1,870 research outputs found
Coronal emission lines as thermometers
Coronal emission line intensities are commonly used to measure electron
temperatures using emission measure and/or line ratio methods. In the presence
of systematic errors in atomic excitation calculations and data noise, the
information on underlying temperature distributions is fundamentally limited.
Increasing the number of emission lines used does not necessarily improve the
ability to discriminate between different kinds of temperature distributions.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, November 200
Within-tree distribution and survival of the eucalyptus longhorned borer Phoracantha semipunctata (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem
The attack patterns, infestation success and larval development of woodborers within living trees are complex and are largely shaped by host tree characteristics. Following a severe drought in a native eucalypt forest where outbreak densities of a native Australian beetle, the eucalyptus longhorned borer (Phoracantha semipunctata), occurred, a tree dissection study was conducted in Australia. This involved felling 40 trees each of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) that were cut into 1-m sections and neonate larval galleries, larvae in pupal cells and adult borer emergence were measured and added to give total numbers per tree to determine the within-tree distribution and survival of P. semipunctata. There was a significant impact on larval survival in both species, in contrast, pupal survival remained high. Within-tree distribution of P. semipunctata was directional with borer emergence and incidence of larval galleries both negatively associated with tree section height above the ground and positively associated with section diameter and bark thickness, reaching a maximum towards the base of trees. High incidence and survival in lower thicker tree sections indicate a more conducive environment for larval development, in contrast to poor larval survival in smaller thinner sections at the top of trees. The dependence of larval survival on tree characteristics controlling the within-tree distribution of borer emergence is emphasized, and needs to be considered when estimating the spread of borer populations during outbreaks
Large-scale Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculations for transition probabilities of Fe V
Ab initio theoretical calculations are reported for the electric (E1) dipole
allowed and intercombination fine structure transitions in Fe V using the
Breit-Pauli R-matrix (BPRM) method. We obtain 3865 bound fine structure levels
of Fe V and oscillator strengths, Einstein A-coefficients and
line strengths. In addition to the relativistic effects, the intermediate
coupling calculations include extensive electron correlation effects that
represent the complex configuration interaction (CI). Fe V bound levels are
obtained with angular and spin symmetries and of the (e + Fe VI)
system such that = 5,3,1, 10, . The bound levels are
obtained as solutions of the Breit-Pauli (e + ion) Hamiltonian for each ,
and are designated according to the `collision' channel quantum numbers. A
major task has been the identification of these large number of bound fine
structure levels in terms of standard spectroscopic designations. A new scheme,
based on the analysis of quantum defects and channel wavefunctions, has been
developed. The identification scheme aims particularly to determine the
completeness of the results in terms of all possible bound levels for
applications to analysis of experimental measurements and plasma modeling. An
uncertainty of 10-20% for most transitions is estimated.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure, Physica Scripta (in press
Low-Altitude Reconnection Inflow-Outflow Observations during a 2010 November 3 Solar Eruption
For a solar flare occurring on 2010 November 3, we present observations using
several SDO/AIA extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) passbands of an erupting flux rope
followed by inflows sweeping into a current sheet region. The inflows are soon
followed by outflows appearing to originate from near the termination point of
the inflowing motion - an observation in line with standard magnetic
reconnection models. We measure average inflow plane-of-sky speeds to range
from ~150-690 km/s with the initial, high-temperature inflows being the
fastest. Using the inflow speeds and a range of Alfven speeds, we estimate the
Alfvenic Mach number which appears to decrease with time. We also provide
inflow and outflow times with respect to RHESSI count rates and find that the
fast, high-temperature inflows occur simultaneously with a peak in the RHESSI
thermal lightcurve. Five candidate inflow-outflow pairs are identified with no
more than a minute delay between detections. The inflow speeds of these pairs
are measured to be 10^2 km/s with outflow speeds ranging from 10^2-10^3 km/s -
indicating acceleration during the reconnection process. The fastest of these
outflows are in the form of apparently traveling density enhancements along the
legs of the loops rather than the loop apexes themselves. These flows could
either be accelerated plasma, shocks, or waves prompted by reconnection. The
measurements presented here show an order of magnitude difference between the
retraction speeds of the loops and the speed of the density enhancements within
