Optimized running conditions and sensitivity for direction sensitive detectors of WIMP dark matter

Optimum fill pressures for direction-sensitive dark matter detectors based on tracking in gases are considered. Given the minimum resolvable track length and the gas fill, the Lindhard–Scharf stopping model leads to the existence of an optimum pressure which maximizes the specific event rate R (event rate per unit detector volume). In addition, maximizing the detectibility of the recoil nucleus diurnal asymmetry is considered. Optimum fill pressures are calculated for Ar, CF₄, CS₂ and Xe gas fills, as a function of the WIMP mass and the minimum resolvable track length. The associated minimum target volumes required to achieve currently competitive WIMP-nucleon cross-section sensitivity are also calculated. The standard isothermal sphere model of the galactic WIMP halo is used throughout, but the method could be extended to use any desired WIMP distribution function.     

Observation of saturnian stream particles in the interplanetary space

In January 2004 the dust instrument on the Cassini spacecraft detected the first high-velocity grain expelled from Saturn - a so-called stream particle. Prior to Cassini’s arrival at Saturn in July 2004 the instrument registered 801 faint impacts, whose impact signals showed the characteristic features of a high-velocity impact by a tiny grain. The impact rates as well as the directionality of the stream particles clearly correlate with the sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) registered stream particles dominantly during periods when the IMF direction was tangential to the solar wind flow and in the prograde direction. This finding provides clear evidence for a continuous outflow of tiny dust grains with similar properties from the saturnian system. Within the compressed part of co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) of the IMF, characterized by enhanced magnetic field strength and compressed solar wind plasma, CDA observed impact bursts of faster stream particles. We find that the bursts result from the stream particles being sped up inside the compressed CIR regions. Our analysis of the stream-particle dynamics inside rarefaction regions of the IMF implies that saturnian stream particles have sizes between 2 and 9 nm and exit the saturnian systems closely aligned with the planet’s ring plane with speeds in excess of 70 km s⁻¹.     

Search for Phobos and Deimos gas/dust tori using in situ observations from Mars Global Surveyor MAG/ER

More than 490 elliptical aerobraking and science phasing orbits made by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in 1997 and 1998 provide unprecedented coverage of the solar wind in the vicinity of the orbits of the martian moons Phobos and Deimos. We have performed a comprehensive survey of magnetic field perturbations in the solar wind to search for possible signatures of solar wind interaction with dust or gas escaping from the moons. A total of 1246 solar wind disturbance events were identified and their distribution was examined relative to Phobos, the Phobos orbit, and the Deimos orbit. We find that the spatial distribution of solar wind perturbations does not increase near or downstream of Phobos, Phobos’ orbit, or Deimos’ orbit, which would have been expected if there is significant outgassing or dust escape from the martian moons. Of the 1246 magnetic field perturbation events found in the MGS data set, 11 events were found within 2000 km of the Phobos orbit, while three events were found within 2000 km of the Deimos orbit. These events were analyzed in detail and found to likely have other causes than outgassing/dust escape from the martian moons. Thus we conclude that the amount of gas/dust escaping the martian moons is not significant enough to induce detectable magnetic field perturbations in the solar wind. In essence we have not found any clear evidence in the MGS magnetic field data for outgassing or dust escape from the martian moons.     

Preservation potential of implanted solar wind volatiles in lunar paleoregolith deposits buried by lava flows

The lunar surface is bathed in a variety of impacting particles originating from the solar wind, solar flares, and galactic cosmic rays. These particles can become embedded in the regolith and/or produce a range of other molecules as they pass through the target material. The Moon therefore contains a record of the variability of the solar and galactic particle fluxes through time. To obtain useful temporal snapshots of these processes, discrete regolith units must be shielded from continued bombardment that would rewrite the record over time. One mechanism for achieving this preservation is the burial of a regolith deposit by a later lava flow. The archival value of such deposits sandwiched between lava layers is enhanced by the fact that both the under- and over-lying lava can be dated by radiometric techniques, thereby precisely defining the age of the regolith layer and the geologic record contained therein. The implanted volatile species would be vulnerable to outgassing by the heat of the over-lying flow, at temperatures exceeding 300-700 °C. However, the insulating properties of the finely particulate regolith would restrict significant heating to shallow depths. We have therefore modeled the heat transfer between lunar mare basalt lavas and the regolith in order to establish the range of depths below which implanted volatiles would be preserved. We find that the full suite of solar wind volatiles, consisting predominantly of H and He, would survive at depths of ∼13-290 cm (for 1-10 m thick lava flows, respectively). A substantial amount of CO, CO₂, N₂ and Xe would be preserved at depths as shallow as 3.7 cm beneath meter-thick flows. Given typical regolith accumulation rates during mare volcanism, the optimal localities for collecting viable solar wind samples would involve stacks of thin mare lava flows emplaced a few tens to a few hundred Ma apart, in order for sufficient regolith to develop between burial events. Obtaining useful archives of Solar System processes would therefore require extraction of regolith deposits buried at quite shallow depths beneath radiometrically-dated mare lava flows. These results provide a basis for possible lunar exploration activities.     

Alfven Wave Reflection model of field-aligned currents at Mercury

An Alfven Wave Reflection (AWR) model is proposed that provides closure for strong field-aligned currents (FACs) driven by the magnetopause reconnection in the magnetospheres of planets having no significant ionospheric and surface electrical conductance. The model is based on properties of the Alfven waves, generated at high altitudes and reflected from the low-conductivity surface of the planet. When magnetospheric convection is very slow, the incident and reflected Alfven waves propagate along approximately the same path. In this case, the net field-aligned currents will be small. However, as the convection speed increases, the reflected wave is displaced relatively to the incident wave so that the incident and reflected waves no longer compensate each other. In this case, the net field-aligned current may be large despite the lack of significant ionospheric and surface conductivity. Our estimate shows that for typical solar wind conditions at Mercury, the magnitude of Region 1-type FACs in Mercury’s magnetosphere may reach hundreds of kilo-Amperes. This AWR model of field-aligned currents may provide a solution to the long-standing problem of the closure of FACs in the Mercury’s magnetosphere.     

