A Statistical Study on Photospheric Magnetic Nonpotentiality of Active Regions and Its Relationship with Flares During Solar Cycles 22?–?23

A statistical study is carried out on the photospheric magnetic nonpotentiality in solar active regions and its relationship with associated flares. We select 2173 photospheric vector magnetograms from 1106 active regions observed by the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at Huairou Solar Observing Station, National Astronomical Observatories of China, in the period of 1988??C?2008, which covers most of the 22nd and 23rd solar cycles. We have computed the mean planar magnetic shear angle ( $\overline{\Delta\phi}$ ), mean shear angle of the vector magnetic field ( $\overline{\Delta\psi}$ ), mean absolute vertical current density ( $\overline{|J_{z}|}$ ), mean absolute current helicity density ( $\overline{|h_{\mathrm{c}}|}$ ), absolute twist parameter (|?? _av|), mean free magnetic energy density ( $\overline{\rho_{\mathrm{free}}}$ ), effective distance of the longitudinal magnetic field (d _E), and modified effective distance (d _Em) of each photospheric vector magnetogram. Parameters $\overline{|h_{\mathrm{c}}|}$ , $\overline{\rho_{\mathrm{free}}}$ , and d _Em show higher correlations with the evolution of the solar cycle. The Pearson linear correlation coefficients between these three parameters and the yearly mean sunspot number are all larger than 0.59. Parameters $\overline {\Delta\phi}$ , $\overline{\Delta\psi}$ , $\overline{|J_{z}|}$ , |?? _av|, and d _E show only weak correlations with the solar cycle, though the nonpotentiality and the complexity of active regions are greater in the activity maximum periods than in the minimum periods. All of the eight parameters show positive correlations with the flare productivity of active regions, and the combination of different nonpotentiality parameters may be effective in predicting the flaring probability of active regions.     

The broad band spectral index of TeV blazars detected by Fermi LAT

Using γ-ray data detected by Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and multi-wave band data for 35 TeV blazars sample, we have studied the possible correlations between different broad band spectral indices ( $\alpha_{\rm r.ir}$ , $\alpha_{\rm{r.o}}$ , $\alpha_{\rm r.x}$ , $\alpha_{\rm r.\gamma}$ , $\alpha_{\rm{ir.o}}$ , $\alpha_{\rm ir.x}$ , $\alpha_{\rm ir.\gamma}$ , $\alpha_{\rm o.x}$ , $\alpha_{\rm o.\gamma}$ , $\alpha_{\rm r.x}$ , $\alpha_{\rm x.\gamma}$ ) in all states (average/high/low). Our results are as follows: (1) For our TeV blazars sample, the strong positive correlations were found between $\alpha_{\rm r.ir}$ and $\alpha_{\rm{r.o}}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm r.ir}$ and $\alpha_{\rm r.x}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm r.ir}$ and $\alpha_{\rm r.\gamma}$ in all states (average/high/low); (2) For our TeV blazars sample, the strong anti-correlations were found between $\alpha_{\rm r.ir}$ and $\alpha_{\rm x.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm{r.o}}$ and $\alpha_{\rm ir.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm{r.o}}$ and $\alpha_{\rm o.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm{r.o}}$ and $\alpha_{\rm x.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\mathrm{ir.o}}$ and $\alpha_{\rm o.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm r.x}$ and $\alpha_{\rm x.\gamma}$ , between $\alpha_{\rm ir.x}$ and $\alpha_{\rm x.\gamma}$ in all states (average/high/low). The results suggest that the synchrotron self-Compton radiation (SSC) is the main mechanism of high energy γ-ray emission and the inverse Compton scattering of circum-nuclear dust is likely to be a important complementary mechanism for TeV blazars. Our results also show that the possible correlations vary from state to state in the same pair of indices, Which suggest that there may exist differences in the emitting process and in the location of the emitting region for different states.     

Did the universe start with the Higgs-field?

