Role of non-thermal electrons on the generation of X-ray and EUV lines in solar flares

The energy and angular distributions of electrons have been studied by combining small angle scatterings using analytical treatment with large angle collisions using Monte Caroo calculations as a function of column density for initially power-law electron distributions and incidence angles of 0, 30, and 60°. Using these distributions the X-ray and EUV line flux as a function of column density has been computed. The flux increases with increase in column density. At the initial column densities the contribution of non-thermal electrons for the production of line flux is negligible. However, it becomes significant at intermediate column densities at which the electron energy and angular distributions have non-Maxwellian nature. X-ray and EUV flux have also been calculated as a function of electron spectral index at a fixed column density. It falls steeply with increase in spectral index. The calculated flux is compared with the observations.     

Hard X-rays from solar flares — time characteristics in correlation with energy and angular distributions of electrons

Fine time variation of hard X-rays has been explained in terms of a spread in the angle of incidence of the source electrons in non-thermal thick-target model for bremsstrahlung generation. The electron energy and angular distributions have been calculated by combining small angle scatterings using analytical treatment with a large angle collision using Monte Carlo calculations as a function of column density. The incidence angles of electrons are taken as 0, 30, and 60°. Using the Bethe-Heitler cross section and the above calculated electron distributions, the bremsstrahlung flux for different photon energies as a function of column density has been studied. The computed X-ray pulse as a function of column density has been converted into time profile. It corresponds well with the observed fine time structure. The calculated spectra of X-rays at the peak and valley are also consistent with the observations. The variation of photon flux with time has also been computed for photon energies 20, 50, and 100 keV for 90 and 180° observation angles together with the changes in spectral shapes of photon energy spectrum at different times for 90 and 180° observation angles.     

Calculation of anisotropy ratio of hard X-rays from solar flares — evidence for continuous electron injections/accelerations

Variation of electron energy and angular distributions has been studied as a function of column density by combining small-angle analytical treatment with large-angle Monte Carlo calculations. The distributions have been calculated for initial electron energy 300 keV and various incidence directions. Using these distributions and Sauter bremsstrahlung cross-section differential in photon energy and emission angle, we have calculated the X-ray energy and angular distributions for photon energies 10, 20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 keV. By taking the ratio of X-ray flux at 90 and 180°, we have computed the anisotropy ratio A as function of column density. Calculated anisotropy ratio compares well with ISEE-3 and PVO observations.     

Study of hard X-ray characteristics of solar flares - support for non-thermal processes

The spatial and angular distributions and also the energy spectrum of hard X-rays from solar flares have been studied in terms of the energy and angular distributions of the accelerated electron beam. The incident electron distributions as functions of column density have been computed by combining the analytical treatment of small-angle scattering with the Monte-Carlo calculations for large angle scattering. To start with monoenergetic electrons at 0°, 30°, and 60° incidence angles have been taken. Using the Bethe-Heitler total cross section and the Sauter differential cross section along with the calculated electron distributions, the bremsstrahlung flux and its angular distribution for different photon energies > 10 keV have been studied as function of column density. The shape of the calculated curves agrees with the observations of PVO/ISEE-3 lending support to the beamed thick-target model for X-ray generation with continuous injection.Physics Department, Vishwa Bharti Institution, Rainawari, Srinagar, India.     

Microwave emission from solar flares and comparison with observations

We have studied the evolution of electron energy and angular distributions using Monte Carlo technique for electron beams directed vertically downwards towards chromosphere for incident energies 30 keV, and 300 keV at different incidence angles. Using these distributions we have calculated microwave flux for different frequencies at a fixed column density as well as for a fixed frequency at different column densities. We have also calculated the total microwave flux coming out of solar atmosphere and have compared it with observations. Our results agree well with observational results and produce the observed nature of flux.     

On the role of reverse current on the hard X-ray production in solar flares and time-lags between high- and low-energy photons

The evolution of energy and angular distributions of electrons has been studied accounting for the reverse current effect by combining analytically treated small angle multiple scatterings with large angle Monte-Carlo calculations. Reverse current and potential variations as function of column density have been computed. It is found that the reverse current decreases steeply with increase in electron energy. However, it becomes significant for low-energy electrons. By use of these distributions and bremsstrahlung crosssection, the X-ray energy spectrum has been calculated. The nature of the resulting X-ray spectrum integrated over all column depths is similar to the one without reverse current. The time-lag between high-and low-energy photon production has been calculated. It is found that there is a small difference between time-lags as function of observation angles. This fact can be used to test the validity of the beamed thick target model.     