Scientific Objectives of China-Russia Joint Mars Exploration Program YH-1

Compared with other planets, Mars is a planet most similar with the earth and most possible to find the extraterrestrial life on it, and therefore especially concerned about by human beings. In recent years, some countries have launched Mars probes and announced their manned Mars exploration programs. China has become the fifth country in the world to launch independently artificial satellites, and the third country able to carry out an independent manned space program. However, China is just at the beginning of deep space explorations. In 2007, China and Russia signed an agreement on a joint Mars exploration program by sending a Chinese micro-satellite Yinghuo-1 (YH-1) to the Mars orbit. Once YH-1 enters its orbit, it will carry out its own exploration, as well as the joint exploration with the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe. This paper summarizes the scientific background and objectives of YH-1 and describes briefly its payloads for realizing these scientific objectives. In addition, the main exploration tasks of YH-1 and a preliminary prospect on its exploration results are also given.     

El Niño and decadal effects on sea‐level variability in northern New Zealand: A wavelet analysis

Sea‐level data from two sites in northern New Zealand, along with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), are analysed for interannual and decadal variability using wavelets. The analysis shows, using statistically significant wavelet power, there is a significant relationship between mean sea level (MSL) and SOI. However, the relationship is highly variable, both in magnitude and in the range of time‐scales over which it occurs. This non‐stationarity necessitates the use of techniques such as wavelets for analysis. An interdecadal response in MSL around northern New Zealand has been isolated, with shifts occurring in 1950 and the late 1970s. This behaviour in MSL appears to coincide with shifts in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, thought previously to be largely centred in the North Pacific. A strong correlation between SOI and sea surface temperature (SST) is also demonstrated. This relationship appears to be stable in magnitude (a large change in SOI produces a large change in SST) and to occur over the same range of time‐scales. More SST and MSL data are required for other parts of New Zealand to determine whether these findings apply elsewhere.     

Rainfall effect on wind waves and the turbulence beneath air-sea interface

Rainfall effects on wind waves and turbulence are investigated through the laboratory experiments in a large wind-wave tank. It is found that the wind waves are damped as a whole at low wind speeds, but are enhanced at high wind speeds. This dual effect of rain on the wind waves increases with the increase of rain rate, while the influence of rainfall-area length is not observable. At the low wind speed, the corresponding turbulence in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy （TKE） dissipation rate is significantly enhanced by rain- fall as the waves are damped severely. At the high wind speed, the augment of the TKE dissipation rate is suppressed while the wind waves are enhanced simultaneously. In the field, however, rainfall usually hin- ders the development of waves. In order to explain this contradiction of rainfall effect on waves, a possibility about energy transfer from turbulence to waves in case of the spectral peak of waves overlapping the inertial subrange of turbulence is assumed. It can be applied to interpret the damping phenomenon of gas trans- fer velocity in the laboratory experiments, and the variation of the TKE dissipation rates near sea surface compared with the law of wall.     

First six months quality assessment of HY-2A SCAT wind products using in situ measurements

The first Chinese microwave ocean environment satellite HY-2A, carrying a Ku-band scatteromenter （SCAT）, was successfully launched in August 2011. The first quality assessment of HY-2A SCAT wind products is presented through the comparison of the first 6 months operationally released SCAT products with in situ data. The in situ winds from the National Data Buoy Center （NDBC） buoys, R/V Polarstern, Aurora Australis, Roger Revelle and PY30-1 oil platform, were converted to the 10 m equivalent neutral winds. The temporal and spatial differences between the HY-2A SCAT and the in situ observations were limited to less than 5 min and 12.5 km. For HY-2A SCAT wind speed products, the comparison and analysis using the NDBC buoys yield a bias of-0.49 m/s, a root mean square error （RMSE） of 1.3 m/s and an increase negative bias with increasing wind speed observation above 3 m/s. Although less accurate of HY-2A SCAT wind direction at low winds, the RMSE of 19.19° with a bias of 0.92° is found for wind speeds higher than 3 m/s. These results are found consistent with those from R/Vs and oil platform comparisons. Moreover, the NDBC buoy comparison results also suggest that the accuracy of HY-2A SCAT winds is consistent over the first half year of 2012. The encouraging assessment results over the first 6 months show that wind products from HY-2A SCAT will be useful for scientific community.     

Simulation of wind-induced near-inertial oscillations in a mixed layer near the east coast of Korea in the East/Japan Sea

Using a simple damped slab model,it was possible to show that a local wind induced 88%(15 of 17)of the near-inertial oscillations(NIO)observed in the mixed layer near the east coast of Korea from 1999 to 2004.The model,however,overestimated the energy level in about two-thirds of the simulated cases,because the slab model was forced with winds whose characteristic period was shorter than the damping time scale of the model at 1.5 d.At the observation site,due to typhoons and orographic effects,high-frequency wind forcing is quite common,as is the overestimation of the energy level in the slab model results.In short,a simple slab model with a damping time-scale of about 1.5 d would be enough to show that the local wind was the main energy source of the near-inertial energy in this area,but the model could not be used to accurately estimate the amount of the work done by the wind to the mixed layer.