Collapse of Primordial Filamentary Clouds under Far-Ultraviolet Radiation

Collapse and fragmentation of primordial filamentary clouds under isotropic dissociation radiation is investigated with one-dimensional hydrodynamical calculations. We investigate the effect of dissociation photon on the filamentary clouds with calculating non-equilibrium chemical reactions. With the external radiation assumed to turn on when the filamentary cloud forms, the filamentary cloud with low initial density ($n_0 \le 10^2 \mathrm{cm^{-3}}$) suffers photodissociation of hydrogen molecules. In such a case, since main coolant is lost, temperature increases adiabatically enough to suppress collapse. As a result, the filamentary cloud fragments into very massive clouds ($\sim 10^5 M_\odot$). On the other hand, the evolution of the filamentary clouds with high initial density ($n_0>10^2 \mathrm{cm^{-3}}$) is hardly affected by the external radiation. This is because the filamentary cloud with high initial density shields itself from the external radiation. It is found that the external radiation increases fragment mass. This result is consistent with previous results with one-zone models. It is also found that fragment mass decreases owing to the external dissociation radiation in the case with sufficiently large line mass.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, accepted by PAS

Formation of Hot Planets by a combination of planet scattering, tidal circularization, and Kozai mechanism

We have investigated the formation of close-in extrasolar giant planets through a coupling effect of mutual scattering, Kozai mechanism, and tidal circularization, by orbital integrations. We have carried out orbital integrations of three planets with Jupiter-mass, directly including the effect of tidal circularization. We have found that in about 30% runs close-in planets are formed, which is much higher than suggested by previous studies. We have found that Kozai mechanism by outer planets is responsible for the formation of close-in planets. During the three-planet orbital crossing, the Kozai excitation is repeated and the eccentricity is often increased secularly to values close enough to unity for tidal circularization to transform the inner planet to a close-in planet. Since a moderate eccentricity can remain for the close-in planet, this mechanism may account for the observed close-in planets with moderate eccentricities and without nearby secondary planets. Since these planets also remain a broad range of orbital inclinations (even retrograde ones), the contribution of this process would be clarified by more observations of Rossiter-McLaughlin effects for transiting planets.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Characteristics of a multilayer eddy‐current‐type ac magnetic coil with a cooling system

This paper deals with the performance characteristics of a new ac high magnetic field generator based on the effect of eddy currents. We have proposed a new ac high magnetic field generator and have obtained magnetic fields up to 15 T at 60 Hz. The proposed structure consists of layers of exciting coils and conductors built in concentric circles. The eddy currents in the conductor flow close to the hole in the conductor. The magnetic flux induced by the eddy currents is concentrated within the hole, and an ac high magnetic field is produced. A procedure for estimating the optimum shape and number of layers required to increase the concentration effect, together with a design of the colling system necessary for continuous operation, is presented

Effect of the Reconnection Electric Field on Electron Distribution Functions in the Diffusion Region of Magnetotail Reconnection

Electron distribution functions in the electron diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection are investigated by means of theory and fully kinetic simulations. Crescentlike striations are formed in distribution functions in the velocity plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Using an analytical current sheet, we solve the equation of motion for electrons, and derive the shape of a crescent distribution, as a function of the distance from the neutral line, field gradients, and the reconnection electric field. Each crescent is tilted in the velocity plane because of the acceleration by the reconnection electric field, and multiple stripes appear due to multiple meandering bounces. Applying the theory to distribution functions observed in Earth's magnetotail, we deduce the amplitude of the reconnection electric field

Number of active transcription factor binding sites is essential for the Hes7 oscillator

BACKGROUND: It is commonly accepted that embryonic segmentation of vertebrates is regulated by a segmentation clock, which is induced by the cycling genes Hes1 and Hes7. Their products form dimers that bind to the regulatory regions and thereby repress the transcription of their own encoding genes. An increase of the half-life of Hes7 protein causes irregular somite formation. This was shown in recent experiments by Hirata et al. In the same work, numerical simulations from a delay differential equations model, originally invented by Lewis, gave additional support. For a longer half-life of the Hes7 protein, these simulations exhibited strongly damped oscillations with, after few periods, severely attenuated the amplitudes. In these simulations, the Hill coefficient, a crucial model parameter, was set to 2 indicating that Hes7 has only one binding site in its promoter. On the other hand, Bessho et al. established three regulatory elements in the promoter region. RESULTS: We show that – with the same half life – the delay system is highly sensitive to changes in the Hill coefficient. A small increase changes the qualitative behaviour of the solutions drastically. There is sustained oscillation and hence the model can no longer explain the disruption of the segmentation clock. On the other hand, the Hill coefficient is correlated with the number of active binding sites, and with the way in which dimers bind to them. In this paper, we adopt response functions in order to estimate Hill coefficients for a variable number of active binding sites. It turns out that three active transcription factor binding sites increase the Hill coefficient by at least 20% as compared to one single active site. CONCLUSION: Our findings lead to the following crucial dichotomy: either Hirata's model is correct for the Hes7 oscillator, in which case at most two binding sites are active in its promoter region; or at least three binding sites are active, in which case Hirata's delay system does not explain the experimental results. Recent experiments by Chen et al. seem to support the former hypothesis, but the discussion is still open

Strong reconnection electric fields in shock-driven turbulence

Turbulent magnetic reconnection in a quasi-parallel shock under parameters relevant to the Earth's bow shock is investigated by means of a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The addressed aspects include the reconnection electric field, the reconnection rate, and the electron and the ion outflow speeds. In the shock transition region, many current sheets are generated in shock-driven turbulence, and electron-only reconnection and reconnection where both ions and electrons are involved can occur in those current sheets. The electron outflow speed in electron-only reconnection shows a positive correlation with the theoretical speed, which is close to the local electron Alfvén speed, and a strong convection electric field is generated by the large electron outflow. As a result, the reconnection electric field becomes much larger than those in the standard magnetopause or magnetotail reconnection. In shock-driven reconnection that involves ion dynamics, both electron outflows and ion outflows can reach of the order of 10 times the Alfvén speed in the X-line rest frame, leading to a reconnection electric field the same order as that in electron-only reconnection. An electron-only reconnection event observed by the magnetospheric multiscale mission downstream of a quasi-parallel shock is qualitatively similar to those in the simulation and shows that the outflow speed reaches approximately half the local electron Alfvén speed, supporting the simulation prediction