In a cosmological model developed by the author in previous articles the universe starts in a geometrical phase transition in Minkowski space. Here the source of the gravitational field is a Higgs-like scalar field $\bar{\phi}$ . A relation of this cosmological field $\bar{\phi}$ with the Higgs-field ? _H in the gauge theory of electroweak interaction is established. This relation leads to two dimensionless constants. One of them is interpreted as a characteristic constant of the phase transition and is connected with the volume of huge bubbles of open universes.     

Ultra-high energy neutrino fluxes from supermassive AGN black holes

We compute the ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino fluxes from plausible accreting supermassive black holes closely linking to the 377 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). They have well-determined black hole masses collected from the literature. The neutrinos are produced via simple or modified URCA processes, even after the neutrino trapping, in superdense proto-matter medium. The resulting fluxes are ranging from: (1) (quark reactions)— $J^{q}_{\nu\varepsilon}/(\varepsilon_{d}\ \mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{sr}^{-1})\simeq8.29\times 10^{-16}$ to 3.18×10^?4, with the average $\overline{J}^{q}_{\nu\varepsilon}\simeq5.53\times 10^{-10}\varepsilon_{d}\ \mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{sr}^{-1}$ , where ε _d ～10^?12 is the opening parameter; (2) (pionic reactions)— $J^{\pi}_{\nu\varepsilon} \simeq0.112J^{q}_{\nu\varepsilon}$ , with the average $J^{\pi}_{\nu\varepsilon} \simeq3.66\times 10^{-11}\varepsilon_{d}\ \mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{sr}^{-1}$ ; and (3) (modified URCA processes)— $J^{URCA}_{\nu\varepsilon}\simeq7.39\times10^{-11} J^{q}_{\nu\varepsilon}$ , with the average $\overline{J}^{URCA}_{\nu\varepsilon} \simeq2.41\times10^{-20} \varepsilon_{d}\ \mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{sr}^{-1}$ . We conclude that the AGNs are favored as promising pure neutrino sources, because the computed neutrino fluxes are highly beamed along the plane of accretion disk, peaked at high energies and collimated in smaller opening angle θ～ε _d .     

Bimodal Distribution of Magnetic Fields and Areas of Sunspots

We applied automatic identification of sunspot umbrae and penumbrae to daily observations from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to study their magnetic flux density (B) and area (A). The results confirm an already known logarithmic relationship between the area of sunspots and their maximum flux density. In addition, we find that the relation between average magnetic flux density ( $B_{\rm avg}$ ) and sunspot area shows a bimodal distribution: for small sunspots and pores (A≤20 millionth of solar hemisphere, MSH), $B_{\rm avg} \approx 800~\mbox{G}$ (gauss), and for large sunspots (A≥100 MSH), $B_{\rm avg}$ is about 600 G. For intermediate sunspots, average flux density linearly decreases from about 800 G to 600 G. A similar bimodal distribution was found in several other integral parameters of sunspots. We show that this bimodality can be related to different stages of sunspot penumbra formation and can be explained by the difference in average inclination of magnetic fields at the periphery of small and large sunspots.     

On the velocity of jets powering hot spots similar to those in Cygnus A

Hot spots similar to those in the radio galaxy Cygnus A can be explained by the strong shock produced by a supersonic but classical jet \(\left( {u_{jet}< c/\sqrt 3 } \right)\) . The high integrated radio luminosity (L?2×10⁴⁴ erg s^?1) and the strength of mean magnetic field (B?2×10^?4 G) suggest the hot spots are the downstream flow of a very strong shock which generates the ultrarelativistic electrons of energy ?≥20 MeV. The fully-developed subsonic turbulence amplifies the magnetic field of the jet up to 1.6×10^?4 G by the dynamo effect. If we assume that the post-shock pressure is dominated by relativistic particles, the ratio between the magnetic energy density to the energy density in relativistic particles is found to be ?2×10^?2, showing that the generally accepted hypothesis of equipartition is not valid for hot spots. The current analysis allows the determination of physical parameters inside hot spots. It is found that:

1. The velocity of the upstream flow in the frame of reference of the shock isu ₁?0.2c. Radio observations indicate that the velocity of separation of hot spots isu _sep?0.05c, so that the velocity of the jet isu _jet=u ₁+u _sep?0.25c.
2. The density of the thermal electrons inside the hot spot isn ₂?5×10^?3 e ^? cm^?3 and the mass ejected per year to power the hot spot is ?4M ₀yr^?1.
3. The relativistic electron density is less than 20% of the thermal electron density inside the hot spot and the spectrum is a power law which continues to energies as low as 30 MeV.
4. The energy density of relativistic protons is lower than the energy density of relativistic electrons unlike the situation for cosmic rays in the Galaxy.

     

Static spherically-symmetric scalar-field theory in general relativity

A spherically-symmetric static scalar field in general relativity is considered. The field equations are defined by $$\begin{gathered} R_{ik} = - \mu \varphi _i \varphi _k ,\varphi _i = \frac{{\partial \varphi }}{{\partial x^i }}, \varphi ^i = g^{ik} \varphi _k , \hfill \\ \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where ?=?(r,t) is a scalar field. In the past, the same problem was considered by Bergmann and Leipnik (1957) and Buchdahl (1959) with the assumption that ?=?(r) be independent oft and recently by Wyman (1981) with the assumption ?=?(r, t). The object of this paper is to give explicit results with a different approach and under a more general condition $$\phi _{;i}^i = ( - g)^{ - 1/2} \frac{\partial }{{\partial x^i }}\left[ {( - g)^{1/2} g^{ik} \frac{\partial }{{\partial x^k }}} \right] = - 4\pi ( -g )^{ - 1/2} \rho $$ where ?=?(r, t) is the mass or the charge density of the sources of the field.     

Stability of ion-acoustic waves in a pair-ion plasma with a third species of ions: application to cometary plasmas

A popular model of a cometary plasma is hydrogen (H⁺) with positively charged oxygen (O⁺) as a heavier ion component. However, the discovery of negatively charged oxygen (O^?) ions enables one to model a cometary plasma as a pair-ion plasma (of O⁺ and O^?) with hydrogen as a third ion constituent. We have, therefore, studied the stability of the ion-acoustic wave in such a pair-ion plasma with hydrogen and electrons streaming with velocities $V_{d\mathrm{H}^{+}}$ and V _de , respectively, relative to the oxygen ions. We find the calculated frequency of the ion-acoustic wave with this model to be in good agreement with the observed frequencies. The ion-acoustic wave can also be driven unstable by the streaming velocity of the hydrogen ions. The growth rate increases with increasing hydrogen density $n_{\mathrm{H}^{+}}$ , and streaming velocities $V_{d\mathrm{H}^{+}}$ and V _de . It, however, decreases with increasing oxygen ion densities $n_{\mathrm{O}^{+}}$ and $n_{\mathrm{O}^{-}}$ .     

Tachyonic (phantom) power-law cosmology

Tachyonic scalar field-driven late universe with dust matter content is considered. The cosmic expansion is modeled with power-law and phantom power-law expansion at late time, i.e. z?0.45. WMAP7 and its combined data are used to constraint the model. The forms of potential and the field solution are different for quintessence and tachyonic cases. Power-law cosmology model (driven by either quintessence or tachyonic field) predicts unmatched equation of state parameter to the observational value, hence the power-law model is excluded for both quintessence and tachyonic field. In the opposite, the phantom power-law model predicts agreeing valued of equation of state parameter with the observational data for both quintessence and tachyonic cases, i.e. $w_{\phi, 0} = -1.49^{+11.64}_{-4.08}$ (WMAP7+BAO+H ₀) and $w_{\phi, 0} = -1.51^{+3.89}_{-6.72} $ (WMAP7). The phantom-power law exponent β must be less than about ?6, so that the ?2<w _?,0<?1. The phantom power-law tachyonic potential is reconstructed. We found that dimensionless potential slope variable Γ at present is about 1.5. The tachyonic potential reduced to V=V ₀ ? ^?2 in the limit Ω _m,0→0.     

