Multi-wavelength correlation studies of diffuse emission from the Aquila Rift

We present a multi-wavelength correlation study of diffuse ultraviolet radiation using GALEX observations towards the Aquila Rift. Apart from airglow and zodiacal emissions, we find a diffuse background of \(1300\mbox{--} 3700~\mbox{ph}\,\mbox{cm}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\,\mbox{sr}^{-1}\,\mathring{\mathrm{A}}^{-1}\) in the far-ultraviolet (FUV, 1350–1750 Å) band and \(1300\mbox{--}2800~\mbox{ph}\,\mbox{cm}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\,\mbox{sr}^{-1}\,\mathring{\mathrm{A}}^{-1}\) in the near-ultraviolet (NUV, 1750–2850 Å) band. The observed diffuse UV emissions are saturated with total as well as neutral hydrogen column density in the region due to high optical depth in UV (\(\tau \), 0.91–23.38). Higher values of FUV/NUV ratio in the region, greater than the threshold value of 0.6, along with the positive correlation between the ratio and FUV intensity are due to excess emission in the FUV band which is absent in the NUV band. We estimated the excess emission to be in the range \(\sim 400\mbox{--} 2700~\mbox{ph}\,\mbox{cm}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\,\mbox{sr}^{-1}\,\mathring{\mathrm{A}}^{-1}\), plausibly due to H₂ fluorescence, ion line emissions and two-photon continuum emissions from the region in the FUV band, which also shows saturation in optically thick regions with N(H₂) as well as \(\mbox{H}\alpha \) emissions. Since N(H₂) and \(\mbox{H}\alpha \) emissions spread all over the region, the excess emission from the field is composite in nature and a detailed spectroscopic analysis is needed to disentangle the contribution from individual components.     

Dust color temperature distribution of two FIR cavities at IRIS and AKARI maps

By systematically searching the region of far infrared loops, we found a number of huge cavity-like dust structures at \(60\,\mu \hbox {m}\) and \(100\,\mu \hbox {m}\) IRIS maps. By checking these with AKARI maps (\(90\,\mu \hbox {m}\) and \(140\,\mu \hbox {m}\)), two new cavity-like structures (sizes \(\sim \) \( 2.7\,\hbox {pc} \times 0.8\,\hbox {pc}\) and \(\sim \) \( 1.8\,\hbox {pc} \times 1\,\hbox {pc}\)) located at R.A. (\(\hbox {J}2000)=14^{h}41^{m}23^{s}\) and Dec. \((\hbox {J}2000)=-64^{\circ }04^{\prime }17^{{\prime }{\prime }}\) and R.A. \((\hbox {J}2000)=05^{h}05^{m}35^{s}\) and Dec. \((\hbox {J}2000)=-\,69^{\circ }35^{\prime } 25^{{\prime }{\prime }}\) were selected for the study. The difference in the average dust color temperatures calculated using IRIS and AKARI maps of the cavity candidates were found to be \(3.2\pm 0.9\,\hbox {K}\) and \(4.1\pm 1.2\,\hbox {K}\), respectively. Interestingly, the longer wavelength AKARI map gives larger values of dust color temperature than that of the shorter wavelength IRIS maps. Possible explanation of the results will be presented.     

Addendum to: Strength of the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field – A Comparison of Independent Estimates Using Contemporaneous Radio and White-Light Observations

This addendum uses an alternate fit for the electron density distribution \(N(r)\) (see Figure 1) and estimates the coronal magnetic field using the new model. We find that the estimates of the magnetic field are in close agreement using both the models.

