Observations and modeling of the early acceleration phase of erupting filaments involved in coronal mass ejections

We examine the early phases of two near-limb filament destabilization involved in coronal mass ejections on 16 June and 27 July 2005, using high-resolution, high-cadence observations made with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), complemented by coronagraphic observations by Mauna Loa and the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The filaments' heights above the solar limb in their rapid-acceleration phases are best characterized by a height dependence h(t) ~ t^m with m near, or slightly above, 3 for both events. Such profiles are incompatible with published results for breakout, MHD-instability, and catastrophe models. We show numerical simulations of the torus instability that approximate this height evolution in case a substantial initial velocity perturbation is applied to the developing instability. We argue that the sensitivity of magnetic instabilities to initial and boundary conditions requires higher fidelity modeling of all proposed mechanisms if observations of rise profiles are to be used to differentiate between them. The observations show no significant delays between the motions of the filament and of overlying loops: the filaments seem to move as part of the overall coronal field until several minutes after the onset of the rapid-acceleration phase.Comment: ApJ (2007, in press

Deficits in trace fear conditioning in a rat model of fetal alcohol exposure: dose-response and timing effects

In humans, prenatal alcohol exposure can result in significant impairments in several types of learning and memory, including declarative and spatial memory. Animal models have been useful for confirming that many of the observed effects are the result of alcohol exposure, and not secondary to poor maternal nutrition or adverse home environments. Wagner and Hunt (2006) reported that rats exposed to ethanol during the neonatal period (postnatal days [PDs] 4-9) exhibited impaired trace fear conditioning when trained as adolescents, but were unaffected in delay fear conditioning. The present series of three experiments represent a more detailed analysis of ethanol-induced deficits in trace conditioning. In Experiment 1, the dose of ethanol given to neonates was varied (3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 g/kg/day). There was a dose-dependent reduction in trace conditioning, with the poorest performance observed in animals treated with the highest dose. In Experiment 2, it was found that the impairment in trace conditioning resulting from neonatal ethanol exposure was dependent on the duration of the trace interval used for training; less learning was evident in ethanol-exposed animals trained with longer trace interval durations. These results confirm other reports of delay-dependent memory deficits. Finally, Experiment 3 determined that ethanol exposure limited to the first half of the neonatal period (PDs 4-6) was more detrimental to later trace conditioning than exposure during the second half (PDs 7-9). These results support the hypothesis that trace-conditioning impairments resulting from early ethanol exposure are due to the drug\u27s teratogenic effects on the developing hippocampus, as the findings parallel those observed in animals with discrete hippocampal lesions. Comparisons between delay and trace fear-conditioning performance in animals exposed to ethanol during the brain growth spurt provide a model system to study both selective learning impairments and possible treatment approaches for humans with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Finite-volume effects and the electromagnetic contributions to kaon and pion masses

We report on the MILC Collaboration calculation of electromagnetic effects on light pseudoscalar mesons. The simulations employ asqtad staggered dynamical quarks in QCD plus quenched photons, with lattice spacings varying from 0.12 to 0.06 fm. Finite volume corrections for the MILC realization of lattice electrodynamics have been calculated in chiral perturbation theory and applied to the lattice data. These corrections differ from those calculated by Hayakawa and Uno because our treatment of zero modes differs from theirs. Updated results for the corrections to "Dashen's theorem" are presented.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. Presented at Lattice 2014, Columbia University, June 23-28, 201

Precise Determination of the I=2 pipi Scattering Length from Mixed-Action Lattice QCD

The I=2 pipi scattering length is calculated in fully-dynamical lattice QCD with domain-wall valence quarks on the asqtad-improved coarse MILC configurations (with fourth-rooted staggered sea quarks) at four light-quark masses. Two- and three-flavor mixed-action chiral perturbation theory at next-to-leading order is used to perform the chiral and continuum extrapolations. At the physical charged pion mass, we find m_pi a_pipi(I=2) = -0.04330 +- 0.00042, where the error bar combines the statistical and systematic uncertainties in quadrature.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Coronal magnetic reconnection driven by CME expansion -- the 2011 June 7 event

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) erupt and expand in a magnetically structured solar corona. Various indirect observational pieces of evidence have shown that the magnetic field of CMEs reconnects with surrounding magnetic fields, forming, e.g., dimming regions distant from the CME source regions. Analyzing Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observations of the eruption from AR 11226 on 2011 June 7, we present the first direct evidence of coronal magnetic reconnection between the fields of two adjacent ARs during a CME. The observations are presented jointly with a data-constrained numerical simulation, demonstrating the formation/intensification of current sheets along a hyperbolic flux tube (HFT) at the interface between the CME and the neighbouring AR 11227. Reconnection resulted in the formation of new magnetic connections between the erupting magnetic structure from AR 11226 and the neighboring active region AR 11227 about 200 Mm from the eruption site. The onset of reconnection first becomes apparent in the SDO/AIA images when filament plasma, originally contained within the erupting flux rope, is re-directed towards remote areas in AR 11227, tracing the change of large-scale magnetic connectivity. The location of the coronal reconnection region becomes bright and directly observable at SDO/AIA wavelengths, owing to the presence of down-flowing cool, dense (10^{10} cm^{-3}) filament plasma in its vicinity. The high-density plasma around the reconnection region is heated to coronal temperatures, presumably by slow-mode shocks and Coulomb collisions. These results provide the first direct observational evidence that CMEs reconnect with surrounding magnetic structures, leading to a large-scale re-configuration of the coronal magnetic field.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

The K+K+ Scattering Length from Lattice QCD

The K+K+ scattering length is calculated in fully-dynamical lattice QCD with domain-wall valence quarks on the MILC asqtad-improved gauge configurations with rooted staggered sea quarks. Three-flavor mixed-action chiral perturbation theory at next-to-leading order, which includes the leading effects of the finite lattice spacing, is used to extrapolate the results of the lattice calculation to the physical value of m_{K+}/f_{K+}. We find m_{K+} a_{K+K+} = -0.352 +- 0.016, where the statistical and systematic errors have been combined in quadrature.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. NPLQCD collaboratio

Deformation and flow of a two-dimensional foam under continuous shear

We investigate the flow properties of a two-dimensional aqueous foam submitted to a quasistatic shear in a Couette geometry. A strong localization of the flow (shear banding) at the edge of the moving wall is evidenced, characterized by an exponential decay of the average tangential velocity. Moreover, the analysis of the rapid velocity fluctuations reveals self-similar dynamical structures consisting of clusters of bubbles rolling as rigid bodies. To relate the instantaneous (elastic) and time-averaged (plastic) components of the strain, we develop a stochastic model where irreversible rearrangements are activated by local stress fluctuations originating from the rubbing of the wall. This model gives a complete description of our observations and is also consistent with data obtained on granular shear bands by other groups.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure