等离子体湍流对电子的加速

本文讨论了等离子体湍流对电子加速的两种模型:（1）假定在空间中存在一个空间均匀的等离子体湍流区,当具有一定初始分布的电子束通过此湍流区时,研究湍流场对电子束的加速过程;（2）在某一封闭的区域中,存在着具有一定初始分布和空间均匀的等离子体,当某种类型的等离子体波突然传入此等离子体区,然后考察此区中电子的加速过程。在这两种模型中,可能存在着某种电子消失机制。假定湍谱是幂指数形式,我们给出了不同类型湍流扩散系数的普遍形式。利用较简单的数学方法,求解了包括消失过程的一维准线性动力学方程,对于给定的初始分布,得出了分布函数的解析解,并给出了平均能量时间关系的表达式。另外,对于特定的湍谱指数,解出了当平行电场和湍流同时存在时的分布函数。最后,对所得结果进行了数值分析和讨论。     

Subsecond Hard X-Ray Spikes from Solar Flares: Limitations on the Electron Acceleration Mechanism

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The X-ray spike structure for solar flares recorded by the CGRO/BATSE spectrometer is discussed, and the kinetics of accelerated electrons propagating in the plasma of a...     

Dynamics of accelerated electron beams and X rays in solar flares with sub-THz radiation

Unique measurements by a solar submillimeter radio telescope (SST) have been carried out in the sub-THz radiation at 212 and 405 THz over the past decade. The spectrum of RF radiation in this region increased with frequency for the three flares of November 2 and 4, 2003, and December 6, 2006, and the flux value reached 5 × 10³?2 × 10⁴ sfu at 405 GHz (Kaufman et al., 2009). In this work, we consider a set of nonlinear equations for an accelerated electrons beam and the Langmuir wave energy density. The distribution functions of the accelerated electron beam and wave energy density are calculated taking into account Coulomb collisions, electron scattering by waves, and wave scattering by plasma ions. In addition, the source of accelerated particles and the heat level of the Langmuir turbulence are specified. The beam and plasma parameters are chosen based on the aims of a problem. The plasma concentration varies from n = 10¹³ to 10¹⁵ cm^?3, the electron plasma frequency f _p = (3 × 10¹⁰?3 × 10¹¹) Hz in this case. The ratio of plasma and beam concentrations, sufficient to explain the value of the radio flux at a frequency of 300 GHz, is n _b/n = 10^?3. The Langmuir turbulence is excited due to the instability of the accelerated electron beam with an initial distribution function of the ??bump-in-tail?? type. Then, the parameters of radiowaves are calculated in the sub-THz range under the assumption of coalescence of two plasma waves. The calculation results show that a sub-THz radio flux can be obtained under the condition of injection of accelerated electrons. The fine time structure of radio flux observed is easily simulated based on this statement by the pulsed time structure of electron beams and their dynamics in overdense plasma. X-ray and gamma radiation was recorded during the events under study. Hard X-ray radiation is bremsstrahlung radiation from accelerated electron beams.     

The challenges of the models of solar flares

The challenges of ‘standard’ model of solar flares motivated by new observations with the spacecrafts and ground-based telescopes are presented. The most important problems are in situ heating of photospheric and chromospheric loop footpoints up to the coronal temperatures without precipitating particle beams accelerated in the corona, and the sunquakes which are unlikely to be explained by the impact of highenergy particles producing hard X-ray emission. There is also the long-standing ‘number problem’ in the physics of solar flares. It is shown that modern observations favored an important role of the electric currents in the energy release processes in the low solar atmosphere. Particle acceleration mechanism in the electric fields driven by the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the chromosphere is proposed. The electric current value I ≥ 10¹⁰ A, needed for the excitation of super-Dreicer electric fields in the chromosphere is determined. It is shown that both Joule dissipation of the electric currents and the particles accelerated in the chromosphere can be responsible for in situ heating of the low solar atmosphere. Alternative model of the solar flare based on the analogy between the flaring loop and an equivalent electric circuit which is good tool for the electric current diagnostics is presented. Interaction of a current-carrying loop with the partially-ionized plasma of prominence in the context of particle acceleration is considered. The role of plasma radiation mechanism in the sub-THz emission from the chromosphere is discussed.     

