542 research outputs found
Brightness, distribution, and evolution of sunspot umbral dots
We present a 106-minute TiO (705.7nm) time series of high spatial and
temporal resolution that contains thousands of umbral dots (UDs) in a mature
sunspot in the active region NOAA 10667 at =0.95. The data were acquired
with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope on La Palma. With the help of a multilevel
tracking (MLT) algorithm the sizes, brightnesses, and trajectories of 12836
umbral dots were found and analyzed. The MLT allows UDs with very low contrast
to be reliably identified. Inside the umbra we determine a UD filling factor of
11%. The histogram of UD lifetimes is monotonic, i.e. a UD does not have a
typical lifetime. Three quarters of the UDs lived for less than 150s and showed
no or little motion. The histogram of the UD diameters exhibits a maximum at
225km, i.e. most of the UDs are spatially resolved. UDs display a typical
horizontal velocity of 420m/s and a typical peak intensity of 51% of the mean
intensity of the quiet photosphere, making them on average 20% brighter than
the local umbral background. Almost all mobile UDs (large birth-death distance)
were born close to the umbra-penumbra boundary, move towards the umbral center,
and are brighter than average. Notably bright and mobile UDs were also observed
along a prominent UD chain, both ends of which are located at the
umbra-penumbra boundary. Their motion started primarily at either of the ends
of the chain, continued along the chain, and ended near the chain's center. We
observed the splitting and merging of UDs and the temporal succession of both.
For the first time the evolution of brightness, size, and horizontal speed of a
typical UD could be determined in a statistically significant way. Considerable
differences between the evolution of central and peripheral UDs are found,
which point to a difference in origin
European Demographic Datasheet 2016
The European Demographic Datasheet 2016 shows key demographic data, population trends and projections until 2050. It covers fertility, mortality, migration and population structure, including population ageing, and their changes. The datasheet combines data for all countries of Europe and for broader European regions, as well as maps, population pyramids, tables, graphs and featured thematic boxes. It pays special attention to the importance of migration for the current and future population changes across the continent and to the alternative indicators of population ageing. In comparison to the Data Sheet Poster, the online version provides expanded data coverage, additional maps and population pyramids, ranking charts and details about data sources and definitions. It also allows users to download all data and images
Stratification of sunspot umbral dots from inversion of Stokes profiles recorded by Hinode
This work aims to constrain the physical nature of umbral dots (UDs) using
high-resolution spectropolarimetry. Full Stokes spectra recorded by the
spectropolarimeter on Hinode of 51 UDs in a sunspot close to the disk center
are analyzed. The height dependence of the temperature, magnetic field vector,
and line-of-sight velocity across each UD is obtained from an inversion of the
Stokes vectors of the two FeI lines at 630 nm. No difference is found at higher
altitudes (-3 <= log(tau) <= -2) between the UDs and the diffuse umbral
background. Below that level the difference rapidly increases, so that at the
continuum formation level (log(tau) = 0) we find on average a temperature
enhancement of 570 K, a magnetic field weakening of 510 G, and upflows of 800
m/s for peripheral UDs, whereas central UDs display an excess temperature of on
average 550 K, a field weakening of 480 G, and no significant upflows. The
results for, in particular, the peripheral UDs, including cuts of magnetic
vector and velocity through them, look remarkably similar to the output of
recent radiation MHD simulations. They strongly suggest that UDs are produced
by convective upwellings
Lipopolysaccharide-induced alteration of mitochondrial morphology induces a metabolic shift in microglia modulating the inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo
Accumulating evidence suggests that changes in the metabolic signature of microglia underlie their response to inflammation. We sought to increase our knowledge of how pro‐inflammatory stimuli induce metabolic changes. Primary microglia exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐expressed excessive fission leading to more fragmented mitochondria than tubular mitochondria. LPS‐mediated Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation also resulted in metabolic reprogramming from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. Blockade of mitochondrial fission by Mdivi‐1, a putative mitochondrial division inhibitor led to the reversal of the metabolic shift. Mdivi‐1 treatment also normalized the changes caused by LPS exposure, namely an increase in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial membrane potential as well as accumulation of key metabolic intermediate of TCA cycle succinate. Moreover, Mdivi‐1 treatment substantially reduced LPS induced cytokine and chemokine production. Finally, we showed that Mdivi‐1 treatment attenuated expression of genes related to cytotoxic, repair, and immunomodulatory microglia phenotypes in an in vivo neuroinflammation paradigm. Collectively, our data show that the activation of microglia to a classically pro‐inflammatory state is associated with a switch to glycolysis that is mediated by mitochondrial fission, a process which may be a pharmacological target for immunomodulation
Mass Distributions of Intermediate-Mass Fragments in Light-Ion-Induced Reactions
This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440
Fission and cluster decay of Sr nucleus in the ground-state and formed in heavy-ion reactions
Calculations for fission and cluster decay of are presented for
this nucleus to be in its ground-state or formed as an excited compound system
in heavy-ion reactions. The predicted mass distribution, for the dynamical
collective mass transfer process assumed for fission of , is clearly
asymmetric, favouring -nuclei. Cluster decay is studied within a
preformed cluster model, both for ground-state to ground-state decays and from
excited compound system to the ground-state(s) or excited states(s) of the
fragments.Comment: 14 pages LaTeX, 5 Figures available upon request Submitted to Phys.
Rev.
Discovery of inward moving magnetic enhancements in sunspot penumbrae
Sunspot penumbrae show a fine structure in continuum intensity that displays
considerable dynamics. The magnetic field, in contrast, although also highly
structured, has appeared to be relatively static. Here we report the discovery
of inward moving magnetic enhancements in the penumbrae of two regular sunspots
based on time series of SOHO/MDI magnetograms. Local enhancements of the LOS
component of the magnetic field in the inner part of the penumbral region move
inward to the umbra-penumbra boundary with a radial speed of about 0.3 km
s. These local inward-moving enhancements of the LOS component of the
magnetic fields appear to be relatively common. They are associated with dark
structures and tend to display downflows relatively to the penumbral
background. Possible explanations are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to ApJ Letter
Disintegration of Magnetic Flux in Decaying Sunspots as Observed with the Hinode SOT
Continuous observations of sunspot penumbrae with the Solar Optical Telescope
aboard \textit{Hinode} clearly show that the outer boundary of the penumbra
fluctuates around its averaged position. The penumbral outer boundary moves
inward when granules appear in the outer penumbra. We discover that such
granules appear one after another while moving magnetic features (MMFs) are
separating from the penumbral ``spines'' (penumbral features that have stronger
and more vertical fields than those of their surroundings). These granules that
appear in the outer penumbra often merge with bright features inside the
penumbra that move with the spines as they elongate toward the moat region.
This suggests that convective motions around the penumbral outer boundary are
related to the disintegration of magnetic flux in the sunspot. We also find
that dark penumbral filaments frequently elongate into the moat region in the
vicinity of MMFs that detach from penumbral spines. Such elongating dark
penumbral filaments correspond to nearly horizontal fields extending from the
penumbra. Pairs of MMFs with positive and negative polarities are sometimes
observed along the elongating dark penumbral filaments. This strongly supports
the notion that such elongating dark penumbral filaments have magnetic fields
with a ``sea serpent''-like structure. Evershed flows, which are associated
with the penumbral horizontal fields, may be related to the detachment of the
MMFs from the penumbral spines, as well as to the formation of the MMFs along
the dark penumbral filaments that elongate into the moat region.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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