We have fit the \(N(r)\) distribution obtained from STEREO-A/COR1 and SOHO/LASCO-C2 using a fifth-order polynomial (see Figure 1). The expression can be written as

$$\begin{aligned} N_{\text{cor}}(r) &= 1.43 \times 10^{9} r^{-5} - 1.91 \times 10^{9} r^{-4} + 1.07 \times 10^{9} r^{-3} - 2.87 \times 10^{8} r^{-2} \\ &\quad {} + 3.76 \times 10^{7} r^{-1} - 1.91 \times 10^{6} , \end{aligned}$$

(1)

where \(N_{\text{cor}}(r)\) is in units of cm^?3 and \(r\) is in units of \(\mathrm{R}_{\odot}\). The background coronal electron density is enhanced by a factor of 5.5 at 2.63 \(\mathrm{R}_{\odot}\) during the coronal mass ejection (CME). The estimated coronal magnetic field strength (\(B\)) using radio data indicates that \(B(r) \approx(0.51\text{\,--\,}0.48) \pm 0.02\ \mathrm{G}\) in the range \(r \approx2.65\text{\, --\,}2.82\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\). The field strengths for STEREO-A/COR1 and SOHO/LASCO-C2 are ≈?0.32 G at \(r \approx 3.11\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\) and ≈?0.12 G at \(r \approx 4.40\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\), respectively.

     

Formation of Thorne–Żytkow objects in close binaries

Thorne–?ytkow objects (T?Os), originally proposed by Thorne and ?ytkow, may form as a result of unstable mass transfer in a massive X-ray binary after a neutron star (NS) is engulfed in the envelope of its companion star. Using a rapid binary evolution program and the Monte Carlo method, we simulated the formation of T?Os in close binary stars. The Galactic birth rate of T?Os is about \(1.5\times 10^{-4}~\hbox {yr}^{-1}\). Their progenitors may be composed of a NS and a main-sequence star, a star in the Hertzsprung gap or a core-helium burning, or a naked helium star. The birth rates of T?Os via the above different progenitors are \(1.7\times 10^{-5}\), \(1.2\times 10^{-4}\), \(0.7\times 10^{-5}\), \(0.6\times 10^{-5}~\hbox {yr}^{-1}\), respectively. These progenitors may be massive X-ray binaries. We found that the observational properties of three massive X-ray binaries (SMC X-1, Cen X-3 and LMC X-4) in which the companions of NSs may fill their Roche robes were consistent with those of their progenitors.     

The Poynting-Robertson effect in the Newtonian potential with a Yukawa correction

We consider a Yukawa-type gravitational potential combined with the Poynting-Robertson effect. Dust particles originating within the asteroid belt and moving on circular and elliptic trajectories are studied and expressions for the time rate of change of their orbital radii and semimajor axes, respectively, are obtained. These expressions are written in terms of basic particle parameters, namely their density and diameter. Then, they are applied to produce expressions for the time required by the dust particles to reach the orbit of Earth. For the Yukawa gravitational potential, dust particles of diameter \(10^{ - 3}\) m in circular orbits require times of the order of \(8.557 \times 10^{6}\) yr and for elliptic orbits of eccentricities \(e =0.1, 0.5\) require times of \(9.396 \times 10^{6}\) and \(2.129 \times 10^{6}\) yr respectively to reach Earth’s orbit. Finally, various cases of the Yukawa potential are studied and the corresponding particle times to reach Earth’s are derived per case along with numerical results for circular and various elliptical orbits.     