Time structure of the X-ray emission of thermal solar flares

Based on observations of electromagnetic radiation, a concept of thermal solar flares has been proposed. The absence of hard X-ray emission implies no accelerated electrons. This fact is the basis of the proposed concept of thermal flares. Since the acceleration rate should not exceed the electron energy loss rate, plasma density in the acceleration range must be at least 10¹¹ cm^?3. The temperature of plasma emitting in the soft X-ray range is of the order of 10⁷ K. In the simplified problem of heated plasma hydrodynamics, we calculated the temperature profiles and their changes over time and by coordinate. The emission measure values determined from observations of the soft X-ray emission of flares is of the order of 10⁴⁵ cm^?3. The geometry of the source is an axial symmetric straight cylinder with a section of 10¹⁶ cm² and an axial coordinate determined by the depth of plasma heating. Time profiles of soft X-ray emission were calculated for different sources of plasma heating, which were simulated using the Gaussian distribution law with respect to the coordinate and time. We have considered two modes of plasma heating: single (in time) and multipulse modes with different pulse intervals. The dynamics of plasma heating and cooling was shown to control the experimentally observed time profiles of soft X-ray emission. A comparison of numerical results with observational data allows us to confirm the implications of the proposed concept of thermal flares and, in addition, to perform diagnostics of plasma parameters in the emission source.     

Surfatron particle acceleration in the near-Earth shock wave

A theoretical model, within the scope of which the process of surfatron particle acceleration (surfing) at the shock front was studied, is proposed to describe the near-Earth shock wave structure. The most complex shock front geometry, when it is assumed that the magnetic field vectors and the velocity of the plasma flow incident on the front are oriented arbitrarily with respect to the front plane, has been considered in detail. The theoretical ultimate energies of protons, accelerated due to surfing at the shock front, agree with the observational data.     

Dynamics of the spatial distribution of electrons and their gyrosynchrotron emission characteristics in a collapsing magnetic trap

The dynamics of the distribution of nonthermal electrons, injected into a collapsing magnetic trap, has been considered. The electron energy and pitch angle nonstationary spatial distributions in an extensive magnetic trap have been obtained for the first time for different laws of inhomogeneous magnetic field evolution in this trap by numerically solving the Fokker-Planck kinetic equation. The gyrosynchrotron emission intensity has been calculated for the obtained electron spatial distributions. It has been indicated that energetic electrons are effectively accumulated and accelerated at the top of a collapsing trap due to the first-order Fermi and betatron acceleration mechanisms at certain rates of variations in the magnetic field and background plasma density.     

太阳风湍流和磁层亚暴的一种机制

太阳风的动量涨落将通过磁层边界在磁尾激发磁流体力学波。快磁声波携带扰动能量传到等离子体片中,发展为激波,或者通过激波的相互作用而耗散能量,使等离子体加热。等离子体片中的随机费米加速机制,使麦克斯韦分布尾巴部分的高能量粒子被加速到更高能。在宁静态时,加热、加速与耗散过程平衡。当太阳风的动量或者其涨落较大时,整个加热和加速过程加剧,更多的高能粒子产生,并从等离子体片中逃逸,形成高速的等离子体流注入近地轨道和极区,表现为磁层亚暴过程。利用这种机制,可以解释地球磁层亚暴的定性特征。     

Solar flare model: Comparison of the results of numerical simulations and observations

The electrodynamic flare model is based on numerical 3D simulations with the real magnetic field of an active region. An energy of ∼10³² erg necessary for a solar flare is shown to accumulate in the magnetic field of a coronal current sheet. The thermal X-ray source in the corona results from plasma heating in the current sheet upon reconnection. The hard X-ray sources are located on the solar surface at the loop foot-points. They are produced by the precipitation of electron beams accelerated in field-aligned currents. Solar cosmic rays appear upon acceleration in the electric field along a singular magnetic X-type line. The generation mechanism of the delayed cosmic-ray component is also discussed.     