Nonlinear newtonian theory and the effect of time dilatation

The fact that the energy density ρ_g of a static spherically symmetric gravitational field acts as a source of gravity, gives us a harmonic function \(f\left( \varphi \right) = e^{\varphi /c^2 } \) , which is determined by the nonlinear differential equation $$\nabla ^2 \varphi = 4\pi k\rho _g = - \frac{1}{{c^2 }}\left( {\nabla \varphi } \right)^2 $$ Furthermore, we formulate the infinitesimal time-interval between a couple of events measured by two different inertial observers, one in a position with potential φ-i.e., dt _φ and the other in a position with potential φ=0-i.e., dt ₀, as $${\text{d}}t_\varphi = f{\text{d}}t_0 .$$ When the principle of equivalence is satisfied, we obtain the well-known effect of time dilatation.     

Non-minimal derivatively coupled quintessence in the Palatini formalism

The quintessence dark energy model with a kinetic coupling to gravity within the Palatini formalism is studied in this paper. Two different coupling forms: $\hat{R}\partial^{\mu}\phi\partial_{\mu}\phi$ and $\hat {R}_{\mu\nu}\partial^{\mu}\phi\partial^{\nu}\phi$ are analyzed, respectively. We find that both the model with the $\hat{R}\partial^{\mu}\phi\partial_{\mu}\phi$ coupling and the one with the $\hat{R}_{\mu\nu}\partial^{\mu}\phi\partial^{\nu}\phi$ coupling can realize the phantom divide line crossing from phantom to quintessence at late time for its effective equation-of-state. Furthermore, the former can behave like phantom. These features are different from those found in the $\hat {R}\phi^{2}$ coupling case.     

Dark energy and future singularity of the universe in Kaluza-Klein space time

The dark energy model with the equation of state \(p_{\mathit{DE}} = {-} \rho_{\mathit{DE}} - A\rho_{\mathit{DE}}^{\alpha} \) is studied in Kaluza-Klein space time. The model comprises and provides realization of several types of singularities in different parameter regimes. We discuss the finite-time singularities into four classes and explicitly present the models which give rise to these singularities by assuming the form of the equation of state of dark energy. Also, we discussed the models in terms of the cosmological redshift and some observational parameters.     

Primordial magnetic fields constrained from CMB anisotropies on dynamo cosmology

Magneto-curvature stresses could deform magnetic field lines giving rise to back reaction and restoring magnetic stresses (Tsagas in Phys. Rev. Lett., 2001). Barrow and Tsagas (Phys. Rev. D, 2008) have shown that in Friedman universe the expansion slows down in its spatial section of negative Riemann curvature. Earlier, Chicone and Latushkin (Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 125(11):3391, 1995) proved that fast dynamos in compact 2D manifold implies negatively constant Riemannian curvature. Here one applies the Barrow-Tsagas ideas to cosmic dynamos of negative curvature. Fast dynamo, covariant stretching of Riemann slices of cosmic Lobachevsky plane is given. Inclusion of advection term on dynamo equations (Clarkson and Marklund in Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 2005) is considered. In advection absence, slow dynamos are also obtained. It is shown the viscous and restoring forces on stretching particles decrease, as magnetic rates increase. From COBE data ( $\frac{{\delta}B}{B}\approx{10^{-5}}$ ), one is able to compute the stretching $\frac{{\delta}V^{y}}{V^{y}}=1.5\frac{{\delta}B}{B}\approx{1.5{\times}10^{-5}}$ . Zeldovich et al. have computed the maximum magnetic growth rate as γ _max ≈8.0×10^?1 t ^?1. From COBE data a lower growth rate as γ _COBE ≈6.0×10^?6 t ^?1, is well-within Zeldovich et al estimate. Instead of Harrison value $B\approx{t^{\frac{4}{3}}}$ one obtains a lower primordial field B≈10^?6 t which yields B≈10^?6 G at 1 s Big Bang time.     