IRIS Observations of Spicules and Structures Near the Solar Limb

We have analyzed Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spectral and slit-jaw observations of a quiet region near the South Pole. In this article we present an overview of the observations, the corrections, and the absolute calibration of the intensity. We focus on the average profiles of strong (Mg?ii h and k, C?ii and Si?iv), as well as of weak spectral lines in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and the far ultraviolet (FUV), including the Mg?ii triplet, thus probing the solar atmosphere from the low chromosphere to the transition region. We give the radial variation of bulk spectral parameters as well as line ratios and turbulent velocities. We present measurements of the formation height in lines and in the NUV continuum from which we find a linear relationship between the position of the limb and the intensity scale height. We also find that low forming lines, such as the Mg?ii triplet, show no temporal variations above the limb associated with spicules, suggesting that such lines are formed in a homogeneous atmospheric layer and, possibly, that spicules are formed above the height of \(2''\). We discuss the spatio-temporal structure of the atmosphere near the limb from images of intensity as a function of position and time. In these images, we identify p-mode oscillations in the cores of lines formed at low heights above the photosphere, slow-moving bright features in O?i and fast-moving bright features in C?ii. Finally, we compare the Mg?ii k and h line profiles, together with intensity values of the Balmer lines from the literature, with computations from the PROM57Mg non-LTE model, developed at the Institut d’ Astrophysique Spatiale, and estimated values of the physical parameters. We obtain electron temperatures in the range of \({\sim}\, 8000~\mbox{K}\) at small heights to \({\sim}\, 20\,000~\mbox{K}\) at large heights, electron densities from \(1.1\times 10^{11}\) to \(4\times 10^{10}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) and a turbulent velocity of \({\sim}\, 24~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\).     

$$M_{\bullet } - \sigma $$ relation in spherical systems

To investigate the \(M_\bullet -\sigma \) relation, we consider realistic elliptical galaxy profiles that are taken to follow a single power-law density profile given by \(\rho (r) = \rho _{0}(r/ r_{0})^{-\gamma }\) or the Nuker intensity profile. We calculate the density using Abel’s formula in the latter case by employing the derived stellar potential; in both cases. We derive the distribution function f(E) of the stars in the presence of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center and hence compute the line-of-sight (LoS) velocity dispersion as a function of radius. For the typical range of values for masses of SMBH, we obtain \(M_{\bullet } \propto \sigma ^{p}\) for different profiles. An analytical relation \(p = (2\gamma + 6)/(2 + \gamma )\) is found which is in reasonable agreement with observations (for \(\gamma = 0.75{-}1.4\), \(p = 3.6{-}5.3\)). Assuming that a proportionality relation holds between the black hole mass and bulge mass, \(M_{\bullet } =f M_\mathrm{b}\), and applying this to several galaxies, we find the individual best fit values of p as a function of f; also by minimizing \(\chi ^{2}\), we find the best fit global p and f. For Nuker profiles, we find that \(p = 3.81 \pm 0.004\) and \(f = (1.23 \pm 0.09)\times 10^{-3}\) which are consistent with the observed ranges.     

Motion of the fast exoplanets

It is shown that a number of superfast, with periods \(< 2\) d, exoplanets revolve around parent stars with periods, near-commensurate with \(P_{E}\) and/or \(2 P_{E} / \pi\), where the exoplanet resonance timescale \(P_{E}=9603(85)\) s agrees fairly well with the period \(P_{0}= 9600.606(12)\) s of the so-called “cosmic oscillation” (the probability that the two timescales would coincide by chance is near \(3 \times10^{-4}\); the \(P_{0}\) period was discovered first in the Sun, and later on—in other objects of Cosmos). True nature of the exoplanet \(P_{0}\) resonance is unknown.     

The Na <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">i</Emphasis> and Sr <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> Resonance Lines in Solar Prominences

We estimate the electron density, \(n_{\mathrm{e}}\), and its spatial variation in quiescent prominences from the observed emission ratio of the resonance lines Na?i?5890 Å (D₂) and Sr?ii?4078 Å. For a bright prominence (\(\tau_{\alpha}\approx25\)) we obtain a mean \(n_{\mathrm{e}}\approx2\times10^{10}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\); for a faint one (\(\tau _{\alpha }\approx4\)) \(n_{\mathrm{e}}\approx4\times10^{10}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) on two consecutive days with moderate internal fluctuation and no systematic variation with height above the solar limb. The thermal and non-thermal contributions to the line broadening, \(T_{\mathrm{kin}}\) and \(V_{\mathrm{nth}}\), required to deduce \(n_{\mathrm{e}}\) from the emission ratio Na?i/Sr?ii cannot be unambiguously determined from observed widths of lines from atoms of different mass. The reduced widths, \(\Delta\lambda_{\mathrm{D}}/\lambda_{0}\), of Sr?ii?4078 Å show an excess over those from Na?D₂ and \(\mbox{H}\delta\,4101\) Å, assuming the same \(T_{\mathrm{kin}}\) and \(V_{\mathrm{nth}}\). We attribute this excess broadening to higher non-thermal broadening induced by interaction of ions with the prominence magnetic field. This is suggested by the finding of higher macro-shifts of Sr?ii?4078 Å as compared to those from Na?D₂.     

