4,866 research outputs found
The Radiated Energy Budget of Chromospheric Plasma in a Major Solar Flare Deduced From Multi-Wavelength Observations
This paper presents measurements of the energy radiated by the lower solar
atmosphere, at optical, UV, and EUV wavelengths, during an X-class solar flare
(SOL2011-02-15T01:56) in response to an injection of energy assumed to be in
the form of nonthermal electrons. Hard X-ray observations from RHESSI were used
to track the evolution of the parameters of the nonthermal electron
distribution to reveal the total power contained in flare accelerated
electrons. By integrating over the duration of the impulsive phase, the total
energy contained in the nonthermal electrons was found to be
erg. The response of the lower solar atmosphere was measured in the free-bound
EUV continua of H I (Lyman), He I, and He II, plus the emission lines of He II
at 304\AA\ and H I (Ly) at 1216\AA\ by SDO/EVE, the UV continua at
1600\AA\ and 1700\AA\ by SDO/AIA, and the WL continuum at 4504\AA, 5550\AA, and
6684\AA, along with the Ca II H line at 3968\AA\ using Hinode/SOT. The summed
energy detected by these instruments amounted to erg;
about 15% of the total nonthermal energy. The Ly line was found to
dominate the measured radiative losses. Parameters of both the driving electron
distribution and the resulting chromospheric response are presented in detail
to encourage the numerical modelling of flare heating for this event, to
determine the depth of the solar atmosphere at which these line and continuum
processes originate, and the mechanism(s) responsible for their generation.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics
Journa
A Survey of Proper Motion Stars. XVII. A Deficiency of Binary Stars on Retrograde Galactic Orbits and the Possibility that omega Centauri is Related to the Effect
We find a deficiency of binary stars moving on strongly retrograde Galactic
orbits. No binary deficiencies are seen for U or W velocities, however. From
theoretical analyses, we rule out preferential disruption of pre-existing
binary stars due to encounters with massive perturbers. We also rule out
globular clusters as the source of the effect since prograde motions are more
likely to create such an effect. We search for star streams and find one
possible candidate, but it is not on a retrograde orbit and probably represents
the remains of a cluster that has passed too near the Galactic center. Based on
a very small number of stars, we find that about the right fraction of stars on
retrograde Galactic orbits share some chemical similarities to the cluster
omega Cen, suggesting that its parent galaxy could be the explanation.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal (March 2005 issue
JHK Observations of Faint Standard Stars in the Mauna Kea Near-Infrared Photometric System
JHK photometry in the Mauna Kea Observatory (MKO) near-IR system is presented
for 115 stars. Of these, 79 are UKIRT standards and 42 are LCO standards. The
average brightness is 11.5 mag, with a range of 10 to 15. The average number of
nights each star was observed is 4, and the average of the internal error of
the final results is 0.011 mag. These JHK data agree with those reported by
other groups to 0.02 mag. The measurements are used to derive transformations
between the MKO JHK photometric system and the UKIRT, LCO and 2MASS systems.
The 2MASS-MKO data scatter by 0.05 mag for redder stars: 2MASS-J includes H2O
features in dwarfs and MKO-K includes CO features in giants. Transformations
derived for stars whose spectra contain only weak features cannot give accurate
transformations for objects with strong absorption features within a filter
bandpasses. We find evidence of systematic effects at the 0.02 mag level in the
photometry of stars with J<11 and H,K<10.5. This is due to an underestimate of
the linearity correction for stars observed with the shortest exposure times;
very accurate photometry of stars approaching the saturation limits of infrared
detectors which are operated in double-read mode is difficult to obtain. Four
stars in the sample, GSPC S705-D, FS 116 (B216-b7), FS 144 (Ser-EC84) and FS 32
(Feige 108), may be variable. 84 stars in the sample have 11< J< 15 and
10.5<H,K<15, are not suspected to be variable, and have magnitudes with an
estimated error <0.027 mag; 79 of these have an error of <0.020 mag. These
represent the first published high-accuracy JHK stellar photometry in the MKO
photometric system; we recommend these objects be employed as primary standards
for that system [abridged].Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 14 pages, 5 Figure
Areas of natural occurrence of melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811(Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for family agriculture and in the preservation of areas with natural vegetation, this study aimed at providing knowledge on the distribution of natural colonies of M. scutellaris in the state of Bahia. Literature information, interviews with stinglessbee beekeepers, and expeditions were conducted to confirm the natural occurrence of the species. A total of 102 municipalities showed records for M. scutellaris, whose occurrence was observed in areas ranging from sea level up to 1,200-meter height. The occurrence of this species in the state of Bahia is considered to be restricted to municipalities on the coastal area and the Chapada Diamantina with its rainforests. Geographic coordinates, elevation, climate and vegetation data were obtained, which allowed a map to be prepared for the area of occurrence in order to support conservation and management policies for the species
Accelerated Born-Infeld Metrics in Kerr-Schild Geometry
We consider Einstein Born-Infeld theory with a null fluid in Kerr-Schild
Geometry. We find accelerated charge solutions of this theory. Our solutions