Role of nonthermal electrons in the heating of solar atmosphere during flares

Evolution of electron energy distributions have been studied by combining small-angle scattering with analytical treatment of large-angle collision using the Monte-Carlo technique. By use of these, the distributions and energy loss have been calculated as functions of column density, the heating functions have been calculated at different depths of the solar atmosphere. From the heating functions, an increase in temperature produced by the electrons at different column densities has been computed. It is found that rise in temperature increases with an increase in incident electron energy.     

Study of electron energy and angular distributions and calculations of X-ray,EUV line flux and rise times

Evolution of energy and angular distributions of electrons has been studied by combining small-angle analytical treatment with large-angle Monte Carlo calculations as a function of column density for initially monoenergetic and monodirectional electrons. The incident electron energies considered are 20, 30 and 60 keV at 0°, 30° and 60° angles of incidence. Using these distributions, time evolution of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum has been studied. The slopes of the curves calculated compare well with the experimentally observed curve.     

Compact radio cores and the relation between the radio and optical axes of elliptical galaxies

We have reinvestigated the reported tendency for the extended radio structures associated with bright elliptical galaxies to be oriented preferentially along the optical minor axes. It is found that such a tendency exists only for those galaxies in which the compact radio cores coincident with their nuclei are quite prominent. If the galaxies are divided into two groups according to whether their cores account for less than or greater than 10 per cent of the total flux density at 2.7 GHz, the angle Φ (between the radio axis and the optical minor axis) appears to be uniformly distributed between 0‡ and 90‡ for the former, but is nearly always < 30‡ for the latter group. One possible explanation is that the radio emission from compact cores suffers thermal absorption by ionized gas that is distributed differently in the two groups.     

Unveiling the chemistry of hot protostellar cores with ALMA

High angular resolution mm-wave observations of the Orion-KL region, made with the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer (PdBI), reveal the presence of several cores of size 10³ AU, which have distinct spectral signatures. Complex molecules such as ethanol, vinyl cyanide and dimethyl ether show different distributions and their relative abundance varies from core to core by orders of magnitude. The molecular column densities derived in the cores also differ widely from the beam-averaged column densities observed with large single-dish telescopes. Obviously, the predictions of hot core chemistry models must be checked against high resolution observations. ALMA, which allies sensitivity and high angular resolution, will be a key instrument for this type of studies. The PdBI observations were part of a search for interstellar glycine, also carried out with the IRAM 30-m telescope and the Green Bank Telescope. We derive a 3σ upper limit on the column density of glycine of 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻² per 2″×3″ beam in the Orion Hot Core and Compact Ridge. Based on observations made with the IRAM PdB Interferometer, the IRAM 30-m telescope and the NRAO Green-Bank telescope. IRAM is supported by CNRS, MPG and IGN.     

Modeling X-Ray Photoionized Plasmas Produced at the Sandia Z-Facility

In experiments at the high-power Z-facility at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we have been able to produce a low density photoionized laboratory plasma of Fe mixed with NaF. The conditions in the experiment allow a meaningful comparison with X-ray emission from astrophysical sources. The charge state distributions of Fe, Na and F are determined in this plasma using high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. Independent measurements of the density and radiation flux indicate unprecedented values for the ionization parameter ξ = 20–25 erg cm s⁻¹ under nearly steady-state conditions. First comparisons of the measured charge state distributions with X-ray photoionization models show reasonable agreement, although many questions remain.     

Probability distribution functions for the Sun's magnetic field

Magnetoconvection structures the Sun's magnetic field cover a vast range of scales, down to the magnetic diffusion scale that is orders of magnitude smaller than the resolution of current telescopes. The statistical properties of this structuring are governed by probability density functions (PDFs) for the flux densities and by the angular distribution functions for the orientations of the field vectors. The magnetic structuring on sub‐pixel scales greatly affects the field properties averaged over the resolution element due to the non‐linear relation between polarization and magnetic field. Here we use a Hinode SOT/SP data set for the quiet Sun disk center to explore the complex behavior of the 6301–6302 Å Stokes line profile system and identify the observables that allow us to determine the distribution functions in the most robust and least model dependent way. The angular distribution is found to be strongly peaked around the vertical direction for large flux densities but widens with decreasing flux density to become isotropic in the limit of zero flux density. The noise‐corrected PDFs for the vertical, horizontal, and total flux densities all have a narrowly peaked maximum at zero flux density that can be fitted with a stretched exponential, while the extended wings decline quadratically (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Latitudinal and Solar-Cycle Variations of the White-Light Corona from SOHO/LASCO Observations

