Sounding rocket measurements of the solar soft X-ray irradiance

Measurements of the solar soft X-ray (XUV: 2 nm to 30 nm) irradiance were performed from a sounding rocket payload flown from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico on 4 October 1993 and again on 3 November 1994. The soft X-ray instrumentation comprised of silicon photodiodes with thin films deposited directly onto their active areas. The deposited material and its thickness in conjunction with the sensitivity of an uncoated diode determine the passband and the sensitivity of these photometric devices. The measurements are interpreted in terms of appropriate SERF 1 (Hinteregger, Fukui, and Gilson, 1981) model solar spectra. It is found that the data are consistent with a solar spectrum that is on average approximately a factor of two times the model solar spectra. It is shown that the measured irradiances are in reasonable agreement with other experiments.     

Iowa catalog of solar X-ray flux (2–12 Å)

The absolute X-ray flux from the whole disc of the sun in the wave length range 2 to 12 Å has been observed for a prolonged period by University of Iowa equipment on the earth-orbiting satellite Explorer 33 and the moon-orbiting satellite Explorer 35, both of the Goddard Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The observations are continuing at the date of writing (July 1969). A comprehensive catalog of the flux F (2–12 Å) is being produced. The observational technique and the scheme of reducing data are described herein. Sample tabulations and plots are given. A catalog of tabular and graphical data with a time resolution of either 81.8 or 163.6 sec has been completed for the following periods: From Explorer 33: 2 July 1966 to 27 July 1967 From Explorer 35: 26 July 1967 to 18 September 1968 These blocks of data have been delivered to the National Space Science Data Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A. and made available through that agency to interested workers in solar and ionospheric physics. Further blocks of data will be made available as they are completed. An abridged summary of principal flares is published in the monthly Solar-Geophysical Data of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Environmental Science Services Administration.     

Lunar X-ray fluorescence observations by the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS): Results from the nearside southern highlands

The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) flown on-board the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, measured X-ray fluorescence spectra during several episodes of solar flares during its operational period of ∼9 months. The accompanying X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) provided simultaneous spectra of solar X-rays incident on the Moon which are essential to derive elemental chemistry. In this paper, we present the surface abundances of Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe, derived from C1XS data for a highland region on the southern nearside of the Moon. Analysis techniques are described in detail including absolute X-ray line flux derivation and conversion into elemental abundance. The results are consistent with a composition rich in plagioclase with a slight mafic mineral enhancement and a Ca/Al ratio that is significantly lower than measured in lunar returned samples. We suggest various possible scenarios to explain the deviations.     

Hydromagnetic shocks in the solar wind

The Rankine-Hugoniot relations are applied to shock-like discontinuities measured by both magnetic field and plasma instruments on the satellite Explorer 34 between May 30, 1967 and Jan. 11, 1968.Shock normals were either determined from the magnetic field observations, or from the times of occurrence of the discontinuity at Explorers 33, 34 and 35. The Rankine-Hugoniot relations are obeyed to the accuracy of the observations, and the values of shock velocities, density ratios, and Mach numbers indicate that at 1 AU the typical interplanetary shock is not strong, although all the events studied caused geomagnetic impulses.     

Sudden geomagnetic field variations in the night-side cusp-region during magnetospheric substorms accompanied by electron precipitation in the auroral zone

The relationship between sudden geomagnetic field changes in the nightside cusp region and impulsive electron precipitation events in the auroral zone is investigated. The investigations are based on magnetic field measurements from the spacecraft Explorer 35, Explorer 33 and OGO-5 and on X-ray measurements with balloon-borne instruments from Kiruna/Sweden. The sudden field changes are characterized by a decrease of the field strength and a rotation of the field direction. The precipitation events represent strong flux increases within a few minutes. The field changes were accompanied by impulsive precipitation not only in the midnight sector but also on the dayside. They can be regarded as a manifestation of the unsteady magnetospheric processes during the expansion phase. Whereas both phenomena occurred simultaneously on the nightside, the increase of precipitation was delayed by ca. 5 min on the dayside. It is assumed that the simultaneous occurrence on the nightside can be related to the formation of a neutral line with a considerable length in dawn-dusk-direction. Mechanisms are also discussed which could be responsible for the time delay on the dayside.     