History of globulettes in the Milky Way

Globulettes are small (radii \({<} 10\) kAU) dark dust clouds, seen against the background of bright nebulae. A majority of the objects have planetary mass. These objects may be a source of brown dwarfs and free floating planetary mass objects in the galaxy. In this paper we investigate how many globulettes could have formed in the Milky Way and how they could contribute to the total population of free floating planets. In order to do that we examine H-alpha images of 27 H II regions. In these images, we find 778 globulettes.We find that a conservative value of the number of globulettes formed is \(5.7\times 10^{10}\). If 10% of the globulettes form free floating planets then they have contributed with \(5.7\times 10^{9}\) free floating planets in the Milky Way. A less conservative number of globulettes would mean that the globulettes could contribute \(2.0\times 10^{10}\) free floating planets. Thus the globulettes could represent a non-negligible source of free floating planets in the Milky Way.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">GALEX</Emphasis> far-ultraviolet observations of metal-poor subdwarfs

Far-ultraviolet photometry derived from the GALEX satellite observatory has been compiled for a sample of metal-poor subdwarfs with \(\mathrm{[Fe/H]} < -1.0\). The FUV properties of these subdwarfs are compared with those of a set of Population I dwarfs that are known to have low levels of chromospheric activity. Comparisons are made via a number of photometric plots, including an absolute FUV magnitude versus \((V-K_{s})\) diagram, two-colour diagrams involving both \((m_{ \mathrm{FUV}}-B)\) and \((m_{\mathrm{FUV}}-V)\) versus \(B-V\), and a two-colour diagram composed of \((m_{\mathrm{FUV}}-V)\) versus \((V-K_{s})\). The warmest subdwarfs with \((V-K_{s}) \sim1.2\mbox{--}1.4\) show FUV excesses ranging from \(\sim2\mbox{--}3~\mbox{mag}\) relative to the Population I dwarfs, with the amount of FUV enhancement decreasing among subdwarfs of decreasing effective temperature. The coolest dwarfs that are compared have \((V-K_{s}) \sim1.8\), and among these stars the subdwarfs with \(-2.0 \leq{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}} \leq-1.0\) approach the locus of low activity Population I dwarfs in the \((m_{\mathrm{FUV}}-V, V-K_{s})\) diagram. In the \((m_{\mathrm{FUV}}-B, B-V)\) diagram the subdwarfs in this metallicity range overlap the Population I dwarf sequence for \((B-V) > 0.6\). The behaviour of the subdwarfs is consistent with their FUV fluxes being determined by a combination of a photospheric FUV spectrum, the strength of which diminishes towards cooler effective temperatures, and a spectrum of emission lines arising from a chromosphere and/or transition region which are of comparable strength between the coolest dwarfs and subdwarfs.     

Measurement of coronal properties of Seyfert galaxies from NuSTAR’s hard X-ray spectrum

Precise measurement of the coronal properties of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) requires the availability of high signal-to-noise ratio data covering a wide range of X-ray energies. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) which is highly sensitive to earlier missions in its operational energy range of 3–79 keV, allows us to arrive at precise estimates of the coronal parameters such as cut-off energy (\(E_\mathrm{cut}\)), coronal temperature (\(\textit{kT}_e\)) and geometry of the corona at least for sources that have \(E_\mathrm{cut}\) within the energy range of NuSTAR. In this paper, we present our preliminary results on the spectral analysis of two Seyfert galaxies namely 3C 120 and NGC 4151 using NuSTAR observations in the 3–79 keV band. We investigated the continuum and coronal parameters, the photon index \(\Gamma \), \(E_\mathrm{cut}\) and \(\textit{kT}_{e}\). By fitting the X-ray spectrum of 3C 120 and NGC 4151 with a simple phenomenological model, we found that both the sources showed a clear cut-off in their spectrum.     