On the connection between the Nekhoroshev theorem and Arnold diffusion

The analytical techniques of the Nekhoroshev theorem are used to provide estimates on the coefficient of Arnold diffusion along a particular resonance in the Hamiltonian model of Froeschlé et al. (Science 289:2108–2110, 2000). A resonant normal form is constructed by a computer program and the size of its remainder ||R _opt || at the optimal order of normalization is calculated as a function of the small parameter ${\epsilon}$ . We find that the diffusion coefficient scales as ${D \propto ||R_{opt}||^3}$ , while the size of the optimal remainder scales as ${||R_{opt}|| \propto {\rm exp}(1/\epsilon^{0.21})}$ in the range ${10^{-4} \leq \epsilon \leq 10^{-2}}$ . A comparison is made with the numerical results of Lega et al. (Physica D 182:179–187, 2003) in the same model.     

The planetary spin and rotation period: a modern approach

Using a new approach, we have obtained a formula for calculating the rotation period and radius of planets. In the ordinary gravitomagnetism the gravitational spin (S) orbit (L) coupling, $\vec{L}\cdot\vec{S}\propto L^{2}$ , while our model predicts that $\vec{L}\cdot\vec{S}\propto\frac{m}{M}L^{2}$ , where M and m are the central and orbiting masses, respectively. Hence, planets during their evolution exchange L and S until they reach a final stability at which MS∝mL, or $S\propto\frac{m^{2}}{v}$ , where v is the orbital velocity of the planet. Rotational properties of our planetary system and exoplanets are in agreement with our predictions. The radius (R) and rotational period (D) of tidally locked planet at a distance a from its star, are related by, $D^{2}\propto\sqrt{\frac{M}{m^{3}}}R^{3}$ and that $R\propto\sqrt{\frac {m}{M}}a$ .     

Multi-Band Spectral Properties of Fermi Blazars

The multi-band data covering optical, X-ray and γ-ray energy regions of 130 Fermi blazars in the First LAT AGN Catalog (1LAC) were collected to investigate the broadband spectral properties. The composite spectral indices show that HBLs have convex optical-to-X-ray continua and concave X-ray-to-γ-ray continua, α _{γX γ} >0 and α _XOX ?<?0, while FSRQs and LBLs have α _{γX γ} ?<?0. The α _XOX distribution of FSRQs and LBLs extends from negative to positive values. We suggest α _{γX γ} ?>?0 and α _XOX ?<?0 could be considered as a criterion for HBLs. Moreover, HBLs have narrow distribution of peak interval of $\log\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm ic}-\log\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm syn}$ , and FSRQs have significant anti-correlation between $\log\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm ic}-\log\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm syn}$ and $\log\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm syn}$ . This indicates that SSC model is responsible for high energy emission of HBLs, while EC for FSRQs. Our results also indicate that FSRQs with larger break energy of electrons have smaller bulk Lorentz factor of dissipation region.     

The Chandra X-ray galaxy clusters at z<1.4: constraints on the evolution of L X −T−M g relations

We analyzed the luminosity-temperature-mass of gas (L _X ?T?M _g ) relations for a sample of 21 Chandra galaxy clusters. We used the standard approach (β?model) to evaluate these relations for our sample that differs from other catalogues since it considers galaxy clusters at higher redshifts (0.4<z<1.4). We assumed power-law relations in the form $L_{X} \sim(1 +z)^{A_{L_{X}T}} T^{\beta_{L_{X}T}}$ , $M_{g} \sim(1 + z)^{A_{M_{g}T}} T^{\beta_{M_{g}T}}$ , and $M_{g} \sim(1 + z)^{A_{M_{g}L_{X}}} L^{\beta_{M_{g}L_{X}}}$ . We obtained the following fitting parameters with 68 % confidence level: $A_{L_{X}T} = 1.50 \pm0.23$ , $\beta_{L_{X}T} = 2.55 \pm0.07$ ; $A_{M_{g}T} = -0.58 \pm0.13$ and $\beta_{M_{g}T} = 1.77 \pm0.16$ ; $A_{M_{g}L_{X}} \approx-1.86 \pm0.34$ and $\beta_{M_{g}L_{X}} = 0.73 \pm0.15$ , respectively. We found that the evolution of the M _g ?T relation is small, while the M _g ?L _X relation is strong for the cosmological parameters Ω _m =0.27 and Ω _Λ =0.73. In overall, the clusters at high-z have stronger dependencies between L _X ?T?M _g correlations, than those for clusters at low-z. For most of galaxy clusters (first of all, from MACS and RCS surveys) these results are obtained for the first time.     

