949 research outputs found
First ALMA Observation of a Solar Plasmoid Ejection from an X-ray Bright Point
Eruptive phenomena such as plasmoid ejections or jets are an important
feature of solar activity with the potential for improving our understanding of
the dynamics of the solar atmosphere. Such ejections are often thought to be
signatures of the outflows expected in regions of fast magnetic reconnection.
The 304 A EUV line of Helium, formed at around 10^5 K, is found to be a
reliable tracer of such phenomena, but the determination of physical parameters
from such observations is not straightforward. We have observed a plasmoid
ejection from an X-ray bright point simultaneously at millimeter wavelengths
with ALMA, at EUV wavelengths with AIA, in soft X-rays with Hinode/XRT. This
paper reports the physical parameters of the plasmoid obtained by combining the
radio, EUV and X-ray data. As a result, we conclude that the plasmoid can
consist either of (approximately) isothermal 10^5 K plasma that is optically
thin at 100 GHz, or else a 10^4 K core with a hot envelope. The analysis
demonstrates the value of the additional temperature and density constraints
that ALMA provides, and future science observations with ALMA will be able to
match the spatial resolution of space-borne and other high-resolution
telescopes.Comment: 10 page, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal
Letter. The movie can be seen at the following link:
http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/user/shimojo/data_area/plasmoid/movie5.mp
Evidence for a Common Representation of Decision Values for Dissimilar Goods in Human Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex
To make economic choices between goods, the brain needs to compute representations of their values. A great deal of research has been performed to determine the neural correlates of value representations in the human brain. However, it is still unknown whether there exists a region of the brain that commonly encodes decision values for different types of goods, or if, in contrast, the values of different types of goods are represented in distinct brain regions. We addressed this question by scanning subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they made real purchasing decisions among different categories of goods (food, nonfood consumables, and monetary gambles). We found activity in a key brain region previously implicated in encoding goal-values: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was correlated with the subjects' value for each category of good. Moreover, we found a single area in vmPFC to be correlated with the subjects' valuations for all categories of goods. Our results provide evidence that the brain encodes a "common currency" that allows for a shared valuation for different categories of goods
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Paradoxical Performance for Monetary Incentives Are Driven by Loss Aversion
Employers often make payment contingent on
performance in order to motivate workers. We used
fMRI with a novel incentivized skill task to examine
the neural processes underlying behavioral responses
to performance-based pay. We found that
individuals’ performance increased with increasing
incentives; however, very high incentive levels led
to the paradoxical consequence of worse performance.
Between initial incentive presentation and
task execution, striatal activity rapidly switched
between activation and deactivation in response
to increasing incentives. Critically, decrements in
performance and striatal deactivations were directly
predicted by an independent measure of behavioral
loss aversion. These results suggest that incentives
associated with successful task performance are
initially encoded as a potential gain; however, when
actually performing a task, individuals encode the
potential loss that would arise from failure
Multi-wavelength spectroscopic observation of EUV jet in AR 10960
We have studied the relationship between the velocity and temperature of a
solar EUV jet. The highly accelerated jet occurred in the active region NOAA
10960 on 2007 June 5. Multi-wavelength spectral observations with EIS/Hinode
allow us to investigate Doppler velocities at the wide temperature range. We
analyzed the three-dimensional angle of the jet from the stereoscopic analysis
with STEREO. Using this angle and Doppler velocity, we derived the true
velocity of the jet. As a result, we found that the cool jet observed with
\ion{He}{2} 256 \AA is accelerated to around which is over the upper limit of the chromospheric evaporation. The
velocities observed with the other lines are under the upper limit of the
chromospheric evaporation while most of the velocities of hot lines are higher
than that of cool lines. We interpret that the chromospheric evaporation and
magnetic acceleration occur simultaneously. A morphological interpretation of
this event based on the reconnection model is given by utilizing the
multi-instrumental observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Does the bonding rule break down in AsSe glass?
The local coordination numbers of AsSe glass were determined by a
combination of anomalous x-ray scattering experiments, reverse Monte Carlo
calculations, and {\it ab initio} molecular dynamics simulations. The
well-known `8- bonding rule' proposed by Mott breaks down around the As
atoms, exceeding the rule by 7--26%. An experimental prediction based on
mean-field theory agrees with the present experimental and theoretical results.