reduce to the Plebanski solution when the acceleration vanishes and to the
Bonnor-Vaidya solution as the Born-Infeld parameter b goes to infinity. We also
give the explicit form of the energy flux formula due to the acceleration of
the charged sources.Comment: Latex file (12 pp
Milky Way Mass Models and MOND
Using the Tuorla-Heidelberg model for the mass distribution of the Milky Way,
I determine the rotation curve predicted by MOND. The result is in good
agreement with the observed terminal velocities interior to the solar radius
and with estimates of the Galaxy's rotation curve exterior thereto. There are
no fit parameters: given the mass distribution, MOND provides a good match to
the rotation curve. The Tuorla-Heidelberg model does allow for a variety of
exponential scale lengths; MOND prefers short scale lengths in the range 2.0 to
2.5 kpc. The favored value of scale length depends somewhat on the choice of
interpolation function. There is some preference for the `simple' interpolation
function as found by Famaey & Binney. I introduce an interpolation function
that shares the advantages of the simple function on galaxy scales while having
a much smaller impact in the solar system. I also solve the inverse problem,
inferring the surface mass density distribution of the Milky Way from the
terminal velocities. The result is a Galaxy with `bumps and wiggles' in both
its luminosity profile and rotation curve that are reminiscent of those
frequently observed in external galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages
including 8 figures and 3 table
Prospects of Detecting Non-thermal Protons in Solar Flares via Lyman Line Spectroscopy: Revisiting the Orrall-Zirker Effect
Solar flares are efficient particle accelerators, with a substantial fraction
of the energy released manifesting as non-thermal particles. While the role
that non-thermal electrons play in transporting flare energy is well studied,
the properties and importance of non-thermal protons is rather less well
understood. This is in large part due to the paucity of diagnostics,
particularly at the lower-energy (deka-keV) range of non-thermal proton
distributions in flares. One means to identify the presence of deka-keV protons
is by an effect originally described by \cite{1976ApJ...208..618O}. In the
Orrall-Zirker effect, non-thermal protons interact with ambient neutral
hydrogen, and via charge exchange produce a population of energetic neutral
atoms (ENAs) in the chromosphere. These ENAs subsequently produce an extremely
redshifted photon in the red wings of hydrogen spectral lines. We revisit
predictions of the strength of this effect using modern interaction
cross-sections, and numerical models capable of self-consistently simulating
the flaring non-equilibrium ionization stratification, and the non-thermal
proton distribution (and, crucially, their feedback on each other). We
synthesize both the thermal and non-thermal emission from \lya\ and \lyb, the
most promising lines that may exhibit a detectable signal. These new
predictions are are weaker and more transient than prior estimates, but the
effects should be detectable in fortuitous circumstances. We degrade the \lyb\
emission to the resolution of the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment
(SPICE) instrument on board Solar Orbiter, demonstrating that though likely
difficult, it should be possible to detect the presence of non-thermal protons
in flares observed by SPICE.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
EO-Alert: A Satellite Architecture for Detection and Monitoring of Extreme Events in Real Time
This paper presents the architecture and results achieved by the EO-ALERT H2020 project. EO-ALERT proposes the definition and development of the next-generation Earth Observation (EO) data processing chain, based on a novel flight segment architecture that moves optimised key EO data processing elements from the ground segment to onboard the satellite, with the aim of delivering the EO products to the end user with very low latency (in almost real-time). This paper presents the EO-ALERT architecture, its performance and hardware. Performances are presented for two reference user scenarios; ship detection and extreme weather nowcasting/monitoring. The hardware testing results show that, when implemented using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components and available communication links, the proposed architecture can deliver EO products and alerts to the end user with a latency lower than one-point-five minutes, for both SAR and Optical Very High Resolution (VHR) missions, demonstrating the viability of the EO-ALERT concept and architecture
How can exact and approximate solutions of Einstein's field equations be compared?
The problem of comparison of the stationary axisymmetric vacuum solutions
obtained within the framework of exact and approximate approaches for the
description of the same general relativistic systems is considered. We suggest
two ways of carrying out such comparison: (i) through the calculation of the
Ernst complex potential associated with the approximate solution whose form on
the symmetry axis is subsequently used for the identification of the exact
solution possessing the same multipole structure, and (ii) the generation of
approximate solutions from exact ones by expanding the latter in series of
powers of a small parameter. The central result of our paper is the derivation
of the correct approximate analogues of the double-Kerr solution possessing the
physically meaningful equilibrium configurations. We also show that the
interpretation of an approximate solution originally attributed to it on the
basis of some general physical suppositions may not coincide with its true
nature established with the aid of a more accurate technique.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figure
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