Consequences of the Solar System passage through dense interstellar clouds

International audienceSeveral consequences of the passage of the solar system through dense interstellar molecular clouds are discussed. These clouds, dense (more than 100 cm-3), cold (10?50 K) and extended (larger than 1 pc), are characterized by a gas-to-dust mass ratio of about 100, by a specific power grain size spectrum (grain radii usually cover the range 0.001?3 micron) and by an average dust-to-gas number density ratio of about 10-12. Frequently these clouds contain small-scale (10?100 AU) condensations with gas concentrations ranging up to 10 5 cm-3. At their casual passage over the solar system they exert pressures very much enhanced with respect to today's standards. Under these conditions it will occur that the Earth is exposed directly to the interstellar flow. It is shown first that even close to the Sun, at 1 AU, the cloud's matter is only partly ionized and should mainly interact with the solar wind by charge exchange processes. Dust particles of the cloud serve as a source of neutrals, generated by the solar UV irradiation of dust grains, causing the evaporation of icy materials. The release of neutral atoms from dust grains is then followed by strong influences on the solar wind plasma flow. The behavior of the neutral gas inflow parameters is investigated by a 2-D hydrodynamic approach to model the interaction processes. Because of a reduction of the heliospheric dimension down to 1 AU, direct influence of the cloud's matter to the terrestrial environment and atmosphere could be envisaged

Second Hopf map and supersymmetric mechanics with Yang monopole

We propose to use the second Hopf map for the reduction (via SU(2) group action) of the eight-dimensional N=8 supersymmetric mechanics to five-dimensional supersymmetric systems specified by the presence of an SU(2) Yang monopole. For our purpose we develop the relevant Lagrangian reduction procedure. The reduced system is characterized by its invariance under the N=5 or N=4 supersymmetry generators (with or without an additional conserved BRST charge operator) which commute with the su(2) generators.Comment: Final version. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Second Hopf map and Yang-Coulomb system on 5d (pseudo)sphere

Using the second Hopf map, we perform the reduction of the eight-dimensional (pseudo)spherical (Higgs)oscillator to a five-dimensional system interacting with a Yang monopole. Then, using a standard trick, we obtain, from the latter system, the pseudospherical and spherical generalizations of the Yang-Coulomb system (the five dimensional analog of MICZ-Kepler system). We present the whole set of its constants of motions, including the hidden symmetry generators given by the analog of Runge-Lenz vector. In the same way, starting from the eight-dimensional anisotropic inharmonic Higgs oscillator, we construct the integrable (pseudo)spherical generalization of the Yang-Coulomb system with the Stark term.Comment: 10 pages, PACS: 03.65.-w, 02.30.Ik, 14.80.H

Action-angle variables for the particle near extreme Kerr throat

We construct the action-angle variables for the spherical part of conformal mechanics describing the motion of a particle near extreme Kerr throat. We indicate the existence of the critical point $|p_\varphi|=mc R_{\rm Sch}$ (with $m$ being the mass of the particle, $c$ denoting the speed of light, $R_{\rm Sch}=2\gamma M /c^2$ being the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole with mass $M$, and $\gamma$ denoting the gravitational constant), where these variables are expressed in terms of elementary functions. Away from this point the action-angle variables are defined by elliptic integrals. The proposed formulation allows one to easily reconstruct the whole dynamics of the particle both in initial coordinates, as well as in the so-called conformal basis, where the Hamiltonian takes the form of conventional non-relativistic conformal mechanics. The related issues, such as semiclassical quantization and supersymmetrization are also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, PACS numbers: 04.70.Bw, 45.10.Na; we corrected a mistak

Anisotropic inharmonic Higgs oscillator and related (MICZ-)Kepler-like systems

We propose the integrable (pseudo)spherical generalization of the four-dimensional anisotropic oscillator with additional nonlinear potential. Performing its Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation we then obtain the pseudospherical generalization of the MICZ-Kepler system with linear and $\cos\theta$ potential terms. We also present the generalization of the parabolic coordinates, in which this system admits the separation of variables. Finally, we get the spherical analog of the presented MICZ-Kepler-like system.Comment: 7 page

Integrable generalizations of oscillator and Coulomb systems via action-angle variables

Oscillator and Coulomb systems on N-dimensional spaces of constant curvature can be generalized by replacing their angular degrees of freedom with a compact integrable (N-1)-dimensional system. We present the action-angle formulation of such models in terms of theradial degree of freedom and the action-angle variables of the angular subsystem. As an example, we construct the spherical and pseudospherical generalization of the two-dimensional superintegrable models introduced by Tremblay, Turbiner and Winternitz and by Post and Winternitz. We demonstrate the superintegrability of these systems and give their hidden constant of motion.Comment: 10 pages; v2: formulae for hidden integrals and two refs. added, typos fixed, published versio

Time-variability in the Interstellar Boundary Conditions of the Heliosphere: Effect of the Solar Journey on the Galactic Cosmic Ray Flux at Earth

During the solar journey through galactic space, variations in the physical properties of the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) modify the heliosphere and modulate the flux of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) at the surface of the Earth, with consequences for the terrestrial record of cosmogenic radionuclides. One phenomenon that needs studying is the effect on cosmogenic isotope production of changing anomalous cosmic ray fluxes at Earth due to variable interstellar ionizations. The possible range of interstellar ram pressures and ionization levels in the low density solar environment generate dramatically different possible heliosphere configurations, with a wide range of particle fluxes of interstellar neutrals, their secondary products, and GCRs arriving at Earth. Simple models of the distribution and densities of ISM in the downwind direction give cloud transition timescales that can be directly compared with cosmogenic radionuclide geologic records. Both the interstellar data and cosmogenic radionuclide data are consistent with cloud transitions during the Holocene, with large and assumption-dependent uncertainties. The geomagnetic timeline derived from cosmic ray fluxes at Earth may require adjustment to account for the disappearance of anomalous cosmic rays when the Sun is immersed in ionized gas.Comment: Submitted to Space Sciences Review

Heliospheric Response to Different Possible Interstellar Environments

At present, the heliosphere is embedded in a warm, low-density interstellar cloud that belongs to a cloud system flowing through the local standard of rest with a velocity near ~18 km s-1. The velocity structure of the nearest interstellar material (ISM), combined with theoretical models of the local interstellar cloud (LIC), suggest that the Sun passes through cloudlets on timescales of ≤103-104 yr, so the heliosphere has been, and will be, exposed to different interstellar environments over time. By means of a multifluid model that treats plasma and neutral hydrogen self-consistently, the interaction of the solar wind with a variety of partially ionized ISM is investigated, with the focus on low-density cloudlets such as are currently near the Sun. Under the assumption that the basic solar wind parameters remain/were as they are today, a range of ISM parameters (from cold neutral to hot ionized, with various densities and velocities) is considered. In response to different interstellar boundary conditions, the heliospheric size and structure change, as does the abundance of interstellar and secondary neutrals in the inner heliosphere, and the cosmic-ray level in the vicinity of Earth. Some empirical relations between interstellar parameters and heliospheric boundary locations, as well as neutral densities, are extracted from the models