Density variation effect on multi-ions with kinetic Alfven wave around cusp region—a kinetic approach

The kinetic Alfven waves in the presence of homogeneous magnetic field plasma with multi-ions effect are investigated. The dispersion relation and normalised damping rate are derived for low-\(\beta\) plasma using kinetic theory. The effect of density variation of \(\text{H}^{+}\), \(\text{He}^{+}\) and \(\text{O}^{+}\) ions is observed on frequency and damping rate of the wave. The variation of frequency (\(\omega\)) and normalised damping rate (\(\gamma / \varOmega_{H^{ +}} \)) of the wave are studied with respect to \(k_{ \bot} \rho_{j}\), where \(k_{ \bot} \) is the perpendicular wave number, \(\rho_{j}\) is the ion gyroradius and \(j \) denotes \(\text{H}^{+}\), \(\text{He}^{+}\) and \(\text{O}^{+}\) ions. The variation with \(k_{ \bot} \rho_{j}\) is considered over wide range. The parameters appropriate to cusp region are used for the explanation of results. It is found that with hydrogen and helium ions gyration, the frequency of wave is influenced by the density variation of \(\text{H}^{+}\) and \(\text{He}^{+}\) ions but remains insensitive to the change in density of \(\text{O}^{+}\) ions. For oxygen ion gyration, the frequency of wave varies over a short range only for \(\text{O}^{+}\) ion density variation. The wave shows damping at lower altitude due to variation in density of lighter \(\text{H}^{+}\) and \(\text{He}^{+}\) ions whereas at higher altitude only heavy \(\text{O}^{+}\) ions contribute in wave damping. The damping of wave may be due to landau damping or energy transfer from wave to particles. The present study signifies that the both lighter and heavier ions dominate differently to change the characteristics of kinetic Alfven wave and density variation is also an important parameter to understand wave phenomena in cusp region.     

Establishing the Galactic Centre distance using VVV Bulge RR Lyrae variables

This study’s objective was to exploit infrared VVV (VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea) photometry for high latitude RRab stars to establish an accurate Galactic Centre distance. RRab candidates were discovered and reaffirmed (\(n=4194\)) by matching \(K_{s}\) photometry with templates via \(\chi ^{2}\) minimization, and contaminants were reduced by ensuring targets adhered to a strict period-amplitude (\(\Delta K_{s}\)) trend and passed the Elorietta et al. classifier. The distance to the Galactic Centre was determined from a high latitude Bulge subsample (\(|b|>4^{\circ}\), \(R_{\mathit{GC}}=8.30 \pm 0.36\) kpc, random uncertainty is relatively negligible), and importantly, the comparatively low color-excess and uncrowded location mitigated uncertainties tied to the extinction law, the magnitude-limited nature of the analysis, and photometric contamination. Circumventing those problems resulted in a key uncertainty being the \(M_{K_{s}}\) relation, which was derived using LMC RRab stars (\(M_{K_{s}}=-(2.66\pm 0.06) \log {P}-(1.03\pm 0.06)\), \((J-K_{s})_{0}=(0.31\pm 0.04) \log {P} + (0.35\pm 0.02)\), assuming \(\mu _{0,\mathit{LMC}}=18.43\)). The Galactic Centre distance was not corrected for the cone-effect. Lastly, a new distance indicator emerged as brighter overdensities in the period-magnitude-amplitude diagrams analyzed, which arise from blended RRab and red clump stars. Blending may thrust faint extragalactic variables into the range of detectability.     

