458 research outputs found
Cordycepin in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: effects on the wild type and phenotypes of mutants resistant to the drug
The adenosine analogue cordycepin (3âČ-deoxyadenosine) inhibits growth and causes aberrant cell morphology in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Exogenously added thiamine, the pyrimidine moiety of the thiamine molecule, and adenine alleviate its growth-disturbing effect. At concentrations that do not inhibit growth, the drug reduces mating and sporulation and causes a decrease in the mRNA level of gene ste11 and the ste11-dependent gene, mei2. The mating- and sporulation-inhibiting effect of cordycepin is overcome by adenine. A mutant disrupted for the ado1 gene encoding adenosine kinase exhibits a cordycepin-resistant and methionine-sensitive phenotype, excretes adenosine into the medium and mates and sporulates poorly in the presence of adenine. A S. pombe mutant containing a frameshift mutation at the beginning of the carboxy-terminal half of gene ufd1 (the Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFD1 homologue) is cordycepin-resistant and sterile. Strains disrupted for the ufd1 gene only form microcolonie
Applications of Abundance Data and Requirements for Cosmochemical Modeling
Understanding the evolution of the universe from Big Bang to its present state requires an understanding of the evolution of the abundances of the elements and isotopes in galaxies, stars, the interstellar medium, the Sun and the heliosphere, planets and meteorites. Processes that change the state of the universe include Big Bang nucleosynthesis, star formation and stellar nucleosynthesis, galactic chemical evolution, propagation of cosmic rays, spallation, ionization and particle transport of interstellar material, formation of the solar system, solar wind emission and its fractionation (FIP/FIT effect), mixing processes in stellar interiors, condensation of material and subsequent geochemical fractionation. Here, we attempt to compile some major issues in cosmochemistry that can be addressed with a better knowledge of the respective element or isotope abundances. Present and future missions such as Genesis, Stardust, Interstellar Pathfinder, and Interstellar Probe, improvements of remote sensing instrumentation and experiments on extraterrestrial material such as meteorites, presolar grains, and lunar or returned planetary or cometary samples will result in an improved database of elemental and isotopic abundances. This includes the primordial abundances of D, ^3He, ^4He, and ^7Li, abundances of the heavier elements in stars and galaxies, the composition of the interstellar medium, solar wind and comets as well as the (highly) volatile elements in the solar system such as helium, nitrogen, oxygen or xenon
Improved Constraints on the Preferential Heating and Acceleration of Oxygen Ions in the Extended Solar Corona
We present a detailed analysis of oxygen ion velocity distributions in the
extended solar corona, based on observations made with the Ultraviolet
Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on the SOHO spacecraft. Polar coronal holes at
solar minimum are known to exhibit broad line widths and unusual intensity
ratios of the O VI 1032, 1037 emission line doublet. The traditional
interpretation of these features has been that oxygen ions have a strong
temperature anisotropy, with the temperature perpendicular to the magnetic
field being much larger than the temperature parallel to the field. However,
recent work by Raouafi and Solanki suggested that it may be possible to model
the observations using an isotropic velocity distribution. In this paper we
analyze an expanded data set to show that the original interpretation of an
anisotropic distribution is the only one that is fully consistent with the
observations. It is necessary to search the full range of ion plasma parameters
to determine the values with the highest probability of agreement with the UVCS
data. The derived ion outflow speeds and perpendicular kinetic temperatures are
consistent with earlier results, and there continues to be strong evidence for
preferential ion heating and acceleration with respect to hydrogen. At
heliocentric heights above 2.1 solar radii, every UVCS data point is more
consistent with an anisotropic distribution than with an isotropic
distribution. At heights above 3 solar radii, the exact probability of isotropy
depends on the electron density chosen to simulate the line-of-sight
distribution of O VI emissivity. (abridged abstract)Comment: 19 pages (emulateapj style), 13 figures, ApJ, in press (v. 679; May
20, 2008
Nanodust detection near 1 AU from spectral analysis of Cassini/RPWS radio data
Nanodust grains of a few nanometer in size are produced near the Sun by
collisional break-up of larger grains and picked-up by the magnetized solar
wind. They have so far been detected at 1 AU by only the two STEREO spacecraft.