Integral wide-field spectroscopy in astronomy: the Imaging FTS solution

Long-slit grating spectrometers in scanning mode and Fabry–Perot interferometers as tunable filters are commonly used to perform integral wide-field spectroscopy on extended astrophysical objects as HII regions and nearby galaxies. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate, by comparison, through a thorough review of the imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (IFTS) properties, that this instrument represents another interesting solution. After a brief recall of the performances, regarding FOV and spectral resolution, of the grating spectrometer, without and with integral field units (IFU), and of the imaging Fabry–Perot, it is demonstrated that for an IFTS the product of the maximum resolution R by the entrance beam étendue U is equal to $2.6\,N\times S_I$ with $N\,\times \,N$ the number of pixels of the detector array and S $_I$ the area of the interferometer beamsplitter. As a consequence, the IFTS offers the most flexible choice of field size and spectral resolution, up to high values for both parameters. It also presents on a wide field an important multichannel advantage in comparison to integral field grating spectrometers, even with multiple IFUs. To complete, the few astronomical IFTSs, built behind ground-based telescopes and in space, for the visible range up to the sub-millimetric domain, are presented. Through two wide-field IFTS projects, one in the visible, the other one in the mid-infrared, the question is addressed of the practical FOV and resolution limits, set by the optical design of the instrument, which can be achieved. Within the 0.3 to $\sim $ 2.5 $\upmu$ m domain, a Michelson interferometer with wide-field diopric collimators provides the easiest solution. This design is illustrated by a $11^{\prime}\times 11^{\prime}$ -field IFTS in the 0.35–0.90 $\upmu$ m range around an off-axis interferometer, called SITELLE, proposed for the 3.6-m CFH Telescope. At longer wavelengths, an all-mirror optics is required, as studied for a spaceborne IFTS, H2EX, for the 8–29 $\upmu$ m range, a $20^{\prime} \times 20^{\prime}$ field, and a high resolution of $\simeq 3\times 10^4$ at 10 $\upmu$ m. To comply with these characteristics, the interferometer is designed with cat’s eye retroreflectors. In the same domain and up to the far infrared, if the instrument aims only at a low spectral resolution (few thousands) and a smaller field (few arcmins $^2$ ), roof-top or corner cube mirrors, as for the IFTS SPIRE on the Herschel space telescope, are usable. At last, perspectives are opened, behind an ELT in the visible and the near infrared with the SITELLE optical combination, in the 2–5 $\upmu$ m on the Antarctic plateau or in space up to longer wavelengths, with the H2EX design, to provide the missing capability of global high spectral resolution studies of extended sources, from comets to distant galaxy clusters.     

A note on theH-functions of transfer problems in multiplying media

Some useful results and remodelled representations ofH-functions corresponding to the dispersion function $$T\left( z \right) = 1 - 2z^2 \sum\limits_1^n {\int_0^{\lambda r} {Y_r } \left( x \right){\text{d}}x/\left( {z^2 - x^2 } \right)} $$ are derived, suitable to the case of a multiplying medium characterized by $$\gamma _0 = \sum\limits_1^n {\int_0^{\lambda r} {Y_r } \left( x \right){\text{d}}x > \tfrac{1}{2} \Rightarrow \xi = 1 - 2\gamma _0< 0} $$