3,171 research outputs found
The Sun's Journey Through the Local Interstellar Medium: The PaleoLISM and Paleoheliosphere
Over the recent past, the galactic environment of the Sun has differed
substantially from today. Sometime within the past ~130,000 years, and possibly
as recent as ~56,000 years ago, the Sun entered the tenuous tepid partially
ionized interstellar material now flowing past the Sun. Prior to that, the Sun
was in the low density interior of the Local Bubble. As the Sun entered the
local ISM flow, we passed briefly through an interface region of some type. The
low column densities of the cloud now surrounding the solar system indicate
that heliosphere boundary conditions will vary from opacity considerations
alone as the Sun moves through the cloud. These variations in the interstellar
material surrounding the Sun affected the paleoheliosphere.Comment: To be published in Astrophysics and Space Sciences Transactions
(ASTRA), for the proceedings of the workshop "Future Perspectives in
Heliospheric Research: Unsolved Problems, New Missions - New Sciences" Bad
Honnef, Germany, April 6-8, 2005, held in honor of Prof. Hans Fahr's 65th
birthda
Turbulent mixing layers in the interstellar medium of galaxies
We propose that turbulent mixing layers are common in the interstellar medium (ISM). Injection of kinetic energy into the ISM by supernovae and stellar winds, in combination with density and temperature inhomogeneities, results in shear flows. Such flows will become turbulent due to the high Reynolds number (low viscosity) of the ISM plasma. These turbulent boundary layers will be particularly interesting where the shear flow occurs at boundaries of hot (approximately 10(exp 6) K) and cold or warm (10(exp 2) - 10(exp 4) K) gas. Mixing will occur in such layers producing intermediate-temperature gas at T is approximately equal to 10(exp 5.0) - 10(exp 5.5) that radiates strongly in the optical, ultraviolet, and EUV. We have modeled these layers under the assumptions of rapid mixing down to the atomic level and steady flow. By including the effects of non-equilibrium ionization and self-photoionization of the gas as it cools after mixing, we predict the intensities of numerous optical, infrared, and ultraviolet emission lines, as well as absorption column densities of C 4, N 5, Si 4, and O 6
Solar wind-magnetosphere coupling and the distant magnetotail: ISEE-3 observations
ISEE-3 Geotail observations are used to investigate the relationship between the interplanetary magnetic field, substorm activity, and the distant magnetotail. Magnetic field and plasma observations are used to present evidence for the existence of a quasi-permanent, curved reconnection neutral line in the distant tail. The distance to the neutral line varies from absolute value of X = 120 to 140 R/sub e near the center of the tail to beyond absolute value of X = 200 R/sub e at the flanks. Downstream of the neutral line the plasma sheet magnetic field is shown to be negative and directly proportional to negative B/sub z in the solar wind as observed by IMP-8. V/sub x in the distant plasma sheet is also found to be proportional to IMF B/sub z with southward IMF producing the highest anti-solar flow velocities. A global dayside reconnection efficiency of 20 +- 5% is derived from the ISEE-3/IMP-8 magnetic field comparisons. Substorm activity, as measured by the AL index, produces enhanced negative B/sub z and tailward V/sub x in the distant plasma sheet in agreement with the basic predictions of the reconnection-based models of substorms. The rate of magnetic flux transfer out of the tail as a function of AL is found to be consistent with previous near-Earth studies. Similarly, the mass and energy fluxes carried by plasma sheet flow down the tail are consistent with theoretical mass and energy budgets for an open magnetosphere. In summary, the ISEE-3 Geotail observations appear to provide good support for reconnection models of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling and substorm energy rates
Possible Detection of OVI from the LMC Superbubble N70
We present FUSE observations toward four stars in the LMC superbubble N70 and
compare these spectra to those of four comparison targets located in nearby
field and diffuse regions. The N70 sight lines show OVI 1032 absorption that is
consistently stronger than the comparison sight lines by ~60%. We attribute the
excess column density (logN_OVI=14.03 cm^-2) to hot gas within N70, potentially
the first detection of OVI associated with a superbubble. In a survey of 12 LMC
sight lines, Howk et al. (2002a) concluded that there was no correlation
between ISM morphology and N_OVI. We present a reanalysis of their measurements