Here we analyze the spectra measured by the radio and plasma wave instrument
onboard Cassini during the cruise phase close to Earth orbit; they exhibit
bursty signatures similar to those observed by the same instrument in
association to nanodust stream impacts on Cassini near Jupiter. The observed
wave level and spectral shape reveal impacts of nanoparticles at about 300
km/s, with an average flux compatible with that observed by the radio and
plasma wave instrument onboard STEREO and with the interplanetary flux models
Unusual composition of the solar wind in the 2â3 May 1998 CME observed with SWICS on ACE
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95193/1/grl11810.pd
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Reconciling the electron counterstreaming and dropout occurrence rates with the heliospheric flux budget
Counterstreaming electrons (CSEs) are treated as signatures of closed magnetic flux, i.e., loops connected to the Sun at both ends. However, CSEs at 1 AU likely fade as the apex of a closed loop passes beyond some distance R, owing to scattering of the sunward beam along its continually increasing path length. The remaining antisunward beam at 1 AU would then give a false signature of open flux. Subsequent opening of a loop at the Sun by interchange reconnection with an open field line would produce an electron dropout (ED) at 1 AU, as if two open field lines were reconnecting to completely disconnect from the Sun. Thus EDs can be signatures of interchange reconnection as well as the commonly attributed disconnection. We incorporate CSE fadeout into a model that matches time-varying closed flux from interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) to the solar cycle variation in heliospheric flux. Using the observed occurrence rate of CSEs at solar maximum, the model estimates R ⌠8â10 AU. Hence we demonstrate that EDs should be much rarer than CSEs at 1 AU, as EDs can only be detected when the juncture points of reconnected field lines lie sunward of the detector, whereas CSEs continue to be detected in the legs of all loops that have expanded beyond the detector, out to R. We also demonstrate that if closed flux added to the heliosphere by ICMEs is instead balanced by disconnection elsewhere, then ED occurrence at 1 AU would still be rare, contrary to earlier expectations
Forbush decreases and turbulence levels at CME fronts
We seek to estimate the average level of MHD turbulence near coronal mass
ejection (CME) fronts as they propagate from the Sun to the Earth. We examine
the cosmic ray data from the GRAPES-3 tracking muon telescope at Ooty, together
with the data from other sources for three well observed Forbush decrease
events. Each of these events are associated with frontside halo Coronal Mass
Ejections (CMEs) and near-Earth magnetic clouds. In each case, we estimate the
magnitude of the Forbush decrease using a simple model for the diffusion of
high energy protons through the largely closed field lines enclosing the CME as
it expands and propagates from the Sun to the Earth. We use estimates of the
cross-field diffusion coefficient derived from published results of
extensive Monte Carlo simulations of cosmic rays propagating through turbulent
magnetic fields. Our method helps constrain the ratio of energy density in the
turbulent magnetic fields to that in the mean magnetic fields near the CME
fronts. This ratio is found to be 2% for the 11 April 2001 Forbush
decrease event, 6% for the 20 November 2003 Forbush decrease event and
249% for the much more energetic event of 29 October 2003.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. (Abstract
abridged) Typos correcte
Solar energetic electron events measured by MESSENGER and Solar Orbiter. Peak intensity and energy spectrum radial dependences: statistical analysis
Context/Aims: We present a list of 61 solar energetic electron (SEE) events
measured by the MESSENGER mission and the radial dependences of the electron
peak intensity and the peak-intensity energy spectrum. The analysis comprises
the period from 2010 to 2015, when MESSENGER heliocentric distance varied
between 0.31 and 0.47 au. We also show the radial dependencies for a shorter
list of 12 SEE events measured in February and March 2022 by spacecraft near 1
au and by Solar Orbiter around its first close perihelion at 0.32 au.
Results: Due to the elevated background intensity level of the particle
instrument on board MESSENGER, the SEE events measured by this mission are
necessarily large and intense; most of them accompanied by a CME-driven shock,
being widespread in heliolongitude, and displaying relativistic (1 MeV)
electron intensity enhancements. The two main conclusions derived from the
analysis of the large SEE events measured by MESSENGER, which are generally
supported by Solar Orbiter's data results, are: (1) There is a wide variability
in the radial dependence of the electron peak intensity between 0.3 au
and 1 au, but the peak intensities of the energetic electrons decrease
with radial distance from the Sun in 27 out of 28 events. On average and within
the uncertainties, we find a radial dependence consistent with . (2)
The electron spectral index found in the energy range around 200 keV
(200) of the backward-scattered population near 0.3 au measured by
MESSENGER is harder in 19 out of 20 (15 out of 18) events by a median factor of
20% (10%) when comparing to the anti-sunward propagating beam
(backward-scattered population) near 1 au.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure
Properties of an Interplanetary Shock Observed at 0.07 and 0.7 au by Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter
Abstract The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Solar Orbiter (SolO) missions opened a new observational window in the inner heliosphere, which is finally accessible to direct measurements. On 2022 September 5, a coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven interplanetary (IP) shock was observed as close as 0.07 au by PSP. The CME then reached SolO, which was radially well-aligned at 0.7 au, thus providing us with the opportunity to study the shock properties at different heliocentric distances. We characterize the shock, investigate its typical parameters, and compare its small-scale features at both locations. Using the PSP observations, we investigate how magnetic switchbacks and ion cyclotron waves are processed upon shock crossing. We find that switchbacks preserve their VâB correlation while compressed upon the shock passage, and that the signature of ion cyclotron waves disappears downstream of the shock. By contrast, the SolO observations reveal a very structured shock transition, with a population of shock-accelerated protons of up to about 2 MeV, showing irregularities in the shock downstream, which we correlate with solar wind structures propagating across the shock. At SolO, we also report the presence of low-energy (âŒ100 eV) electrons scattering due to upstream shocklets. This study elucidates how the local features of IP shocks and their environments can be very different as they propagate through the heliosphere.</jats:p
What is the solar wind frame of reference?
Various solar wind ion species move with different speeds and theoretical considerations as well as limited observations in a region close to the Sun show that heavy solar wind ions tend to flow faster than protons, at least in less-aged fast solar wind streams. The solar wind flow carries the frozen-in interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and this situation evokes three related questions: (i) what is the proper solar wind speed, (ii) is this speed equal to the speed of the dominant component, whatever that may be, and (iii) what is the speed of the magnetic field? We show that simple theoretical considerations based on the MHD approximation as well as on the dynamics of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields suggest that the IMF velocity of motion (de HoffmannâTeller (HT) velocity) would be deliberated as the velocity appropriate for solar wind studies. Our analysis based on the Wind, Helios, ACE, and SOHO observations of differential streaming of solar wind populations shows that their energy is conserved in the HT frame. On the other hand, the noise and temporal resolution of the data do not allow us to decide whether the total momentum is also conserved in this frame
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