On the convective mechanism for formation of the plasma sheet in the magnetospheric tail

Calculation of stationary distributions of the most important plasma parameters (particle energy, density, field-aligned and transversal pressure) is performed for a model magnetotail plasma sheet which is formed by convecting plasma mantle particles injected into the closed geomagnetic field line tubes. Computations have been done for two convection models: (i) a model of completely adiabatic particle motion with conservation of the first two invariants and (ii) a model with a strong pitch-angle diffusion which maintains isotropy. It is found that in both cases the heating and compression of the plasma are somewhat more effective than is necessary to account for the observed gradients of magnetic field in the magnetospheric tail. A leakage of accelerated particles through the dawn and dusk edges of the plasma sheet is proposed as a possible mechanism for maintenance of stationary convection in the magnetotail. The question of the dependence of the stationary magnetotail parameters on the solar wind state is discussed briefly.     

A calculation of the Rosseland mean opacity of dust grains in primordial solar system nebulae

The Rosseland mean opacity was determined for an ensemble of dust grain species though to have been present in the early solar nebula, as well as in the primordial nebulae that helped to form the outer planets. In performing these calculations, we have derived and used more general equation for the Rosseland opacity that allows for anisotropic scattering. The identity of the major particle species and their relative abundances were found from thermodynamic equilibrium and solar elemental abundances. The optical constants of these materials were defined at wavelengths ranging from near-UV to the radio domain. Calculations were performed for a very wide range of particle size distributions, including a nominal one based on that of interstellar dust grains. In addition, asymptotic expressions for the Rosseland opacity are derived in the limits of very small and very large sized particles. Results are presented for nebular temperatures varying from 10 to 2500°K and for nebular gas densities varying from 10^?14 to 1 g/cm³. The values of the Rosseland mean opacity do not depend sensitively on the choice of the particle size distribution function, provided that there are few particles having sizes in excess of several tens of microns. At low temperatures that lie within the stability field of condensed water (?200°K), this opacity varies approximately as the square of the temperature for the nominal size distribution and for all distributions having few particles larger than several tens of microns. However, the Rosseland opacity has a much weaker temperature dependence at higher temperatures for this class of size distributions and at all temperatures for size distributions containing numerous particles larger than several tens of microns. As a result, thermal convection in primordial nebulae occurs over broader ranges of altitudes at low temperatures and for size distributions for which extensive aggregation has not yet occurred.     

Saturn's rings: Particle composition and size distribution as constrained by observations at microwave wavelengths: II. Radio interferometric observations

The sizes, composition, and number of particles comprising the rings of Saturn may be meaningfully constrained by a combination of radar- and radio-astronomical observations. In a previous paper, we have discussed constraints obtained from radar observations. In this paper, we discuss the constraints imposed by complementary “passive” radio observations at similar wavelengths. First, we present theoretical models of the brightness of Saturn's rings at microwave wavelengths (0.34–21.0 cm), including both intrinsic ring emission and diffuse scattering by the rings of the planetary emission. The models are accurate simulations of the behavior of realistic ring particles and are parameterized only by particle composition and size distribution, and ring optical depth. Second, we have reanalyzed several previously existing sets of interferometric observations of the Saturn system at 0.83-, 3.71-, 6.0-, 11.1-, and 21.0-cm wavelengths. These observations all have spatial resolution sufficient to resolve the rings and planetary disk, and most have resolution sufficient to resolve the ring-occulted region of the disk as well. Using our ring models and a realistic model of the planetary brightness distribution, we are able to establish improved constraints on the properties of the rings. In particular, we find that: (a) the maximum optical depth in the rings is ～ 1.5 ± 0.3 referred to visible wavelengths; (b) a significant decrease in ring optical depth from λ3.7 to λ21.0 cm allows us to rule out the possibility that more than ～30% of the cross section of the rings is composed of particles larger than a meter or so; this assertion is essentially independent of uncertainties in particle adsorption coefficient; and (c) the ring particles cannot be primarily of silicate composition, independently of particle size, and the particles cannot be primarily smaller than ～0.1 cm, independently of composition.     

