1,830 research outputs found
Twist, Writhe & Helicity in the inner penumbra of a sunspot
The aim of this work is the determination of the twist, writhe, and self
magnetic helicity of penumbral filaments located in an inner Sunspot penumbra.
To this extent, we inverted data taken with the spectropolarimeter (SP) aboard
Hinode with the SIR (Stokes Inversion based on Response function) code. For the
construction of a 3D geometrical model we applied a genetic algorithm
minimizing the divergence of the magnetic field vector and the net
magnetohydrodynamic force, consequently a force-free solution would be reached
if possible. We estimated two proxies to the magnetic helicity frequently used
in literature: the force-free parameter and the current helicity term. We show
that both proxies are only qualitative indicators of the local twist as the
magnetic field in the area under study significantly departures from a
force-free configuration. The local twist shows significant values only at the
borders of bright penumbral filaments with opposite signs on each side. These
locations are precisely correlated to large electric currents. The average
twist (and writhe) of penumbral structures is very small. The spines (dark
filaments in the background) show a nearly zero writhe. The writhe per unit
length of the intraspines diminishes with increasing length of the tube axes.
Thus, the axes of tubes related to intraspines are less wrung when the tubes
are more horizontal. As the writhe of the spines is very small, we can conclude
that the writhe reaches only significant values when the tube includes the
border of a intraspine.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; Astrophysical Journal, in pres
Evidence of quiet Sun chromospheric activity related to an emerging small-scale magnetic loop
Aims: We investigate the temporal evolution of magnetic flux emergence in the
quiet Sun atmosphere close to disk center. Methods: We combine high-resolution
SoHO/MDI magnetograms with TRACE observations taken in the 1216 {\AA} channel
in order to analyze the temporal evolution of an emerging small-scale magnetic
loop and its traces in the chromosphere. Results: At first place, we find
signatures of flux emergence very close to the edge of a supergranular network
boundary located at disk center. The new emerging flux appears first in the MDI
magnetograms in form of an asymmetric bipolar element, i.e. the patch with
negative polarity is roughly two-times weaker than the corresponding patch with
opposite polarity. The average values of magnetic flux and magnetic flux
densities reach 1.6 x 10^18 Mx, -8.5 x 10^17 Mx, and 55 Mx cm^-2, -30 Mx cm^-2,
respectively. The spatial distance between the opposite polarity patches of the
emerged feature increases from about 2.5" to 5.0" during the lifetime of the
loop which was not longer than 36 min. A more precise lifetime-estimate of the
feature was not possible because of a gap in the temporal sequence of the MDI
magnetograms. The chromospheric response to the emerged magnetic dipole occurs
~ 9 minutes later with respect to the photospheric magnetograms. It consists of
a quasi-periodic sequence of time-localized brightenings visible in the 1216
{\AA} TRACE channel apparent for ~ 14 minutes and being co-spatial with the
axis connecting the two patches of opposite magnetic polarity. Conclusions: We
identify the observed event as a small-scale magnetic loop emerging at
photospheric layers and subsequently rising up to the chromosphere. We discuss
the possibility that the fluctuations detected in the chromospheric emission
probably reflect magnetic field oscillations which propagate to the
chromosphere in form of waves.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres
Can spicules be detected at disc centre in broad-band Ca II H filter imaging data ?
We estimate the formation height range contributing to broad-band and
narrow-band filter imaging data in Ca II H to investigate whether spicules can
be detected in such observations at the centre of the solar disc. We apply
spectral filters of FWHMs from 0.03 nm to 1 nm to observed Ca line profiles to
simulate Ca imaging data. We estimate the relative intensity contributions of
off-limb and on-disc structures. We compare the synthetic Ca filter imaging
data with intensity maps of Ca spectra at different wavelengths and temperature
maps at different optical depths. We determine the intensity response function
for the wavelengths covered by the filters of different FWHM.
The intensity emitted off the solar limb is about 5% of the intensity at disc
centre. For a 0.3 nm-wide Ca II H filter, up to about 1/3 of the off-limb
intensity comes from emission in Hepsilon. On the disc, only about 15% of the
intensity transmitted through a broad-band filter comes from the line-core
region. No traces of elongated fibrillar structures are visible in imaging data
at disc centre, opposite to the line-core images of the Ca spectra. The
response function for a 0.3 nm-wide filter peaks at about 200 km. Relative
contributions from atmospheric layers above 800 km are about 10%. The inversion
results suggest that the slightly enhanced emission around the photospheric
magnetic network in broad-band Ca imaging data is caused by a thermal canopy at
a height of about 600 km. Broad-band Ca II H imaging data do not trace upper
chromospheric structures such as spicules in observations at the solar disc
because of the too small relative contribution of the line core to the total
wavelength-integrated filter intensity.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Spectroscopy at the solar limb: II. Are spicules heated to coronal temperatures ?
