191 research outputs found

    Compton Scattering by the Proton using a Large-Acceptance Arrangement

    Full text link
    Compton scattering by the proton has been measured using the tagged-photon facility at MAMI (Mainz) and the large-acceptance arrangement LARA. The new data are interpreted in terms of dispersion theory based on the SAID-SM99K parameterization of photo-meson amplitudes. It is found that two-pion exchange in the t-channel is needed for a description of the data in the second resonance region. The data are well represented if this channel is modeled by a single pole with mass parameter m(sigma)=600 MeV. The asymptotic part of the spin dependent amplitude is found to be well represented by pi-0-exchange in the t-channel. A backward spin-polarizability of gamma(pi)=(-37.1+-0.6(stat+syst)+-3.0(model))x10^{-4}fm^4 has been determined from data of the first resonance region below 455 MeV. This value is in a good agreement with predictions of dispersion relations and chiral pertubation theory. From a subset of data between 280 and 360 MeV the resonance pion-photoproduction amplitudes were evaluated leading to a E2/M1 multipole ratio of the p-to-Delta radiative transition of EMR(340 MeV)=(-1.7+-0.4(stat+syst)+-0.2(model))%. It was found that this number is dependent on the parameterization of photo-meson amplitudes. With the MAID2K parameterization an E2/M1 multipole ratio of EMR(340 MeV)=(-2.0+-0.4(stat+syst)+-0.2(model))% is obtained

    Regularized energy-dependent solar flare hard x-ray spectral index

    Full text link
    The deduction from solar flare X-ray photon spectroscopic data of the energy dependent model-independent spectral index is considered as an inverse problem. Using the well developed regularization approach we analyze the energy dependency of spectral index for a high resolution energy spectrum provided by Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The regularization technique produces much smoother derivatives while avoiding additional errors typical of finite differences. It is shown that observations imply a spectral index varying significantly with energy, in a way that also varies with time as the flare progresses. The implications of these findings are discussed in the solar flare context.Comment: 13 pages; 5 figures, Solar Physics in pres

    Exploring impulsive solar magnetic energy release and particle acceleration with focused hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy

    Get PDF
    How impulsive magnetic energy release leads to solar eruptions and how those eruptions are energized and evolve are vital unsolved problems in Heliophysics. The standard model for solar eruptions summarizes our current understanding of these events. Magnetic energy in the corona is released through drastic restructuring of the magnetic field via reconnection. Electrons and ions are then accelerated by poorly understood processes. Theories include contracting loops, merging magnetic islands, stochastic acceleration, and turbulence at shocks, among others. Although this basic model is well established, the fundamental physics is poorly understood. HXR observations using grazing-incidence focusing optics can now probe all of the key regions of the standard model. These include two above-the-looptop (ALT) sources which bookend the reconnection region and are likely the sites of particle acceleration and direct heating. The science achievable by a direct HXR imaging instrument can be summarized by the following science questions and objectives which are some of the most outstanding issues in solar physics (1) How are particles accelerated at the Sun? (1a) Where are electrons accelerated and on what time scales? (1b) What fraction of electrons is accelerated out of the ambient medium? (2) How does magnetic energy release on the Sun lead to flares and eruptions? A Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) instrument, which can be built now using proven technology and at modest cost, would enable revolutionary advancements in our understanding of impulsive magnetic energy release and particle acceleration, a process which is known to occur at the Sun but also throughout the Universe

    First Hard X-Ray Imaging Results by Solar Orbiter STIX

    Get PDF
    The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is one of six remote sensing instruments on-board Solar Orbiter. The telescope applies an indirect imaging technique that uses the measurement of 30 visibilities, i.e., angular Fourier components of the solar flare X-ray source. Hence, the imaging problem for STIX consists of the Fourier inversion of the data measured by the instrument. In this work, we show that the visibility amplitude and phase calibration of 24 out of 30 STIX sub-collimators has reached a satisfactory level for scientific data exploitation and that a set of imaging methods is able to provide the first hard X-ray images of solar flares from Solar Orbiter. Four visibility-based image reconstruction methods and one count-based are applied to calibrated STIX observations of six events with GOES class between C4 and M4 that occurred in May 2021. The resulting reconstructions are compared to those provided by an optimization algorithm used for fitting the amplitudes of STIX visibilities. We show that the five imaging methods produce results morphologically consistent with the ones provided by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO/AIA) in UV wavelengths. The χ2 values and the parameters of the reconstructed sources are comparable between methods, thus confirming their robustness

    Determination Of Electron Flux Spectra In A Solar Flare With An Augmented Regularization Method: Application To Rhessi Data