Detection of submillimeter size particles in the inner coma of a comet through their forward scattering

During the occultation of a star by the inner coma region of a comet, specific forward-scattering effects could be observable if submillimeter size particles contribute significantly to the net extinction of star light. In this paper we investigate the possibility of detecting the signature of such particles by observing the dependence of extinction on the angular size of the acceptance aperture used at the focal plane of the telescope. Calculations based on a simple model assuming spherically-symmetric and homogeneous coma are presented.     

A non-parametric approach to infer the energy spectrum and the mass composition of cosmic rays

The experiment KASCADE observes simultaneously the electron–photon, muon, and hadron components of high-energy extensive air showers (EAS). The analysis of EAS observables for an estimate of energy and mass of the primary particle invokes extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the EAS development for preparing reference patterns. The present studies utilize the air shower simulation code corsika with the hadronic interaction models VENUS, QGSJet and Sibyll, including simulations of the detector response and efficiency. By applying non-parametric techniques the measured data have been analyzed in an event-by-event mode and the mass and energy of the EAS inducing particles are reconstructed. Special emphasis is given to methodical limitations and the dependence of the results on the hadronic interaction model used. The results obtained from KASCADE data reproduce the knee in the primary spectrum, but reveal a strong model dependence. Owing to the systematic uncertainties introduced by the hadronic interaction models no strong change of chemical composition can be claimed in the energy range around the knee.     

High altitude Venus haze from Pioneer Venus limb scans

High vertical resolution scans of the Venus limb made by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter Cloud Photopolarimeter at 365 nm and 690 nm wavelengths are used to investigate the level of the haze top, and haze particle properties and scale height. Haze particle vertical optical depth 0.01 occurs at altitude 80 to 85 km based on knowledge of instrument pointing. The lowest haze tops were observed close to subsolar longitudes but the data set supports a longitude dependence no more than a temporal variation. Single scattering computations for a spherical shell atmosphere show good agreement with observed intensities for particles smaller than 0.3 μm radius and refractive index less than 1.7, consistent with, but not limited to, concentrated sulfuric acid. Particle scale height in the 0.5 to 2 mbar pressure regions varies between 1 and 3 km over the season (12 of 92 days), latitude (15–45°N), and local time (0900–1800) ranges of the observations. Detached layers of haze are sometimes present. An average particle scale height of 2.2 km at 84 km altitude yields an eddy diffusion coefficient of 1.3 × 10⁵ cm² sec^?1.     

Evidence that Synchrotron Emission from Nonthermal Electrons Produces the Increasing Submillimeter Spectral Component in Solar Flares

We investigate the origin of the increasing spectra observed at submillimeter wavelengths detected in the flare on 2 November 2003 starting at 17:17 UT. This flare, classified as an X8.3 and 2B event, was simultaneously detected by RHESSI and the Solar Submillimeter Telescope (SST) at 212 and 405 GHz. Comparison of the time profiles at various wavelengths shows that the submillimeter emission resembles that of the high-energy X rays observed by RHESSI whereas the microwaves observed by the Owens Valley Solar Array (OVSA) resemble that of ∼50 keV X rays. Moreover, the centroid position of the submillimeter radiation is seen to originate within the same flaring loops of the ultraviolet and X-ray sources. Nevertheless, the submillimeter spectra are distinct from the usual microwave spectra, appearing to be a distinct spectral component with peak frequency in the THz range. Three possibilities to explain this increasing radio spectra are discussed: (1) gyrosynchrotron radiation from accelerated electrons, (2) bremsstrahlung from thermal electrons, and (3) gyrosynchrotron emission from the positrons produced by pion or radioactive decay after nuclear interactions. The latter possibility is ruled out on the grounds that to explain the submillimeter observations requires 3000 to 2×10⁵ more positrons than what is inferred from X-ray and γ-ray observations. It is possible to model the emission as thermal; however, such sources would produce too much flux in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray wavelengths. Nevertheless we are able to explain both spectral components at microwave and submillimeter wavelengths by gyrosynchrotron emission from the same population of accelerated electrons that emit hard X rays and γ rays. We find that the same 5×10³⁵ electrons inferred from RHESSI observations are responsible for the compact submillimeter source (0.5 arcsec in radius) in a region of 4500 G low in the atmosphere, and for the traditional microwave spectral component by a more extended source (50 arcsec) in a 480 G magnetic field located higher up in the loops. The extreme values in magnetic field and source size required to account for the submillimeter emission can be relaxed if anisotropy and transport of the electrons are taken into account.     