the loops - presumably exiting the reconnection site.Comment: 31 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, Accepted to ApJ (expected publication
~July 2012
Ising tricriticality and the dilute A model
Some universal amplitude ratios appropriate to the peturbation
of the c=7/10 minimal field theory, the subleading magnetic perturbation of the
tricritical Ising model, are explicitly demonstrated in the dilute A model,
in regime 1.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX using iop macro
A Comprehensive and Cost-Effective Computer Infrastructure for K-12 Schools
Since 1993, NASA Langley Research Center has been developing and implementing a low-cost Internet connection model, including system architecture, training, and support, to provide Internet access for an entire network of computers. This infrastructure allows local area networks which exceed 50 machines per school to independently access the complete functionality of the Internet by connecting to a central site, using state-of-the-art commercial modem technology, through a single standard telephone line. By locating high-cost resources at this central site and sharing these resources and their costs among the school districts throughout a region, a practical, efficient, and affordable infrastructure for providing scale-able Internet connectivity has been developed. As the demand for faster Internet access grows, the model has a simple expansion path that eliminates the need to replace major system components and re-train personnel. Observations of optical Internet usage within an environment, particularly school classrooms, have shown that after an initial period of 'surfing,' the Internet traffic becomes repetitive. By automatically storing requested Internet information on a high-capacity networked disk drive at the local site (network based disk caching), then updating this information only when it changes, well over 80 percent of the Internet traffic that leaves a location can be eliminated by retrieving the information from the local disk cache
Electron-Ion Recombination Rate Coefficients and Photoionization Cross Sections for Astrophysically Abundant Elements VI. Ni II
We present the first detailed ab initio quantum mechanical calculations for
total and state-specific recombination rate coefficients for e + Ni III --> Ni
II. These rates are obtained using a unified treatment for total electron-ion
recombination that treats the nonresonant radiative recombination and the
resonant dielectronic recombination in a self-consistent unified manner in the
close coupling approximation. Large-scale calculations are carried out using a
49-state wavefunction expansion from core configurations 3d^8, 3d^74s, and
3d^64p that permits the inclusion of prominent dipole allowed core transitions.
These extensive calculations for the recombination rates of Ni II required
hundreds of CPU hours on the Cray T90. The total recombination rate
coefficients are provided for a wide range of temperature. The state-specific
recombination rates for 532 bound states of doublet and quartet symmetries, and
the corresponding photoionization cross sections for leaving the core in the
ground state, are presented. Present total recombination rate coefficients
differ considerably from the currently used data in astrophysical models.Comment: ApJ Suppl. (submitted), 4 figure
Driving and damping mechanisms in hybrid pressure-gravity modes pulsators
We study the energetic aspects of hybrid pressure-gravity modes pulsations.
The case of hybrid beta Cephei-SPB pulsators is considered with special
attention. In addition to the already known sensitivity of the driving
mechanism to the heavy elements mixture (mainly the iron abundance), we show
that the characteristics of the propagation and evanescent regions play also a
major role, determining the extension of the stable gap in the frequency domain
between the unstable low order pressure and high order gravity modes. Finally,
we consider the case of hybrid delta Sct-gamma Dor pulsators.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, in the proceedings of the Helas II Conference:
"Helioseismology, Asteroseismology and MHD Connections", Goettingen, August
200
X-Ray Photoabsorption in KLL Resonances of O VI And Abundance Analysis
It is shown that photoabsorption via autoionizing resonances may be
appreciable and used for abundance analysis. Analogous to spectral lines, the
`resonance oscillator strength' f_r may be defined and evaluated in terms of
the differential oscillator strength df/d(epsilon) that relates bound and
continuum absorption. X-ray photoabsorption in KLL (1s2s2p) resonances of O VI
is investigated using highly resolved relativistic photoionization cross
sections with fine structure. It is found that f_r is comparable to that for UV
dipole transition in O VI (2s - 2p) and the X-ray (1s^2 ^1S_0 - 1s2p ^1P^o_1)
transition in O VII. The dominant O VI(KLL) components lie at 22.05 and 21.87
Angstroms. These predicted absorption features should be detectable by the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) and the X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM). The
combined UV/X-ray spectra of O VI/O VII should yield valuable information on
the ionization structure and abundances in sources such as the `warm absorber'
region of active galactic nuclei and the hot intergalactic medium. Some general
implications of resonant photoabsorption are addressed.Comment: Astrophys. J. Letters (in press), 9 pages, 3 figure
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