Simulation of f-Mode Propagation Through a Cluster of Small Identical Magnetic Flux Tubes

Motivated by the question of how to distinguish seismically between monolithic and cluster models of sunspots, we have simulated the propagation of an f-mode wave packet through two identical small magnetic flux tubes (R=200 km), embedded in a stratified atmosphere. We want to study the effect of separation d and incidence angle χ on the scattered wave. We have demonstrated that the horizontal compact pair of tubes (d/R=2, χ=0) oscillate as a single tube when the incident wave is propagating, which gives a scattered wave amplitude of about twice that from a single tube. The scattered amplitude decreases with increasing d when d is about λ/2π where λ is the wavelength of the incident wave packet. In this case the individual tubes start to oscillate separately in the manner of near-field scattering. When d is about twice λ/2π, scattering from individual tubes reaches the far-field regime, giving rise to coherent scattering with an amplitude similar to the case of the compact pair of tubes. For perpendicular incidence (χ=π/2), the tubes oscillate simultaneously with the incident wave packet. Moreover, simulations show that a compact cluster oscillates almost as a single individual small tube and acts more like a scattering object, while a loose cluster shows multiple-scattering in the near field and the absorption is largest when d within the cluster is about λ/2π. This is the first step to understand the seismic response of a bundle of magnetic flux tubes in the context of sunspot and plage helioseismology.     

A Statistical Study of Rhessi Flares

A statistical analysis of RHESSI X-ray flares in the 12–25 keV band during the period from February 2002 to June 2005 is presented. We found that a power-law with an index of 1.80± 0.02 can fit well the frequency distribution of the peak count rates. This power-law does not change significantly with time. However, the frequency distribution of the flare durations cannot be fitted well by a single power-law. There is a weak correlation between the peak count rates and the characteristic times like rise times, decay times, or durations. But the correlation between the rise times and decay times seems to be strong. We discuss the results obtained and compare them with previous works. The frequency distribution of rise times for the sub-group events with a similar magnitude of peak count rates is also shown. In particular, we propose a new parameter R _a , the growth factor of the count rate, defined as the peak count rate divided by the rise time, to reflect the characteristics of the rising phases of flares. The distribution of R _a is shown and discussed.     

Magnetospheric plasma sputtering of Io's atmosphere

The existence of an atmosphere at Io is presumed and used as a starting point to generate neutral coronae produced by magnetospheric ion sputtering from the exobase and to calculate injection of neutrals and ions into the plasma torus. Several different exobase heights, temperatures, and compositions are used to characterize the neutral and ion ejection processes associated with possible atmospheres. Collision ejection from the sputter-produced corona is shown to be an important supply of neutrals for all atmospheres considered. The net injection rates are compared with estimates of the rates required to populate the plasma torus. We show that by including the sputtered atmospheric corona produced by assuming an unattenuated incident ion flux, the supply rate to the torus can be satisfied with an exobase very close to the surface. An exobase close to the surface would imply that the atmosphere at Io is not robust enough to support a fully photodissociated corona and that a significant fraction of the incident plasma ions can penetrate to the surface, providing a sputter source of atmospheric gas. Conversely, a high exobase could only be consistent with the estimated supply rates if the incident plasma flux is attenuated or deflected. The results presented scale approximately with the magnitude of the incident ion flux and, therefore, can be used as knowledge of both the plasma flow and atmospheric composition improve.     

Comparison of theory and in situ observations for electron and ion distributions in the near wake of the explorer 31 and AE-C satellites

Measurements of electron density, plasma potential, and mean ion mass from the Explorer 31 satellite and measurements of ion current, plasma potential, and ion composition from the Atmosphere Explorer C (AE-C) satellite were used in a comparative study with theory regarding the charged particle distribution in the near wake of an ionospheric satellite. The theoretical wake model of Parker (1976) has been used in the study. It is shown that theory and experiment agree fairly well in the angle-of-attack range between 90 and 135°. In that angular range even the neutral approximation (which treats ions as if they were neutral particles thus ignoring the influence of the electric field) gives fair agreement with the measurements. In the maximum rarefaction zone (145 < θ < 180°), however, the theoretical model overestimates the measured ion depletion (AE-C measurements) by several orders of magnitude. A similar conclusion is drawn from the comparison between theory and the Explorer 31 electron measurements where the theory also significantly overestimates the electron depletion. The study indicates that the discrepancies are mainly due to the use of a steady-state theory and of a single ion equation (using a mean ion mass). It is recommended that improved agreement between theory and experiment be obtained by the use of the timedependent Vlasov-Poisson equations with separate equations for the various ion species.     