Chemical evolution of galaxies – I. A composition-dependent SPH model for chemical evolution and cooling

We describe an smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model for chemical enrichment and radiative cooling in cosmological simulations of structure formation. This model includes: (i) the delayed gas restitution from stars by means of a probabilistic approach designed to reduce the statistical noise and, hence, to allow for the study of the inner chemical structure of objects with moderately high numbers of particles; (ii) the full dependence of metal production on the detailed chemical composition of stellar particles by using, for the first time in SPH codes, the   Q _ij   matrix formalism that relates each nucleosynthetic product to its sources and (iii) the full dependence of radiative cooling on the detailed chemical composition of gas particles, achieved through a fast algorithm using a new metallicity parameter ζ( T ) that gives the weight of each element on the total cooling function. The resolution effects and the results obtained from this SPH chemical model have been tested by comparing its predictions in different problems with known theoretical solutions. We also present some preliminary results on the chemical properties of elliptical galaxies found in self-consistent cosmological simulations. Such simulations show that the above ζ-cooling method is important to prevent an overestimation of the metallicity-dependent cooling rate, whereas the   Q _ij   formalism is important to prevent a significant underestimation of the [α/Fe] ratio in simulated galaxy-like objects.     

Diffusion and dispersion in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence: The influence of mean magnetic fields

The properties of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence under the influence of a strong mean magnetic field are investigated from the Lagrangian viewpoint by tracking fluid particles in direct numerical simulations. The particle trajectories show characteristic bends near vortex sheets. A strong mean magnetic field leads to preferential diffusion parallel to the mean magnetic field. The two‐particle relative dispersion process shows a dependence on the orientation of the initial separation vector. The relative dispersion is slowed down for initial separation vectors aligned with the mean magnetic field. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Optical properties of aerosols in Titan's atmosphere

In the frame of fractal modeling of tholin aggregates we made a systematic analysis of their optical properties. Ballistic particle-cluster aggregation (BPCA) and diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) of spherical primary particles (monomers) identical in material composition were considered. Aggregates composed of identical particles (monodisperse cluster), as well as of size-distributed particles (polydisperse cluster), were simulated. To calculate the light-scattering models, the code based on the superposition T-matrix method is used. Orientationally averaged properties of light scattering by model particles were extracted, and the normalized phase function and the degree of linear polarization were calculated as functions of scattering angle. We concluded that: (a) aggregation mechanism as well as specific internal structure of the clusters play only a minor role, and for the future it is not necessary to investigate aggregates of different types; (b) the intensity is very sensitive both to the size parameter of forming particles x and to the size parameter of the aggregates X; (c) characterization of the aggregates by the number of monomers is insufficient to retrieve physical properties of aggregates from optical measurement; and (d) it is very desirable to include into the analysis polarization data calculated for the different clusters.     