Energetic particle investigation using the ERNE instrument

During solar flares and coronal mass ejections, nuclei and electrons accelerated to high energies are injected into interplanetary space. These accelerated particles can be detected at the SOHO satellite by the ERNE instrument. From the data produced by the instrument, it is possible to identify the particles and to calculate their energy and direction of propagation. Depending on variable coronal/interplanetary conditions, different kinds of effects on the energetic particle transport can be predicted. The problems of interest include, for example, the effects of particle properties (mass, charge, energy, and propagation direction) on the particle transport, the particle energy changes in the transport process, and the effects the energetic particles have on the solar-wind plasma. The evolution of the distribution function of the energetic particles can be measured with ERNE to a better accuracy than ever before. This gives us the opportunity to contribute significantly to the modeling of interplanetary transport and acceleration. Once the acceleration/transport bias has been removed, the acceleration-site abundance of elements and their isotopes can be studied in detail and compared with spectroscopic observations.     

Contributions to the Ring Current Energy During Geomagnetic Storms

The purpose of this research was to study the complexity of the energization of the ring current during a geomagnetic storm, produced during southern Bz(IMF) by the injection of plasma sheet ions, accelerated by enhanced convective electric fields. This model assumes that the plasma sheet is continuously populated by H⁺ from the sun and the ionosphere, and sporadically by ionospheric O⁺, making the ring current a coupled system whose energy can hardly be expressed analytically. When Bz(IMF) turns north, the ring current becomes uncoupled, and the energy decays exponentially if the storm is weak, or can be expressed as a combination of exponentials during strong storms representing the quick decay of O⁺ and the slower decay of H⁺, as has been shown.     

磁岛合并研究

本文采用二维全粒子模拟来研究无碰撞等离子体中的磁岛合并过程.结果表明,磁岛合并分为两个阶段,在第一个阶段,两个磁岛因同向电流丝之间的吸引力而缓慢地相互靠近,在这个过程中,合并线附近的电子被面外电场加速,形成薄电流片,同时电流片两侧形成磁场堆积.第二个阶段为快速重联阶段,合并线附近的电磁场结构和以Harris电流片为初态的重联扩散区的电磁场结构很相似,其中最显著的特点为面外磁场的四极型结构.     

Superfine time structure and polarization of hard X-ray emission during solar flares: Simulation of isolated pulses

A superfine time structure has been detected recently via hard X-ray satellite observations during solar flares. Some pulses are hundreds of milliseconds in length. Time series are sharply nonstationary sequences of overlapping pulses. We interpreted a similar time structure in a model of the nonstationary kinetics of accelerated electron beams. In this work, we present calculation results of the degree of polarization of the hard X rays of solar flares with millisecond pulses. The dependence of the polarization degree on the plasma concentration, radiation energy, and the observation angle has been derived from calculations with the thick-target nonstationary kinetics model for rectangular and triangular individual pulses of accelerated electrons in the region of injection with the angular dependence cos²ⁿ θ. It is shown that the degree of polarization does not exceed 78% and decreases down to 50–65% 20 s after the beginning of the injection.     

Formation of accelerated ion flows in Alfvén disturbances of the magnetotail

This paper shows that there exists a mechanism of longitudinal plasma acceleration which is inherent in the process of the process of resonant conversion of a fast magnetosonic wave freely propagating along the magnetic field into an Alfvén wave. This mechanism is caused by the Ampere force arising due to the interaction between the poloidal component of the current of the compressible disturbance and the generated toroidal disturbance. It is shown that plasma acceleration takes place at the stage of increase in the Alfvén wave amplitude and that the accelerated flow retains its velocity when the process of resonant conversion is over. We describe spatiotemporal structures of plasma flows arising with the transformation of fast magnetosonic waves into Alfvén waves. An interpretation of the presence of fast ion flows in the magnetotail as a consequence of the action of the plasma acceleration mechanism considered in this work is proposed.     