Stellar wind accretion in GX 301−2: evidence for a high-density stream

The X-ray binary system GX 301−2 consists of a neutron star in an eccentric orbit accreting from the massive early-type star Wray 977. It has previously been shown that the X-ray orbital light curve is consistent with the existence of a gas stream flowing out from Wray 977 in addition to its strong stellar wind. Here, X-ray monitoring observations by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE )/All-Sky Monitor and pointed observations by the RXTE /Proportional Counter Array over the past decade are analysed. We analyse both the flux and column density dependence on orbital phase. The wind and stream dynamics are calculated for various system inclinations, companion rotation rates and wind velocities, as well as parametrized by the stream width and density. These calculations are used as inputs to determine both the expected accretion luminosity and the column density along the line-of-sight to the neutron star. The model luminosity and column density are compared to observed flux and column density versus orbital phase, to constrain the properties of the stellar wind and the gas stream. We find that the change between bright and medium intensity levels is primarily due to decreased mass loss in the stellar wind, but the change between medium and dim intensity levels is primarily due to decreased stream density. The mass-loss rate in the stream exceeds that in the stellar wind by a factor of ∼2.5. The quality of the model fits is better for lower inclinations, favouring a higher mass for Wray 977 in its allowed range of  40–60 M_⊙  .     

Directional diffusion coefficients of solar protons inside and outside the bow shock

The directional diffusion coefficients of low-energy (? 0.3 MeV) solar protons inside and outside the bow shock are examined during the solar flare event of 24 January 1969. The data are derived from simultaneous observations obtained by Explorer 33 inside the magnetosheath and by Explorer 35 in the interplanetary medium. Although the gross properties of the spin-averaged intensities on a diffusion-type plot appear to be the same in both media, the directional intensities show significant variations. It is shown that directional intensities of low-energy protons can be described reasonably well by anisotropic diffusion with an associated diffusion coefficient. Directional diffusion coefficients are found to differ by a factor as much as three among different directions in space, and from the spin-averaged diffusion coefficient. This suggests that anisotropic diffusion does indeed take place and that so called ‘isotropic’ diffusion coefficients derived in the past from spin-averaged intensities may actually be directional diffusion coefficients in cases where substantial anisotropies (> 50 per cent) exist. The typical postulated ratio of field aligned to cross-field diffusion coefficients is $\text{κ⊥}\text{κ∥}\text{< 0.1}$. The present data would indicate a ratio of ?0.3. This value of the anisotropy is to be taken only as an upper limit of the ratio because of the limitations introduced by the wide field of view of the detectors (~90°) and the lack of directional measurements over the entire sphere. Comparison between directional diffusion coefficients in the interplanetary medium and magnetosheath derived from identical directions in space implies changes in the parameters of the interplanetary magnetic field as it interacts with the bow shock.     

EUV SpectroPhotometer (ESP) in Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE): Algorithms and?Calibrations

The Extreme ultraviolet SpectroPhotometer (ESP) is one of five channels of the Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) onboard the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The ESP channel design is based on a highly stable diffraction transmission grating and is an advanced version of the Solar Extreme ultraviolet Monitor (SEM), which has been successfully observing solar irradiance onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) since December 1995. ESP is designed to measure solar Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) irradiance in four first-order bands of the diffraction grating centered around 19 nm, 25 nm, 30 nm, and 36 nm, and in a soft X-ray band from 0.1 to 7.0?nm in?the?zeroth-order of the grating. Each band’s detector system converts the photo-current into a count rate (frequency). The count rates are integrated over 0.25-second increments and transmitted to the EVE Science and Operations Center for data processing. An algorithm for converting the measured count rates into solar irradiance and the ESP calibration parameters are described. The ESP pre-flight calibration was performed at the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Calibration parameters were used to calculate absolute solar irradiance from the sounding-rocket flight measurements on 14 April 2008. These irradiances for the ESP bands closely match the irradiance determined for two other EUV channels flown simultaneously: EVE’s Multiple EUV Grating Spectrograph (MEGS) and SOHO’s Charge, Element and Isotope Analysis System/Solar EUV Monitor (CELIAS/SEM).     