SOHO/LASCO data were used to obtain the latitudinal and radial distributions of the brightness of the K- and F-corona in the period of 1996 – 2007, and their solar-cycle variations were studied. Then an inversion method was employed to obtain the radial distributions of the electron density N _e(R,θ) for various latitude values on the coronal images. Our values of N _e(R,θ) are in good agreement with the findings of other authors. We found that in an edge-on streamer belt the electron density, like the K-corona brightness, varies with distance more slowly in the near-equatorial rays than in near-polar regions. We have developed a method for assessing the maximum values of the electron density at the center of the face-on streamer belt in its bright rays and depressions between them. Not all bright rays observed in the face-on streamer belt are found to be associated with an increased electron density in them. Mechanisms for forming such rays have been suggested.     

A new sample of gigahertz-peaked-spectrum, extra-galactic radio sources

A new sample of extra-Galactic radio sources having a peak in the continuous spectrum near 1 GHz has been compiled, using data available in the literature on their radio flux densities, and some characteristic parameters of radio sources in this sample have been calculated. The median value of the calculated spectral indices of radio sources in the sample is -0.95, the median flux density at the peak (S_m) is 465 mJy, and almost half the radio sources (14 out of 30) have ultrasteep spectra, for which the spectral indices in the high-frequency range are α <-1.0 (S ∝ v^α). Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 377–388, July–September, 1998.     

Imaging the Earth’s Interior: the Angular Distribution of Terrestrial Neutrinos

Decays of radionuclides throughout the earth’s interior produce geothermal heat, but also are a source of antineutrinos; these geoneutrinos are now becoming observable in experiments such as KamLAND. The (angle-integrated) geoneutrino flux has been shown to provide a unique probe of geothermal heating due to decays, and an integral constraint on the distribution of radionuclides in the earth. In this paper, we calculate the angular distribution of geoneutrinos, which opens a window on the differential radial distribution of terrestrial radionuclides. We develop the general formalism for the neutrino angular distribution. We also present the inverse transformation which recovers the terrestrial radioisotope distribution given a measurement of the neutrino angular distribution. Thus, geoneutrinos not only allow a means to image the earth’s interior, but offer a direct measure of the radioactive earth, both revealing the earth’s inner structure as probed by radionuclides, and allowing a complete determination of the radioactive heat generation as a function of radius. Turning to specific models, we emphasize the very useful approximation in which the earth is modeled as a series of shells of uniform density. Using this multishell approximation, we present the geoneutrino angular distribution for the favored earth model which has been used to calculate the geoneutrino flux. In this model the neutrino generation is dominated by decays of potassium, uranium, and thorium in the earth’s mantle and crust; this leads to a very “peripheral” angular distribution, in which 2/3 of the neutrinos come from angles θ ≳ 60° away from the nadir. We note that a measurement of the neutrino intensity in peripheral directions leads to a strong lower limit to the central intensity. We briefly discuss the challenges facing experiments to measure the geoneutrino angular distribution. Currently available techniques using inverse beta decay of protons require a (for now) unfeasibly large number of events to recover with confidence the forward scattering signal from the background of subsequent elastic scatterings. Nevertheless, it is our hope that future large experiments, and/or more sensitive techniques, can resolve an image of the earth’s radioactive interior.     

Spectrum,angular distribution and polarization of auroral hard X-rays

The angular variations of elastic and inelastic scattering cross-sections have been calculated accounting for Hartree-Fock atomic model. Using these cross-sections the evolution of electron energy and angular distributions at different heights in the ionosphere have been computed with the help of Monte Carlo technique. Mono-energetic, power law and exponential electron spectra with isotropic and mono-directional incidence starting at an altitude of 300 km have been taken to obtain the angular and energy distribution at certain height intervals. It is found that isotropic distribution incident at the top of the ionosphere becomes anisotropic due to collisions at lower heights. Using Sauter bremsstrahlung cross-section and the calculated electron flux we have computed the spectrum, angular distribution and polarization of bremsstrahlung X-rays at different heights.The emission is found to be peaked at lower angles at higher heights and becomes isotropic with depth of penetration. Polarization is considerable at higher altitudes for mono-directional beams and becomes significant at lower heights for isotropic incidence. It is argued that the study of angular distribution and polarization can yield information about the nature of precipitating electron flux and hence about the acceleration mechanism operating during electron precipitation.     

