Stability Conditions For a Noncommutative Scalar Field Coupled to Gravity via the Positive Energy Theorem

The stability requirements for a noncommutative scalar field coupled to gravity is investigated through the positive energy theorem. It is shown that for a noncommutative scalar with a polynomial potential, the stability conditions are similar to the ones for the commutative case. This result remains valid even whether the space-time has horizons.Comment: 6 pages. Talk presented by C. Z. at the "Invisible Universe International Conference", Paris, Palais de l'UNESCO, June 29- July 3. To appear in the Proceeding

Massive photons and Dirac monopoles: electric condensate and magnetic confinement

We use the generalized Julia-Toulouse approach (GJTA) for condensation of topological currents (charges or defects) to argue that massive photons can coexist consistently with Dirac monopoles. The Proca theory is obtained here via GJTA as a low energy effective theory describing an electric condensate and the mass of the vector boson is responsible for generating a Meissner effect which confines the magnetic defects in monopole-antimonopole pairs connected by physical open magnetic vortices described by Dirac brane invariants, instead of Dirac strings.Comment: 6 pages, version accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Correlative Analysis of Hard and Soft X-ray Emissions in Solar Flares

This report describes research performed under the Phase 3 Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) Guest Investigator Program. The objective of this work is to study different mechanisms of solar flare heating by comparing their predictions with simultaneous hard and soft X-ray observations. The datasets used in this work consist of hard X-ray observations from the CGRO Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) and soft X-ray observations from the Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) and Soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on the Japanese Yohkoh spacecraft

Testing Solar Flare Models with BATSE

We propose to use high-sensitivity Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) hard X-ray observations to test the thick-target and electric field acceleration models of solar flares. We will compare the predictions made by these models with hard X-ray spectral observations obtained with BATSE and simultaneous soft X-ray Ca XIX emission observed with the Yohkoh Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS). The increased sensitivities of the BATSE and BCS (relative to previous detectors) permits a renewed study of the relationship between heating and dynamical motions during the crucial rise phase of flares. With these observations, we will: (1) investigate the ability of the thick-target model to explain the temporal evolution of hard X-ray emission relative to the soft X-ray blueshift during the earliest stages of the impulsive phase; and (2) search for evidence of electric-field acceleration as implied by temporal correlations between hard X-ray spectral breaks and the Ca XIX blueshift. The proposed study will utilize hard X-ray lightcurve and spectral measurements in the 10-100 keV energy range obtained with the BATSE Large Area Detectors (LAD). The DISCLA and CONT data will be the primary data products used in this analysis

Rapid soft X-ray fluctuations in solar flares observed with the X-ray polychromator

Three flares observed by the Soft X-Ray Polychromator on the Solar Maximum Mission were studied. Flare light curves from the Flat Crystal Spectrometer and Bent Crystal Spectrometer were examined for rapid signal variations. Each flare was characterized by an initial fast (less than 1 min) burst, observed by the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS), followed by softer gradual X-ray emission lasting several minutes. From an autocorrelation function analysis, evidence was found for quasi-periodic fluctuations with rise and decay times of 10 s in the Ca XIX and Fe XXV light curves. These variations were of small amplitude (less than 20%), often coincided with hard X-ray emissions, and were prominent during the onset of the gradual phase after the initial hard X-ray burst. It is speculated that these fluctuations were caused by repeated energy injections in a coronal loop that had already been heated and filled with dense plasma associated with the initial hard X-ray burst