    Full text link
    Kontar et al. (2004) have shown how to recover mean source electron spectra in solar flares through a physical constraint regularization analysis of the bremsstrahlung photon spectra that they produce. They emphasize the use of non-square inversion techniques, and preconditioning combined with physical properties of the spectra to achieve the most meaningful solution to the problem. Higher-order regularization techniques may be used to generate overlineF(E){overline F}(E) forms with certain desirable properties (e.g., higher order derivatives). They further note that such analyses may be used to infer properties of the electron energy spectra at energies well above the maximum photon energy observed. In this paper we apply these techniques to data from a solar flare observed by RHESSI on 26 February, 2002. Results using different orders of regularization are presented and compared for various time intervals. Clear evidence is presented for a change in the value of the high-energy cutoff in the mean source electron spectrum with time. We also show how the construction of the injected (accelerated) electron spectrum F0(E0)F_0(E_0) (assuming that Coulomb collisions in a cold target dominate the electron energetics) is facilitated by the use of higher-order regularization methods.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Solar Physic

    STIX X-ray microflare observations during the Solar Orbiter commissioning phase

    Get PDF
    Context. The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is the hard X-ray instrument onboard Solar Orbiter designed to observe solar flares over a broad range of flare sizes. Aims. We report the first STIX observations of solar microflares recorded during the instrument commissioning phase in order to investigate the STIX performance at its detection limit. Methods. STIX uses hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy in the range between 4-150 keV to diagnose the hottest flare plasma and related nonthermal electrons. This first result paper focuses on the temporal and spectral evolution of STIX microflares occuring in the Active Region (AR) AR12765 in June 2020, and compares the STIX measurements with Earth-orbiting observatories such as the X-ray Sensor of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES/XRS), the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and the X-ray Telescope of the Hinode mission. Results. For the observed microflares of the GOES A and B class, the STIX peak time at lowest energies is located in the impulsive phase of the flares, well before the GOES peak time. Such a behavior can either be explained by the higher sensitivity of STIX to higher temperatures compared to GOES, or due to the existence of a nonthermal component reaching down to low energies. The interpretation is inconclusive due to limited counting statistics for all but the largest flare in our sample. For this largest flare, the low-energy peak time is clearly due to thermal emission, and the nonthermal component seen at higher energies occurs even earlier. This suggests that the classic thermal explanation might also be favored for the majority of the smaller flares. In combination with EUV and soft X-ray observations, STIX corroborates earlier findings that an isothermal assumption is of limited validity. Future diagnostic efforts should focus on multi-wavelength studies to derive differential emission measure distributions over a wide range of temperatures to accurately describe the energetics of solar flares. Conclusions. Commissioning observations confirm that STIX is working as designed. As a rule of thumb, STIX detects flares as small as the GOES A class. For flares above the GOES B class, detailed spectral and imaging analyses can be performed

    A Survey of Methods for Volumetric Scene Reconstruction from Photographs

    Get PDF
    Scene reconstruction, the task of generating a 3D model of a scene given multiple 2D photographs taken of the scene, is an old and difficult problem in computer vision. Since its introduction, scene reconstruction has found application in many fields, including robotics, virtual reality, and entertainment. Volumetric models are a natural choice for scene reconstruction. Three broad classes of volumetric reconstruction techniques have been developed based on geometric intersections, color consistency, and pair-wise matching. Some of these techniques have spawned a number of variations and undergone considerable refinement. This paper is a survey of techniques for volumetric scene reconstruction

    Desde la transferencia universitaria hacia la gestión municipal

    Get PDF
    Las profundas y aceleradas transformaciones generan modelos distintos de organización territorial que requieren, por un lado del conocimiento científico y de la valoración del ambiente, y por otro saber actuar en el contexto de las realidades locales y regionales, modificando las formas de accionar de los municipios ante necesidades específicas. El Atlas Digital del Partido de Balcarce (Tomas et al, 2004), surgió a partir de un Proyecto de Extensión del Área de Cartografía del Centro de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario (C.G.C. y C.). Unidad de investigación, dependiente de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina. En el año 2003 se firmó el CONTRATO DE ASESORAMIENTO Y ASISTENCIA TÉCNICA entre la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata y la Municipalidad del Partido de Balcarce para la realización del Atlas Digital. El Atlas Digital del Partido de Balcarce ha sido desarrollado por un equipo de trabajo multidisciplinario, integrado por profesionales dedicados a la temática respectiva. Es una obra digital realizada con modernos recursos de captura y administración de la información espacial, obtenida de las fuentes de datos provinciales y nacionales más confiables.Fil: Tomas, Mónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Farenga, M. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Martínez, Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exáctas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Massone, H. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Cabria, F. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Dillon, G. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Calandroni, M. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Mazzanti, D. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades; Argentina.Fil: Pastoriza, Elisa. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades; Argentina.Fil: Pilcic, T. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades; Argentina.Fil: Lanari, María Estela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: López, María Teresa. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: López, J. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Departamento de Televisión; Argentina.Fil: Salgado, P. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Departamento de Televisión; Argentina
    corecore