Discovery of GeV gamma-ray emission from the LMC B0443-6657 with the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fermi</Emphasis> Large Area Telescope

We report the discovery of gamma-ray detection from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) B0443-6657 using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. LMC B0443-6657 is a flat-spectrum radio source, possibly associated with a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC N4). Employing the LAT data of 8 years, our results show a significant excess (\(>9.4\sigma \)) of gamma rays in the range of 0.2–100 GeV above the gamma-ray background. A power-law function is found to adequately describe the 0.2–\(100\mbox{ GeV}\)\(\gamma \)-ray spectrum, which yields a photon flux of \(3.27\pm 0.53\ \text{photon}\,\mbox{cm}^{2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) with a photon index of \(2.35\pm 0.11\), corresponding to an isotropic gamma-ray luminosity of \(5.3\times 10^{40}~\mbox{erg}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). The hadronic model predicts a low X-ray and TeV flux while the leptonic model predicts an observable flux in these two energy bands. The follow-up observations of the LMC B0443-6657 in X-ray or TeV band would distinguish the radiation models of gamma rays from this region.     

A Solar Stationary Type IV Radio Burst and Its Radiation Mechanism

A stationary Type IV (IVs) radio burst was observed on September 24, 2011. Observations from the Nançay RadioHeliograph (NRH) show that the brightness temperature (\(T_{\mathrm{B}}\)) of this burst is extremely high, over \(10^{11}\) K at 150 MHz and over \(10^{8}\) K in general. The degree of circular polarization (\(q\)) is between \(-60\% \sim -100\%\), which means that it is highly left-handed circularly polarized. The flux–frequency spectrum follows a power-law distribution, and the spectral index is considered to be roughly \(-3 \sim -4\) throughout the IVs. Radio sources of this event are located in the wake of the coronal mass ejection and are spatially dispersed. They line up to present a formation in which lower-frequency sources are higher. Based on these observations, it is suggested that the IVs was generated through electron cyclotron maser emission.     

The Most Intense Electron-Scale Current Sheets in the Solar Wind

Previous analysis of magnetohydrodynamic-scale currents in high-speed solar wind near 1 AU suggests that the most intense current-carrying structures occur at electron scales and are characterized by average current densities on the order of \(1~\mbox{pA}/\mbox{cm}^{2}\). Here, this prediction is verified by examining the effects of the measurement bandwidth and/or measurement resolution on the analysis of synthetic solar wind signals. Assuming Taylor’s hypothesis holds for the energetically dominant fluctuations at kinetic scales, the results show that when \(\nu_{c}\gg \nu_{b}\), where \(\nu_{c}\) is the measurement bandwidth and \(\nu_{b} \approx 1/3~\mbox{Hz}\) is the break frequency, the average scale of the most intense fluctuations in the current density proxy is approximately \(1/\nu_{c}\), and the average peak current density is a weakly increasing function that scales approximately like \(\nu_{c}^{0.1}\).     