Mission Concept for the Single Aperture Far-Infrared (SAFIR) Observatory

The Single Aperture Far-InfraRed (SAFIR) Observatory’s science goals are driven by the fact that the earliest stages of almost all phenomena in the universe are shrouded in absorption by and emission from cool dust and gas that emits strongly in the far-infrared (40μ–200μ) and submillimeter (200μ–1 mm). In the very early universe, the warm gas of newly collapsing, unenriched galaxies will be revealed by molecular hydrogen emission lines at these long wavelengths. High redshift quasars are found to have substantial reservoirs of cool gas and dust, indicative of substantial metal enrichment early in the history of the universe. As a result, even early stages of galaxy formation will show powerful far-infrared emission. The combination of strong dust emission and large redshift (1 < z < 7) of these galaxies means that they can only be studied in the far-infrared and submillimeter. For nearby galaxies, many of the most active galaxies in the universe appear to be those whose gaseous disks are interacting in violent collisions. The details of these galaxies, including the effect of the central black holes that probably exist in most of them, are obscured to shorter wavelength optical and ultraviolet observatories by the large amounts of dust in their interstellar media. Within our own galaxy, the earliest stages of star formation, when gas and dust clouds are collapsing and the beginnings of a central star are taking shape, can only be observed in the far-infrared and submillimeter. The cold dust that ultimately forms the planetary systems, as well as the cool “debris” dust clouds that indicate the likelihood of planetary sized bodies around more developed stars, can only be observed at wavelengths longward of 20μ. Over the past several years, there has been an increasing recognition of the critical importance of the far-infrared to submillimeter spectral region to addressing fundamental astrophysical problems, ranging from cosmological questions to understanding how our own Solar System came into being. The development of large, far-infrared telescopes in space has become more feasible with the combination of developments for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of enabling breakthroughs in detector technology. We have developed a preliminary but comprehensive mission concept for SAFIR, as a 10 m-class far-infrared and submillimeter observatory that would begin development later in this decade to meet the needs outlined above. Its operating temperature (≤4 K) and instrument complement would be optimized to reach the natural sky confusion limit in the far-infrared with diffraction-limited performance down to at least the atmospheric cutoff, λ {>rsim} 40 {μ}. This would provide a point source sensitivity improvement of several orders of magnitude over that of the Spitzer Space Telescope (previously SIRTF) or the Herschel Space Observatory. Additionally, it would have an angular resolution 12 times finer than that of Spitzer and three times finer than Herschel. This sensitivity and angular resolution are necessary to perform imaging and spectroscopic studies of individual galaxies in the early universe. We have considered many aspects of the SAFIR mission, including the telescope technology (optical design, materials, and packaging), detector needs and technologies, cooling method and required technology developments, attitude and pointing, power systems, launch vehicle, and mission operations. The most challenging requirements for this mission are operating temperature and aperture size of the telescope, and the development of detector arrays. SAFIR can take advantage of much of the technology under development for JWST, but with much less stringent requirements on optical accuracy.     

Radiation pressure on dust aggregates in circumstellar disks

We apply the ballistic particle-cluster and cluster-cluster aggregation of spherical monomers identical in size and material composition to study the effect of the particle's shape and structure on the radiation pressure force acting on circumstellar dust particles. Furthermore, the influence of the material composition on the radiation pressure is investigated based on the assumption that the constituents of dust aggregates are composed of either silicate or carbon.We show that the ratio of radiation pressure to stellar gravity in the radial direction from a star is weaker for aggregates than for homogeneous spherical grains in the radius range of submicron or less. Therefore fluffy dust particles of submicron radius have a longer dynamical lifetime, compared to compact spherical particles. We also show that the nonradial component of the radiation pressure force can reach the same order of magnitude as the radial component of the radiation pressure reduced by stellar gravity for aggregates of submicron or less in size. This non-radial component of the radiation pressure may yield a component of random motion along the trajectories of the particles.     

Diffusive propagation of fast particles in the presence of a moving shock wave

Based on an analytical model, we determined the temporal dynamics of the spectral shape and spatial distribution of the particles that were impulsively (in time) injected with a specified spectrum in the vicinity of a moving plane shock front. We obtained a condition to determine the influence of the shock front on the particle propagation, where the spatial diffusion coefficient of the particles plays a major role. Diffusive shock acceleration is shown to strongly affect low-energy particles (the intensity maximum coincides spatially with the shock front; hard and soft spectral regions are formed in the spectrum) and weakly affect high-energy particles (the time at which the intensity reaches its maximum is well ahead of the shock arrival time; the spectral shape does not change). In events accompanied by a significant increase in the turbulence level, the influence of the shock front on high-energy particles can change from weak to strong. This change shows up in the spatial distribution and spectral shape of the particles. The dynamics of the particle intensity, calculated with the diffusion coefficients that were determined in accordance with the quasi-linear theory for measured turbulence levels, qualitatively corresponds to the observed solar energetic-particle intensity.     