Spicules of the so-called type II were suggested to be relevant for coronal
heating because of their ubiquity on the solar surface and their eventual
extension into the corona. We investigate whether solar spicules are heated to
transition-region or coronal temperatures and reach coronal heights (>6 Mm)
using multi-wavelength observations of limb spicules in different chromospheric
spectral lines (Ca II H, Hepsilon, Halpha, Ca II IR at 854.2 nm, He I at 1083
nm). We determine the line width of individual spicules and throughout the
field of view and estimate the maximal height that different types of off-limb
features reach. We derive estimates of the kinetic temperature and the
non-thermal velocity from the line width of spectral lines from different
chemical elements. We find that most regular spicules reach a maximal height of
about 6 Mm above the solar limb. The majority of features found at larger
heights are irregularly shaped with a significantly larger lateral extension
than spicules. Both individual and average line profiles in all spectral lines
show a decrease in their line width with height above the limb with very few
exceptions. Both the kinetic temperature and the non-thermal velocity decrease
with height above the limb. We find no indications that the spicules in our
data reach coronal heights or transition-region or coronal temperatures.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics, 52 pages, 32 figure
Multifractal analysis of electronic states on random Voronoi-Delaunay lattices
We consider the transport of non-interacting electrons on two- and
three-dimensional random Voronoi-Delaunay lattices. It was recently shown that
these topologically disordered lattices feature strong disorder
anticorrelations between the coordination numbers that qualitatively change the
properties of continuous and first-order phase transitions. To determine
whether or not these unusual features also influence Anderson localization, we
study the electronic wave functions by multifractal analysis and finite-size
scaling. We observe only localized states for all energies in the
two-dimensional system. In three dimensions, we find two Anderson transitions
between localized and extended states very close to the band edges. The
critical exponent of the localization length is about 1.6. All these results
agree with the usual orthogonal universality class. Additional generic
energetic randomness introduced via random potentials does not lead to
qualitative changes but allows us to obtain a phase diagram by varying the
strength of these potentials
The polarization signature of photospheric magnetic fields in 3D MHD simulations and observations at disk center
Before using 3D MHD simulations of the solar photosphere in the determination
of elemental abundances, one has to ensure that the correct amount of magnetic
flux is present in the simulations. The presence of magnetic flux modifies the
thermal structure of the solar photosphere, which affects abundance
determinations and the solar spectral irradiance. We compare the polarization
signals in disk-center observations of the solar photosphere in quiet-Sun
regions with those in Stokes spectra computed on the basis of 3D MHD
simulations having average magnetic flux densities of about 20, 56, 112 and 224
G. This approach allows us to find the simulation run that best matches the
observations. The observations were taken with the Hinode SP, TIP, POLIS and
the GFPI, respectively. We determine characteristic quantities of full Stokes
profiles in a few photospheric spectral lines in the visible (630 nm) and
near-infrared (1083 and 1565 nm). We find that the appearance of abnormal
granulation in intensity maps of degraded simulations can be traced back to an
initially regular granulation pattern with numerous bright points in the
intergranular lanes before the spatial degradation. The linear polarization
signals in the simulations are almost exclusively related to canopies of strong
magnetic flux concentrations and not to transient events of magnetic flux
emergence. We find that the average vertical magnetic flux density in the
simulation should be less than 50 G to reproduce the observed polarization
signals in the quiet Sun internetwork. A value of about 35 G gives the best
match across the SP, TIP, POLIS and GFPI observations.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Zur Situation des Arbeitsmarktes für Spezialbibliothekare : Statistische Untersuchungen zur Beschäftigung von Informationsspezialisten in internen Informationseinrichtungen
Die vorliegende Arbeit gibt anhand statistischer Untersuchungen einen Einblick in die derzeitige Arbeitsmarktsituation für Spezialbibliothekare in Deutschland. Es wird untersucht, in welchem Umfang Spezialbibliotheken in deutschen Statistiken erfasst sind. Dabei werden auch Auswertungen hinsichtlich ihrer Bestandsgröße und Personalstellenzahl durchgeführt. Den Schwerpunkt der Arbeit bildet die Analyse von Stellenanzeigen, die Positionen in internen Informationseinrichtungen ausschreiben, im Hinblick auf verschiedene Aspekte. Diese statistischen Untersuchungen geben Aufschluss darüber, wie sich die Arbeitsmarktsituation für Beschäftigte in Spezialbibliotheken derzeit darstellt. Dabei werden einerseits quantitative Aussagen getroffen, die Rückschlüsse auf den Umfang des spezialbibliothekarischen Arbeitsmarktes zulassen. Andererseits erfolgt eine qualitative Analyse, indem die von Arbeitgebern gebotenen Beschäftigungsverhältnisse sowie die an zukünftige Stelleninhaber gestellten spezifischen Anforderungen hinsichtlich ihrer Qualifikation näher betrachtet werden