A full-wave study of downward propagating ELF waves in the ionosphere: Ion cutoff whistlers and the low frequency cutoff of ELF noise

The downward propagation of ELF waves (100–700 Hz) in the ionosphere is studied by means of a generalised multiple-reflection full-wave method. It is shown that for the production of an ion cutoff whistler the incident wave-normal must point inwards (equatorwards) with respect to the vertical, the ion cutoff whistler conversion coefficient R_RL being a maximum when the reflected wave normal lies close to the geomagnetic field direction at the crossover level.For a low frequency cutoff of ELF noise to exist, the incident wave-normals at the crossover level must lie outside a ‘cone of penetration’ of ~40° semi-vertical angle, whose axis coincides with the geomagnetic field line. For propagation in the magnetic meridian plane, total reflection of downgoing whistlers is obtained either for large outward (poleward) incident angles, with reflection heights generally above the crossover level and possibly even above the gyrofrequency level, or else for inward (equatorward) wave-normal directions, in which case the reflection process usually occurs below the crossover level, and involves an R to L mode conversion on the downgoing path.Analysis of a scatter plot of the lower cutoff frequencies of ELF noise as a function of altitude and latitude shows that widely varying abundances must be postulated at all latitudes in order to explain the observations.     

Twist transport in strongly torsioned astrophysical flux tubes

Riemannian geometrical effects on the expansion of the electron magnetohydrodynamical (EMH) superconductivity modeled twisted nonplanar thin magnetic flux tubes are considered. A solution is found which represents almost incompressible plasma flows, where the twist of flux tube is computed in terms of the continuous variation of its cross-section. It is shown that the twist increases in regions where twisted flux tube expands as in Parker’s conjecture. From computation of compression along the tube we show that when the torsion is weak a centrifugal or vorticity effect on the longitudinal direction of the tube enhances the screening effect on the “superconductor”. Throughout the paper we consider helical flux tubes where torsion and curvature of the tube are constants. Thus we show that the Parker’s conjecture is valid in a continuos manner for these type II superconducting twisted flux tubes. Throughout the paper we adopt the approximation that the radial component of the magnetic field varies so slowly along the tube axis that it can be approximated to zero along the tube. It is suggested that the models discussed here may also be applied to DNA and nanotubes.     

Non-ideal MHD Properties of Magnetic Flux Tubes in the Solar Photosphere

Magnetic flux tubes reaching from the solar convectivezone into the chromosphere have to pass through the relatively cool, and therefore non-ideal (i.e. resistive) photospheric region enclosed between the highly ideal sub-photospheric and chromospheric plasma. It is shown that stationary MHD equilibria of magnetic flux tubes which pass through this region require an inflow of photospheric material into the flux tube and a deviation from iso-rotation along the tube axis. This means that there is a difference in angular velocity of the plasma flow inside the tube below and above the non-ideal region. Both effects increase with decreasing cross section of the tube. Although for characteristic parameters of thick flux tubes the effect is negligible, a scaling law indicates its importance for small-scale structures. The relevance of this `inflow effect' for the expansion of flux tubes above the photosphere is discussed.     