A nonlinear theory of stellar wind with allowance for the influence of relativistic particles

We solve the nonlinear problem of the dynamics of a steady-state, spherically symmetric stellar wind by taking into account particle acceleration to relativistic energies near the shock front. The particles are assumed to be accelerated through the Fermi mechanism, interacting with stellar-wind turbulence and crossing many times the shock front that separates the supersonic and subsonic stellar-wind regions. We take into account the influence of the accelerated particles on hydrodynamic plasma-flow parameters. Our method allows all hydrodynamic parameters of the shock front and plasma in the supersonic region to be determined in a self-consistent way and the accelerated-particle energy spectrum to be calculated. Our numerical and analytic calculations show that the plasma compression ratio at the shock front increases compared to the case where there are no relativistic particles and that the velocity profile in the supersonic region acquires a characteristic kink. The shape of the energy spectrum for the accelerated particles and their pressure near the front are essentially determined by the presumed dependence of the diffusion coefficient on particle energy, which, in turn, depends on the scale distribution of turbulent pulsations and other stellar-wind inhomogeneities.     

Shapes of clusters and groups of galaxies: comparison of model predictions with observations

We study the properties of the three-dimensional and projected shapes of haloes using high-resolution numerical simulations and observational data where the latter comes from the 2PIGG [2dFGRS (2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey) Percolation Inferred Galaxy Groups] and Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR3GC) group catalogues. We investigate the dependence of the halo shape on characteristics such as mass and number of members. In the three-dimensional case, we find a significant correlation between the mass and the halo shape; massive systems are more prolate than small haloes. We detect a source of strong systematics in estimates of the triaxiality of a halo, which is found to be a strong function of the number of members; Lambda cold dark matter haloes usually characterized by triaxial shapes, slightly bent towards prolate forms, appear more oblate when taking only a small subset of the halo particles.
The ellipticities of observed 2PIGG and SDSS-DR3GC groups are found to be strongly dependent on the number of group members, so that poor groups appear more elongated than rich ones. However, this is again an artefact caused by poor statistics and not an intrinsic property of the galaxy groups, nor an effect from observational biases. We interpret these results with the aid of a GALFORM (Cole et al.) mock 2PIGG catalogue. When comparing the group ellipticities in mock and real catalogues, we find an excellent agreement between the trends of shapes with number of group members. When carefully taking into account the effects of low-number statistics, we find that more massive groups are consistent with more elongated shapes. Finally, our studies find no significant correlations between the shapes of observed 2PIGG or SDSS-DR3GC groups with the properties of galaxy members such as colour- or spectral-type index.     

Satellite particle exospheres of planets: Application to Earth

Neutral planetary exospheres are built up by three different kinds of gas particles, namely ballistic, hyperbolic and elliptic particles. Elliptic particles have their origin exclusively in exospheric regions of the planet where they are fed into satellite orbits by different physical processes. It has been suggested that elliptic particles that do not enter the collision-dominated planetary gas regions represent an important fraction of the particles constituting the outer parts of planetary exospheres. Here we develop a theoretical concept for a rigorous calculation of elliptic particle distributions using Boltzmann equation kinetic approaches. Taking into account realistic gain and loss processes a general procedure for the determination of satellite particle densities for the terrestrial case is presented. We give representative height profiles of the satellite particle density in the exosphere for weak and strong solar activity. Our results are compared with those obtained by simplified theoretical approaches; pronounced deviations are obvious. It is shown that satellite particles are more relevant in low temperature exospheres leading to an order-of-magnitude difference above 1500 km between the densities for weak and strong solar activity. There is a general tendency for satellite particles to become increasingly important with increasing height.     