Giant events in the 23rd solar cycle: Common and specific features

Giant X-ray events (>X17) in the 23rd solar cycle (October 28 and November 4, 2003, and September 7, 2005) are considered, which were almost completely observed in hard X rays (>150 keV) from the INTEGRAL satellite and partly from the RHESSI satellite. These events are compared with two events completely observed from the RHESSI satellite (X8.2 on November 2, 2003, and X7.1 on January 20, 2005). Time profiles of the plasma temperature, calculated from the GOES data on soft X rays during these events, have similar structures. This allowed us to choose a zero time point in each event and compare the dynamics of their evolution. Nonthermal radiation began approximately 10 min before the zero time point (preflare phase). During about 20 min after the zero point, bursts of nonthermal radiation were observed in all the three events, which pointed to several episodes of electron acceleration with variable spectra and plasma heating with different efficiency. It is shown that giant events are characterized by a large emission measure and a relatively low temperature of the flare plasma but not intensive acceleration processes. Observations of γ radiation from the decay of π⁰-mesons show that protons are accelerated to relativistic energies 4 min after the chosen zero point.     

非稳态多重X线重联的类型与特征

为了进一步认识间歇性多重Ｘ线重联的特征，本文分析计算结果，发现入流自边界进入后向两侧发散，沿着ｘ轴（ｚ＝０）和出流边界（ｚ＝２），压强Ｐ和磁场Ｂ的分布形态表明这种非稳态重联属快模式扩张型．数值结果还表明，进入扩散区的入流马赫数Ｍ_ｉ与磁雷诺数Ｒｍ之间基本满足关系式Ｍ_ｉ≈１．５Ｒ_ｍ^－１／２─１．７５Ｒ_ｍ^－１／２，而且等离子体的加速与压强Ｐ_ｔ(Ｐ_ｔ     

引力场中磁场重联的数值研究（Ⅱ）磁力线足点的剪切运动

本文基于二维三分量可压缩磁流体动力学模拟，数值研究由于磁力线足点在光球层的剪切运动引起日冕电流片中的磁场重联过程。结果表明，磁力线足点的剪切运动作为引起强迫磁场重联的一种触发机制，将加速磁场重联的发展和磁岛的合并过程。结合不稳定性导致等离子体急剧加速，在β_∞＝０．１的情况下其加速度达到０．３４ν_Ａ∞／τＡ，等离子体的最大下落速度可达１．９０ν_Ａ∞，大于纯电阻撕裂模情况。还讨论了β_∞值对这种磁场重联过程的影响。β_∞值越小，磁场重联和磁岛合并过程发展得越快。     

阿尔文涨落与地球磁层亚暴

本文讨论了一种地球磁层的亚暴机制。当行星际磁场有大的南向分量时,磁层的位形可由基本闭式转变为开式。磁鞘中的阿尔文波可以携带超过10~(18)尔格/秒的能流传入磁层尾部,并将能量耗散于等离子体片中。等离子体片中的粒子被加热和加速后,注入近地空间,产生环电流和极区亚暴。计算了剪切流场中阿尔文波的传播过程,以及磁层中阿尔文波的耗散。将本文的结算与[4]中的结果合在一起,可以说明当行星际磁场转向南时,容易发生地球磁层亚暴,但这两者并非一一对应的关系,行星际磁场没有南向分量时也可以发生地球磁层亚暴。     

磁场重联中的电子加速机制的数值模拟研究

在应用2.5维混合模拟方法研究Petschek模型磁场重联的基础上,考察了试验电子被加速的特征. 模拟结果表明,稳态的低频重联场能将少量试验电子加速到高能,电子的能谱为幂律谱,但总体分布函数未发生显著变化. 电子在整个加速过程中被束缚在低磁场的加速区内,由重联产生的感应电场Ey分量对其直接加速,根据加速时间和加速区域可以将这些电子分为两种情况：初始位于加速区和漂移到加速区被加速.     

带电粒子在中性线磁场中的运动

本文利用了小扰动方法、轨道法以及粒子的运动区域,比较系统地研究了带电粒子在中性线磁场中的运动。其结果是: 1.带电粒子的运动轨道可分为漂移轨道、波动轨道与8字形轨道三种形式。小扰动方法不能使用于中性线的区域内,在这个区域出现一个与小扰动漂移运动相反方向的运动。 2.在沿中性线方向的电场的作用下,中性线周围的部分粒子可以聚集到中性线附近。当粒子进入非小扰动区时,它们将被中性线磁场反射,并被电场加速。 3.计算出磁尾中性片的厚度为在这个区域内,大部分带正电的粒子的平均运动是沿晨昏方向,带负电的粒子的运动则相反。磁尾区出现一个等离子体中性片电流。