The fourfold coordinated As atoms likely form As-As wrong bond chains rather
than ethan-like configurations, which is identified as the origin for the
breakdown of the `8- bonding rule'.Comment: 6 pages, 6figures, 1table, submitted to Europhysics Letter
Frequency and Phase Synchronization in Neuromagnetic Cortical Responses to Flickering-Color Stimuli
In our earlier study dealing with the analysis of neuromagnetic responses
(magnetoencephalograms - MEG) to flickering-color stimuli for a group of
control human subjects (9 volunteers) and a patient with photosensitive
epilepsy (a 12-year old girl), it was shown that Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy
(FNS) was able to identify specific differences in the responses of each
organism. The high specificity of individual MEG responses manifested itself in
the values of FNS parameters for both chaotic and resonant components of the
original signal. The present study applies the FNS cross-correlation function
to the analysis of correlations between the MEG responses simultaneously
measured at spatially separated points of the human cortex processing the
red-blue flickering color stimulus. It is shown that the cross-correlations for
control (healthy) subjects are characterized by frequency and phase
synchronization at different points of the cortex, with the dynamics of
neuromagnetic responses being determined by the low-frequency processes that
correspond to normal physiological rhythms. But for the patient, the frequency
and phase synchronization breaks down, which is associated with the suppression
of cortical regulatory functions when the flickering-color stimulus is applied,
and higher frequencies start playing the dominating role. This suggests that
the disruption of correlations in the MEG responses is the indicator of
pathological changes leading to photosensitive epilepsy, which can be used for
developing a method of diagnosing the disease based on the analysis with the
FNS cross-correlation function.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures; submitted to "Laser Physics", 2010, 2
Dynamics and plasma properties of an X-ray jet from SUMER, EIS, XRT and EUVI A & B simultaneous observations
Small-scale transient phenomena in the quiet Sun are believed to play an
important role in coronal heating and solar wind generation. One of them named
as "X-ray jet" is the subject of our study. We indent to investigate the
dynamics, evolution and physical properties of this phenomenon. We combine
spatially and temporally multi-instrument observations obtained simultaneously
with the SUMER spectrometer onboard SoHO, EIS and XRT onboard Hinode, and
EUVI/SECCHI onboard the Ahead and Behind STEREO spacecrafts. We derive plasma
parameters such as temperatures and densities as well as dynamics by using
spectral lines formed in the temperature range from 10 000 K to 12 MK. We also
use image difference technique to investigate the evolution of the complex
structure of the studied phenomenon. With the available unique combination of
data we were able to establish that the formation of a jet-like event is
triggered by not one but several energy depositions which are most probably
originating from magnetic reconnection. Each energy deposition is followed by
the expulsion of pre-existing or new reconnected loops and/or collimated flow
along open magnetic field lines. We derived in great detail the dynamic process
of X-ray jet formation and evolution. We also found for the first time
spectroscopically in the quiet Sun a temperature of 12~MK and density of 4
10^10~cm^-3 in a reconnection site. We raise an issue concerning an uncertainty
in using the SUMER Mg X 624.9 A line for coronal diagnostics. We clearly
identified two types of up-flow: one collimated up-flow along open magnetic
field lines and a plasma cloud formed from the expelled BP loops. We also
report a cooler down-flow along closed magnetic field lines. A comparison is
made with a model developed by Moreno-Insertis \etal\ (2008).Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure
Neural components underlying subjective preferential decision making
The objectives of the current study were twofold: (i) to investigate the neural precursors of the formation of a subjective preference of facial stimuli, and (ii) to characterize the spatiotemporal brain activity patterns distinguishing between preferred and non-preferred faces. Multivariate EEG signals were recorded while participants made preference decisions, based on approachability, between two faces presented sequentially with unrestricted viewing time; the decision being made after presentation of the second face. The paired faces were similar in their physical properties, emphasizing the role of the subjective experience of the participants in making the decisions. EEG signals were analyzed in terms of event-related-potential (ERP) components and wavelet-based time-frequency-representations (TFR). The behavioural data showed that the presentation order and the exposure duration did not influence preference formation. The EEG data showed three effects. The earliest effect, the sustained posterior ERP positivity for preferred first faces as compared to non-preferred first faces, was found following the onset of the first face, and this was interpreted as the formation of a positive first impression of the first face. The two later effects following the second faces were an increase of frontal theta band oscillations around 500 ms for preferred second faces and of posterior gamma band oscillations around 650 ms for preferred first faces; both of which were interpreted as being related to the formation of a preference. All of these effects occurred well before the moment of conscious decision, thereby suggesting the implicitness of these neurally identifiable components
Observations of a rotating macrospicule associated with an X-ray jet
We attempt to understand the driving mechanism of a macrospicule and its
relationship with a coronal jet. We study the dynamics of a macrospicule and an
associated coronal jet captured by multi-spacecraft observations. Doppler
velocities both in the macrospicule and the coronal jet are determined by EIS
and SUMER spectra. Their temporal evolution is studied using X-ray and He II
304 images. A blueshift of -120+/-15 km/s is detected on one side of the
macrospicule, while a redshift of 50+/-6 km/s is found at the base of the other
side. The inclination angle of the macrospicule inferred from a stereoscopic
analysis with STEREO suggests that the measured Doppler velocities can be
attributed to a rotating motion of the macrospicule rather than a radial flow
or an expansion. The macrospicule is driven by the unfolding motion of a
twisted magnetic flux rope, while the associated X-ray jet is a radial outflow.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&
A First Comparison of Millimeter Continuum and Mg II Ultraviolet Line Emission from the Solar Chromosphere
We present joint observations of the Sun by the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Interface Region Imaging
Spectrograph (IRIS). The observations were made of a solar active region on
2015 December 18 as part of the ALMA science verification effort. A map of the
Sun's continuum emission of size was obtained by ALMA at a
wavelength of 1.25 mm (239 GHz) using mosaicing techniques. A contemporaneous
map of size was obtained in the Mg II h doublet line at
2803.5\AA\ by IRIS. Both mm/submm continuum emission and ultraviolet
(UV) line emission are believed to originate from the solar chromosphere and
both have the potential to serve as powerful and complementary diagnostics of
physical conditions in this poorly understood layer of the solar atmosphere.
While a clear correlation between mm- brightness temperature and
the Mg II h line radiation temperature is observed the slope is ,
perhaps as a result of the fact that these diagnostics are sensitive to
different parts of the chromosphere and/or the Mg II h line source function
includes a scattering component. There is a significant offset between the mean
(1.25 mm) and mean (Mg II), the former being
greater than the latter. Partitioning the maps into "sunspot", "quiet regions",
and "plage regions" we find that the slope of the scatter plots between the
IRIS Mg II h line and the ALMA brightness temperature is 0.4
(sunspot), 0.56 (quiet regions), and 0.66 (plage regions). We suggest that this
change may be caused by the regional dependence of the formation heights of the
IRIS and ALMA diagnostics, and/or the increased degree of coupling between the
UV source function and the local gas temperature in the hotter, denser gas in
plage regions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
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