Estimates of the wind speeds required for particle motion on Mars

We have obtained estimates of the threshold wind speed V_gt near the top of the atmospheric boundary layer on Mars and of the rotation angle α between this wind velocity and the direction of the surface stress. this calculation has been accomplished by combining wind tunnel determinations of the friction velocity with semi-empirical theories of the Earth's atmospheric boundary layer. Calculations have been performed for a variety of values of the surface pressure, ground temperature, roughness height, boundary layer height, atmospheric composition atmospheric stability, particle density, particle diameter, and strength of the cohesive force between the particles.The curve of threshold wind speed as a function of particle diameter monotonically decreases with decreasing particle diameter for a cohesionless soil but has the classical $\text{U}$ shape for a soil with cohesion. Observational data indicate that the latter condition holds on Mars. Under “favorable” conditions minimum threshold wind speeds between about 50 and 100m/sec are required to cause particle motion. These minimum values lie close to the highest wind speeds predicted by general circulation models. Hence, particle motion should be an infrequent occurence and should be strongly correlated with nearness to small topographic features. The latter prediction is in accord with the correlation found between albedo markings and topographic obstacles such as craters. For equal wind speeds at the midpoint of the boundary layer, particle movement occurs more readily in general at night than during the day, more readily in the winter polar areas than the equatorial areas noon, and more readily for ice particles than for silicate particles.The boundary between saltating and suspendable particles is located at a particle diameter of about 100 μm. This value is close to the diameter at which the V_gt curve has its minimum. Hence, the wind can set directly into motion both saltating and larger-sized suspendable particles, but dust-storm-sized particles usually require impact by a saltating particle for motion to be initiated. Albedo changes occur most often in regions containing a mixture of dust-stoorm-sized particles and saltating particles. The threshold wind speed for surfaces containing large, nonerodible roughness elements can either be larger or smaller than the value for surfaces with only erodible material. The former condition for V_gt holds when the roughness height z₀ is less than about 1 cm and may be illustrated by craters that have experienced less erosion than their environs. The latter condition for V_gt may be partly responsible for albedo changes detected on the elevated shield volcano, Pavonis Mons. Values of the angle α generally lie between 10 and 30°. These figures place a modest limitation on the utility of surface albedo streaks as wind direction indicators.     

Composition of jovian dust stream particles

The Cassini spacecraft encountered Jupiter in late 2000. Within more than 1 AU of the gas giant the Cosmic Dust Analyser onboard the spacecraft recorded the first ever mass spectra of jovian stream particles. To determine the chemical composition of particles, a comprehensive statistical analysis of the dataset was performed. Our results imply that the vast majority (>95%) of the observed stream particles originate from the volcanic active jovian satellite Io from where they are sprinkled out far into the Solar System. Sodium chloride (NaCl) was identified as the major particle constituent, accompanied by sulphurous as well as potassium bearing components. This is in contrast to observations of gas in the ionian atmosphere, its co-rotating plasma torus, and the neutral cloud, where sulphur species are dominant while alkali and chlorine species are only minor components. Io has the largest active volcanoes of the Solar System with plumes reaching heights of more than 400 km above the moons surface. Our in situ measurements indicate that alkaline salt condensation of volcanic gases inside those plumes could be the dominant formation process for particles reaching the ionian exosphere.     

Generation of magnetic fluctuations near a shock front in a partially ionized medium

We investigate the generation mechanism of long-wavelength Alfvénic disturbances near the front of a collisionless shock that propagates in a partially ionized plasma. The wave generation and dissipation rates are calculated in the linear approximation. The instability is attributable to a current of energetic particles upstream of the shock front. The generation of long-wavelength magnetic fluctuations is most pronounced for strong shocks, but the effect is retained for shocks with a moderate particle acceleration efficiency without any noticeable modification of the shock structure by the pressure of accelerated particles. The mode generation time for supernova remnants in a partially ionized interstellar medium is shown to be shorter than their age. Long-wavelength magnetic disturbances determine the limiting energies of the particles accelerated at a shock by the Fermimechanism. We discuss the application of the mechanism under consideration to explaining the observed properties of the SN 1006 remnant.