Line-of-sight magnetic flux imbalances caused by electric currents

Several physical and observational effects may contribute to the significant imbalances of magnetic flux that are often observed in active regions. We consider an effect not previously treated: the influence of electric currents in the photosphere. Electric currents can cause a line-of-sight flux imbalance because of the directionality of the magnetic field they produce. Currents associated with magnetic flux tubes produce larger imbalances than do smoothly-varying distributions of flux and current. We estimate the magnitude of this effect for current densities, total currents, and magnetic geometry consistent with observations. The expected imbalances lie approximately in the range 0–15%, depending on the character of the current-carrying fields and the angle from which they are viewed. Observationally, current-induced flux imbalances could be indicated by a statistical dependence of the imbalance on angular distance from disk center. A general study of magnetic flux balance in active regions is needed to determine the relative importance of other - probably larger -effects such as dilute flux (too weak to measure or rendered invisible by radiative transfer effects), merging with weak background fields, and long-range connections between active regions.Operated for the National Science Foundation by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.     

Evidence of decay of flux ratio of Fe to Fe-Ni line features with electron temperature in solar flares

We report observational evidence of the decay of the flux ratio of Fe to Fe-Ni line features as a function of plasma electron temperature in solar flares in comparison to that theoretically predicted by Phillips (2004). We present the study of spectral analysis of 14 flares observed by the Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) — Low Energy Detector (SLD) payload. The SLD payload employs the state-of-the-art solid state detectors, viz., Si PIN and Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CZT) devices. The sub-keV energy resolution of Si PIN detector allows us to study the Fe-line and Fe-Ni line features appearing at 6.7 and 8 keV, respectively, in greater detail. In order to best-fit the whole spectrum at one time in the desired energy range between 4 and 25 keV we considered Gaussian-line, the multi-thermal power-law and broken power-law functions. We found that the flux ratio of Fe to Fe-Ni line features decays with flare electron temperature by the asymptotic form of polynomial of inverse third order. The relative flux ratio is ∼30 at temperature 12 MK which drops to half, ∼15 at 20 MK, and at further higher temperatures it decreases smoothly reaching to ∼8 at ∼50 MK. The flux ratio, however, at a given flare plasma temperature, and its decrease with temperature is significantly lower than that predicted theoretically. We propose that the difference may be due to the consideration of higher densities of Fe and Fe-Ni lines in the theoretical model of Phillips (2004). We suggest revising the Fe and Fe-Ni line densities in the corona. The decay of flux ratio explains the variation of equivalent width and peak energy of these line features with temperature.     

Rocket observations of the interaction of auroral electrons with the atmosphere

Electron spectra obtained during the flight of Black Brant VB-31 on August 17, 1970 through a stable aurora to a height of 268 km have been analyzed in detail to obtain the pitch angle distributions from 25 to 155° and the electron energy distributions over an energy range of 18 keV to 20 eV through the region of atmospheric interaction down to 97 km. Backscatter ratios for 140° pitch angle range from 0.065 for 18 keV electrons to 0.22 for 1 keV electrons. Backscatter of lower energy electrons decreases with atmospheric depth below 200 km. The effect of the interactions between auroral electrons and the atmosphere is such as to give a peak in electron flux which moves progressively to higher energies with penetration depth. The secondary electron flux increases monotonically with height up to 200 km. The secondary electron spectrum can be approximated by an energy power over small energy ranges but its form is somewhat dependent on height and on the primary electron spectrum.     

The origin of the density distribution of disc galaxies: a new problem for the standard model of disc formation

We present new models for the formation of disc galaxies that improve upon previous models by following the detailed accretion and cooling of the baryonic mass, and by using realistic distributions of specific angular momentum. Under the assumption of detailed angular momentum conservation, the discs that form have density distributions that are more centrally concentrated than an exponential. We examine the influence of star formation, bulge formation, and feedback on the outcome of the surface brightness distributions of the stars. Low angular momentum haloes yield disc galaxies with a significant bulge component and with a stellar disc that is close to exponential, in good agreement with observations. High angular momentum haloes, on the other hand, produce stellar discs that are much more concentrated than an exponential, in clear conflict with observations. At large radii, the models reveal distinct truncation radii in both the stars and the cold gas. The stellar truncation radii result from our implementation of star formation threshold densities, and are in excellent agreement with observations. The truncation radii in the density distribution of the cold gas reflect the maximum specific angular momentum of the gas that has cooled. We find that these truncation radii occur at H  i surface densities of roughly 1 M_⊙ pc⁻², in conflict with observations. We examine various modifications to our models, including feedback, viscosity, and dark matter haloes with constant-density cores, but show that the models consistently fail to produce bulge less discs with exponential surface brightness profiles. This signals a new problem for the standard model of disc formation: if the baryonic component of the protogalaxies out of which disc galaxies form has the same angular momentum distribution as the dark matter, discs are too compact.