11,598 research outputs found
Is the Sun Embedded in a Typical Interstellar Cloud?
The physical properties and kinematics of the partially ionized interstellar
material near the Sun are typical of warm diffuse clouds in the solar vicinity.
The interstellar magnetic field at the heliosphere and the kinematics of nearby
clouds are naturally explained in terms of the S1 superbubble shell. The
interstellar radiation field at the Sun appears to be harder than the field
ionizing ambient diffuse gas, which may be a consequence of the low opacity of
the tiny cloud surrounding the heliosphere. The spatial context of the Local
Bubble is consistent with our location in the Orion spur.Comment: "From the Outer Heliosphere to the Local Bubble", held at
International Space Sciences Institute, October 200
Material studies related to lunar surface exploration. Volume 4 - Preliminary studies for the design of engineering probes Final report, 6 Mar. 1967 - 30 Jun. 1968
Preliminary design of engineering probes for studying lunar surface material propertie
Locality and stability of the cascades of two-dimensional turbulence
We investigate and clarify the notion of locality as it pertains to the
cascades of two-dimensional turbulence. The mathematical framework underlying
our analysis is the infinite system of balance equations that govern the
generalized unfused structure functions, first introduced by L'vov and
Procaccia. As a point of departure we use a revised version of the system of
hypotheses that was proposed by Frisch for three-dimensional turbulence. We
show that both the enstrophy cascade and the inverse energy cascade are local
in the sense of non-perturbative statistical locality. We also investigate the
stability conditions for both cascades. We have shown that statistical
stability with respect to forcing applies unconditionally for the inverse
energy cascade. For the enstrophy cascade, statistical stability requires
large-scale dissipation and a vanishing downscale energy dissipation. A careful
discussion of the subtle notion of locality is given at the end of the paper.Comment: v2: 23 pages; 4 figures; minor revisions; resubmitted to Phys. Rev.
Time-variability in the Interstellar Boundary Conditions of the Heliosphere: Effect of the Solar Journey on the Galactic Cosmic Ray Flux at Earth
During the solar journey through galactic space, variations in the physical
properties of the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) modify the heliosphere
and modulate the flux of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) at the surface of the
Earth, with consequences for the terrestrial record of cosmogenic
radionuclides. One phenomenon that needs studying is the effect on cosmogenic
isotope production of changing anomalous cosmic ray fluxes at Earth due to
variable interstellar ionizations. The possible range of interstellar ram
pressures and ionization levels in the low density solar environment generate
dramatically different possible heliosphere configurations, with a wide range
of particle fluxes of interstellar neutrals, their secondary products, and GCRs
arriving at Earth. Simple models of the distribution and densities of ISM in
the downwind direction give cloud transition timescales that can be directly
compared with cosmogenic radionuclide geologic records. Both the interstellar
data and cosmogenic radionuclide data are consistent with cloud transitions
during the Holocene, with large and assumption-dependent uncertainties. The
geomagnetic timeline derived from cosmic ray fluxes at Earth may require
adjustment to account for the disappearance of anomalous cosmic rays when the
Sun is immersed in ionized gas.Comment: Submitted to Space Sciences Review
The Velocity Distribution of the Nearest Interstellar Gas
The bulk flow velocity for the cluster of interstellar cloudlets within about
30 pc of the Sun is determined from optical and ultraviolet absorption line
data, after omitting from the sample stars with circumstellar disks or variable
emission lines and the active variable HR 1099. Ninety-six velocity components
towards the remaining 60 stars yield a streaming velocity through the local
standard of rest of -17.0+/-4.6 km/s, with an upstream direction of l=2.3 deg,
b=-5.2 deg (using Hipparcos values for the solar apex motion). The velocity
dispersion of the interstellar matter (ISM) within 30 pc is consistent with
that of nearby diffuse clouds, but present statistics are inadequate to
distinguish between a Gaussian or exponential distribution about the bulk flow
velocity. The upstream direction of the bulk flow vector suggests an origin
associated with the Loop I supernova remnant. Groupings of component velocities
by region are seen, indicating regional departures from the bulk flow velocity
or possibly separate clouds. The absorption components from the cloudlet
feeding ISM into the solar system form one of the regional features. The
nominal gradient between the velocities of upstream and downstream gas may be
an artifact of the Sun's location near the edge of the local cloud complex. The
Sun may emerge from the surrounding gas-patch within several thousand years.Comment: Typographical errors corrected; Five tables, seven figures;
Astrophysical Journal, in pres
Universal decay of scalar turbulence
The asymptotic decay of passive scalar fields is solved analytically for the
Kraichnan model, where the velocity has a short correlation time. At long
times, two universality classes are found, both characterized by a distribution
of the scalar -- generally non-Gaussian -- with global self-similar evolution
in time. Analogous behavior is found numerically with a more realistic flow
resulting from an inverse energy cascade.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures, submitted to PR
Material studies related to lunar surface exploration, volume 3 Final report, 6 Mar. 1967 - 30 Jun. 1968
Mechanical properties of lunar soils related to lunar exploratio
Bifractality of the Devil's staircase appearing in the Burgers equation with Brownian initial velocity
It is shown that the inverse Lagrangian map for the solution of the Burgers
equation (in the inviscid limit) with Brownian initial velocity presents a
bifractality (phase transition) similar to that of the Devil's staircase for
the standard triadic Cantor set. Both heuristic and rigorous derivations are
given. It is explained why artifacts can easily mask this phenomenon in
numerical simulations.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe
The photoionization dynamics of the three structural isomers of dichloroethene
Using tunable vacuum-UV radiation from a synchrotron, the threshold photoelectron spectrum, threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectrum and ion breakdown diagram of the 1,1, cis-1,2 and trans-1,2 isomers of CHCl have been recorded in the range 9-23 eV. The energies of the peaks in the threshold photoelectron spectrum are in good agreement with outer-valence Greens function caculations. The major difference between the isomers, both predicted and observed experimentally is that the Fď€ and Gď€ states of CHCl are approximately degenerate for 1,1 and trans-1,2, but well separated for the cis-1,2 isomer. The ground and low-lying valence states of CHCl are bound, with higher-lying states dissociating to CHCl or CH. The translational kinetic energy release into CHCl + Cl is determined as a function of energy. Isolated-state behaviour for the low-lying electronic states of CHCl becomes more statistical as the energy increases
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