combined with our own and find a clear difference between the superbubble and
field samples. The five superbubbles probed to date with FUSE show a
consistently higher mean N_OVI than the 12 non-superbubble sight lines, though
both samples show equivalent scatter from halo variability. Possible ionization
mechanisms for N70 are discussed, and we conclude that the observed OVI could
be the product of thermal conduction at the interface between the hot, X-ray
emitting gas inside the superbubble and the cooler, photoionized material
making up the shell seen prominently in Halpha. We calculate the total hydrogen
density n_H implied by our OVI measurements and find a value consistent with
expectations. Finally, we discuss emission-line observations of OVI from N70.Comment: 9 pages in emulateapj style. Accepted to Ap
Active current sheets and hot flow anomalies in Mercury's bow shock
Hot flow anomalies (HFAs) represent a subset of solar wind discontinuities
interacting with collisionless bow shocks. They are typically formed when the
normal component of motional (convective) electric field points toward the
embedded current sheet on at least one of its sides. The core region of an HFA
contains hot and highly deflected ion flows and rather low and turbulent
magnetic field. In this paper, we report first observations of HFA-like events
at Mercury identified over a course of two planetary years. Using data from the
orbital phase of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and
Ranging (MESSENGER) mission, we identify a representative ensemble of active
current sheets magnetically connected to Mercury's bow shock. We show that some
of these events exhibit unambiguous magnetic and particle signatures of HFAs
similar to those observed earlier at other planets, and present their key
physical characteristics. Our analysis suggests that Mercury's bow shock does
not only mediate the flow of supersonic solar wind plasma but also provides
conditions for local particle acceleration and heating as predicted by previous
numerical simulations. Together with earlier observations of HFA activity at
Earth, Venus and Saturn, our results confirm that hot flow anomalies are a
common property of planetary bow shocks, and show that the characteristic size
of these events is of the order of one planetary radius.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures, 2 table
High-power AlGaAs channeled substrate planar diode lasers for spaceborne communications
A high power channeled substrate planar AlGaAs diode laser with an emission wavelength of 8600 to 8800 A was developed. The optoelectronic behavior (power current, single spatial and spectral behavior, far field characteristics, modulation, and astigmatism properties) and results of computer modeling studies on the performance of the laser are discussed. Lifetest data on these devices at high output power levels is also included. In addition, a new type of channeled substrate planar laser utilizing a Bragg grating to stabilize the longitudinal mode was demonstrated. The fabrication procedures and optoelectronic properties of this new diode laser are described
Photoionization of Galactic Halo Gas by Old Supernova Remnants
We present new calculations on the contribution from cooling hot gas to the
photoionization of warm ionized gas in the Galaxy. We show that hot gas in
cooling supernova remnants (SNRs) is an important source of photoionization,
particularly for gas in the halo. We find that in many regions at high latitude
this source is adequate to account for the observed ionization so there is no
need to find ways to transport stellar photons from the disk. The flux from
cooling SNRs sets a floor on the ionization along any line of sight. Our model
flux is also shown to be consistent with the diffuse soft X-ray background and
with soft X-ray observations of external galaxies.
We consider the ionization of the clouds observed towards the halo star HD
93521, for which there are no O stars close to the line of sight. We show that
the observed ionization can be explained successfully by our model EUV/soft
X-ray flux from cooling hot gas. In particular, we can match the H alpha
intensity, the S++/S+ ratio, and the C+* column. From observations of the
ratios of columns of C+* and either S+ or H0, we are able to estimate the
thermal pressure in the clouds. The slow clouds require high (~10^4 cm^-3 K)
thermal pressures to match the N(C+*)/N(S+) ratio. Additional heating sources
are required for the slow clouds to maintain their ~7000 K temperatures at
these pressures, as found by Reynolds, Hausen & Tufte (1999).Comment: AASTeX 5.01; 34 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Astrophysical Journa
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