Facilitating Flexible Link Layer Protocols for Future Wireless Communication Systems
This dissertation addresses the problem of designing link layer protocols
which are flexible enough to accommodate the demands offuture wireless
communication systems (FWCS).We show that entire link layer protocols with
diverse requirements and responsibilities can be composed out of
reconfigurable and reusable components.We demonstrate this by designing and
implementinga novel concept termed Flexible Link Layer (FLL)
architecture.Through extensive simulations and practical experiments, we
evaluate a prototype of the suggested architecture in both
fixed-spectrumand dynamic spectrum access (DSA) networks.
FWCS are expected to overcome diverse challenges including the continual
growthin traffic volume and number of connected devices.Furthermore, they
are envisioned to support a widerange of new application requirements and
operating conditions.Technology trends, including smart homes,
communicating machines, and vehicularnetworks, will not only grow on a
scale that once was unimaginable, they will also become the predominant
communication paradigm, eventually surpassing today's human-produced
network traffic.
In order for this to become reality, today's systems have to evolve in many
ways.They have to exploit allocated resources in a more efficient and
energy-conscious manner.In addition to that, new methods for spectrum
access and resource sharingneed to be deployed.Having the diversification
of applications and network conditions in mind, flexibility at all layers
of a communication system is of paramount importance in order to meet the
desired goals.
However, traditional communication systems are often designed with specific
and distinct applications in mind. Therefore, system designers can tailor
communication systems according to fixedrequirements and operating
conditions, often resulting in highly optimized but inflexible
systems.Among the core problems of such design is the mix of data transfer
and management aspects.Such a combination of concerns clearly hinders the
reuse and extension of existing protocols.
To overcome this problem, the key idea explored in this dissertation is a
component-based design to facilitate the development of more flexible and
versatile link layer protocols.Specifically, the FLL architecture,
suggested in this dissertation, employs a generic, reconfigurable data
transfer protocol around which one or more complementary protocols, called
link layer applications, are responsible for management-related aspects of
the layer.
To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, we have designed
andimplemented a prototype of the FLL architecture on the basis ofa
reconfigurable software defined radio (SDR) testbed.Employing the SDR
prototype as well as computer simulations, thisdissertation describes
various experiments used to examine a range of link layerprotocols for both
fixed-spectrum and DSA networks.
This dissertation firstly outlines the challenges faced by FWCSand
describes DSA as a possible technology component for their construction.It
then specifies the requirements for future DSA systemsthat provide the
basis for our further considerations.We then review the background on link
layer protocols, surveyrelated work on the construction of flexible
protocol frameworks,and compare a range of actual link layer protocols and
algorithms.Based on the results of this analysis, we design, implement, and
evaluatethe FLL architecture and a selection of actual link layer
protocols.
We believe the findings of this dissertation add substantively to the
existing literature on link layer protocol design and are valuable for
theoreticians and experimentalists alike
Instrument and data analysis challenges for imaging spectropolarimetry
The next generation of solar telescopes will enable us to resolve the
fundamental scales of the solar atmosphere, i.e., the pressure scale height and
the photon mean free path. High-resolution observations of small-scale
structures with sizes down to 50 km require complex post-focus instruments,
which employ adaptive optics (AO) and benefit from advanced image restoration
techniques. The GREGOR Fabry-Perot Interferometer (GFPI) will serve as an
example of such an instrument to illustrate the challenges that are to be
expected in instrumentation and data analysis with the next generation of solar
telescopes.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Astronomische
Nachrichten/AN, special issue of the 1st EAST-ATST Workshop: "Science with
large solar telescopes" in Freiburg, Germany, October 14-16, 200
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