the time course characterizing GC me- tabolite excretion in this species. In addition, we compare a common field-friendly technique for extracting fecal GC metabolites to an established laboratory extraction methodology and test for effects of storing “field extracts” for up to 1 yr. Results suggest that a corticosterone EIA is most sensitive to changes in GC production, provides reliable measures when extracted according to the field method, and measures GC metabolites which remain highly stable after even 12 mo of storage. Further, the time course of GC metabolite excretion is shorter than that described yet for any primate taxa. These results provide guidelines for studies of GCs in tufted capuchins, and underscore the importance of validating methods for fecal hormone analysis for each species of interest
Multiwavelength Study on Solar and Interplanetary Origins of the Strongest Geomagnetic Storm of Solar Cycle 23
We study the solar sources of an intense geomagnetic storm of solar cycle 23
that occurred on 20 November 2003, based on ground- and space-based
multiwavelength observations. The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) responsible for
the above geomagnetic storm originated from the super-active region NOAA 10501.
We investigate the H-alpha observations of the flare events made with a 15 cm
solar tower telescope at ARIES, Nainital, India. The propagation
characteristics of the CMEs have been derived from the three-dimensional images
of the solar wind (i.e., density and speed) obtained from the interplanetary
scintillation data, supplemented with other ground- and space-based
measurements. The TRACE, SXI and H-alpha observations revealed two successive
ejections (of speeds ~350 and ~100 km/s), originating from the same filament
channel, which were associated with two high speed CMEs (~1223 and ~1660 km/s,
respectively). These two ejections generated propagating fast shock waves
(i.e., fast drifting type II radio bursts) in the corona. The interaction of
these CMEs along the Sun-Earth line has led to the severity of the storm.
According to our investigation, the interplanetary medium consisted of two
merging magnetic clouds (MCs) that preserved their identity during their
propagation. These magnetic clouds made the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)
southward for a long time, which reconnected with the geomagnetic field,
resulting the super-storm (Dst_peak=-472 nT) on the Earth.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
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