Subsurface Zonal and Meridional Flow During Cycles 23 and 24

We study the solar-cycle variation of subsurface flows from the surface to a depth of 16 Mm. We have used ring-diagram analysis to analyze Dopplergrams obtained with the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) Dynamics Program, the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument. We combined the zonal and meridional flows from the three data sources and scaled the flows derived from MDI and GONG to match those from HMI observations. In this way, we derived their temporal variation in a consistent manner for Solar Cycles 23 and 24. We have corrected the measured flows for systematic effects that vary with disk positions. Using time-depth slices of the corrected subsurface flows, we derived the amplitudes and times of the extrema of the fast and slow zonal and meridional flows during Cycles 23 and 24 at every depth and latitude. We find an average difference between maximum and minimum amplitudes of \(8.6 \pm0.4~\mbox{m}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) for the zonal flows and \(7.9 \pm0.3~\mbox{m}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) for the meridional flows associated with Cycle 24 averaged over a depth range from 2 to 12 Mm. The corresponding values derived from GONG data alone are \(10.5 \pm0.3~\mbox{m}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) for the zonal and \(10.8 \pm0.3~\mbox{m}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) for the meridional flow. For Cycle 24, the flow patterns are precursors of the magnetic activity. The timing difference between the occurrence of the flow pattern and the magnetic one increases almost linearly with increasing latitude. For example, the fast zonal and meridional flow appear \(2.1 \pm 0.6\) years and \(2.5\pm 0.6\) years, respectively, before the magnetic pattern at \(30^{\circ}\) latitude in the northern hemisphere, while in the southern hemisphere, the differences are \(3.2 \pm 1.2\) years and \(2.6 \pm 0.6\) years. The flow patterns of Cycle 25 are present and have reached \(30^{\circ}\) latitude. The amplitude differences of Cycle 25 are about 22% smaller than those of Cycle 24, but are comparable to those of Cycle 23. Moreover, polynomial fits of meridional flows suggest that equatorward meridional flows (counter-cells) might exist at about \(80^{\circ}\) latitude except during the declining phase of the solar cycle.     

Role of primordial black holes in the direct collapse scenario of supermassive black hole formation at high redshifts

In this paper, we explore the possibility of accreting primordial black holes as the source of heating for the collapsing gas in the context of the direct collapse black hole scenario for the formation of super-massive black holes (SMBHs) at high redshifts, \(z\sim \) 6–7. One of the essential requirements for the direct collapse model to work is to maintain the temperature of the in-falling gas at \(\approx \)10\(^4\) K. We show that even under the existing abundance limits, the primordial black holes of masses \(\gtrsim \)10\(^{-2}M_\odot \), can heat the collapsing gas to an extent that the \(\mathrm{H}_2\) formation is inhibited. The collapsing gas can maintain its temperature at \(10^4\) K till the gas reaches a critical density \(n_{{c}} \,{\approx }\, 10^3~\hbox {cm}^{-3}\), at which the roto-vibrational states of \(\mathrm{H}_2\) approaches local thermodynamic equilibrium and \(\mathrm{H}_2\) cooling becomes inefficient. In the absence of \(\mathrm{H}_2\) cooling, the temperature of the collapsing gas stays at \(\approx \)10\(^4\) K even as it collapses further. We discuss scenarios of subsequent angular momentum removal and the route to find collapse through either a supermassive star or a supermassive disk.     

Analysis of a Failed Eclipse Plasma Ejection Using EUV Observations

The photometry of eclipse white-light (W-L) images showing a moving blob is interpreted for the first time together with observations from space with the PRoject for On Board Autonomy (PROBA-2) mission (ESA). An off-limb event seen with great details in W-L was analyzed with the SWAP imager (Sun Watcher using Active pixel system detector and image Processing) working in the EUV near 174 Å. It is an elongated plasma blob structure of 25 Mm diameter moving above the east limb with coronal loops under. Summed and co-aligned SWAP images are evaluated using a 20-h sequence, in addition to the 11 July, 2010 eclipse W-L images taken from several sites. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the event suggesting a magnetic reconnection near a high neutral point; accordingly, we also call it a magnetic plasmoid. The measured proper motion of the blob shows a velocity up to \(12~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). Electron densities of the isolated condensation (cloud or blob or plasmoid) are photometrically evaluated. The typical value is \(10^{8}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) at \(r=1.7~\mathrm{R}_{\odot}\), superposed on a background corona of \(10^{7}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) density. The mass of the cloud near its maximum brightness is found to be \(1.6\times10^{13}\) g, which is typically \(0.6\times10^{-4}\) of the overall mass of the corona. From the extrapolated magnetic field the cloud evolves inside a rather broad open region but decelerates, after reaching its maximum brightness. The influence of such small events for supplying material to the ubiquitous slow wind is noticed. A precise evaluation of the EUV photometric data, after accurately removing the stray light, suggests an interpretation of the weak 174 Å radiation of the cloud as due to resonance scattering in the Fe IX/X lines.