Ionospheric and magnetospheric “plasmapauses”

During August 1972, Explorer 45 orbiting near the equatorial plane with an apogee of ～5.2 R_e traversed magnetic field lines in close proximity to those simultaneously traversed by the topside ionospheric satellite ISIS 2 near dusk in the L range 2.0–5.4. The locations of the Explorer 45 plasmapause crossings (determined by the saturation of the d.c. electric field double probe) during this month were compared to the latitudinal decreases of the H⁺ density observed on ISIS 2 (by the magnetic ion mass spectrometer) near the same magnetic field lines. The equatorially determined plasmapause field lines typically passed through or poleward of the minimum of the ionospheric light ion trough, with coincident satellite passes occurring for which the L separation between the plasmapause and trough field lines was between 1 and 2. Hence, the abruptly decreasing H⁺ density on the low latitude side of the ionospheric trough is not a near earth signature of the equatorial plasmapause. Vertical flows of the H⁺ ions in the light ion trough as detected by the magnetic ion mass spectrometer on ISIS were directed upward with velocities between 1 and 2 km s^?1 near dusk on these passes. These velocities decreased to lower values on the low latitude side of the H⁺ trough but did not show any noticeable change across the field lines corresponding to the magnetospheric plasmapause. The existence of upward accelerated H⁺ flows to possibly supersonic speeds during the refilling of magnetic flux tubes in the outer plasmasphere could produce an equatorial plasmapause whose field lines map into the ionosphere at latitudes which are poleward of the H⁺ density decrease.     

A numerical investigation of the formation and evolution of magnetospheric irregularities by the interchange of magnetic flux tubes

The formation and evolution of magnetospheric irregularities by interchange of tubes of force, is studied through the solution of the electron and ion heat, and ion density equations. These calculations indicate that interchange of magnetic flux tubes may cause irregularities in the ionosphere and protonosphere. Ionospheric irregularities result from disturbance of the F-layer through electrodynamic movement vertically while the protonospheric irregularities result from variations in flux tube volume. It has been found that the temperature profile plays an important role in the variation of irregularity magnitude along flux tubes and that irregularities will persist for many hours at night. After several hours a small growth of the irregularities has been observed.     

The stability of a magnetic flux element in a horizontally stratified compressible plasma

The configuration of a magnetic flux element in a static, compressible, gravitationally stratified plasma is considered. Under isothermal conditions an exact force-free solution is given for a two-dimensional cartesian flux sheath but for an axi-symmetric element, i.e. a flux tube, approximate solutions, applicable only to thin flux tubes, are obtained.When the isothermal condition is relaxed within the flux tube, non-force-free solutions are obtained exhibiting either a temperature excess or deficit on the axis of the flux tube. Using these solutions, the total potential energy of such a tube and its surroundings may be calculated. By comparing this with the total energy of an equivalent system ofn flux tubes the temperature excess or deficit in these tubes corresponding to the adiabatic subdivision of the single tube is determined.It is shown that under non-adiabatic conditions the subdivision process must be endothermic (i.e., external energy is required) if the temperature within the original tube is significantly less than its surroundings but exothermic if the temperatures are comparable. Thus it is conjectured that magnetic structures are less susceptible to subdivision if they are significantly cooler than their surroundings.     

4U 1957+11: a persistent low-mass X-ray binary and black hole candidate in the high state?

We report on several pointed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the enigmatic low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1957+11 at different X-ray luminosities. The luminosity of the source varied by more than a factor of 4 on time-scales of months to years. The spectrum of the source tends to become harder when its luminosity increases. Only very weak  (1–2  per cent rms amplitude,  0.001–10 Hz  ,  2–60 keV)  rapid X-ray variability was observed during the observations. A comparison of the spectral and temporal behaviour of 4U 1957+11 with other X-ray binary systems, in particular LMC X-3, indicates that 4U 1957+11 is likely to be a persistent LMXB harbouring a black hole and it is persistently in the black hole high state. If confirmed, it would be the only such system known.     

Conditions for Propagation of Torsional Waves in Solar Magnetic Flux Tubes

Propagation of torsional waves along isothermal and initially-untwisted magnetic-flux tubes embedded in the solar atmosphere is studied analytically. Conditions for wave propagation along thin and wide magnetic-flux tubes are determined, and it is shown that the propagation along thin tubes is cutoff free; however, for wide tubes the propagation is affected by a cutoff frequency. A method to determine the cutoff frequency is presented and applied to a specific model of solar magnetic flux tubes. An interesting result is that the cutoff frequency is a local quantity in the model and that its value at a given height determines the frequency that torsional tube waves must have to propagate at this height.