Examination of the resonance theory on Pcs by means of an analysis of magnetic fluctuations in the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere

Magnetic fluctuations observed in the magnetosheath and the outer magnetosphere with Ogo-5 during 6 months from November 1968, are analyzed to examine the resonance theory that monochromatic waves excited outside the magnetosphere are transmitted in the compressional mode into the magnetosphere, being transmitted further along the closed field lines in the torsional mode and are finally observed as long-period pcs on the Earth's surface. Ten observed results on the wave characteristics of the fluctuations including variance, spectrum, relation to the plasma stream, integrated power, longitudinal dependence are obtained and summarized. The fluctuations in the magnetosheath are found to be dominantly Alfvénic. Several pieces of evidence to support the resonance theory are found.     

On the viability of a certain vector-tensor theory of gravitation

A certain vector-tensor theory is revisited. Our attention is focused on cosmology. Against previous suggestions based on preliminary studies, it is shown that, if the energy density of the vector field is large enough to play the role of the dark energy and its fluctuations are negligible, the theory is not simultaneously compatible with current observations on: supernovae, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, and the power spectrum of the energy density fluctuations. However, for small enough energy densities of the vector field and no scalar fluctuations, the theory becomes compatible with all the above observations and, moreover, it leads to an interesting evolution of the so-called vector cosmological modes. This evolution appears to be different from that of general relativity, and the difference might be useful to explain the anomalies in the low order CMB multipoles.     

Stochastic-growth theory of Langmuir growth-rate fluctuations in type III solar radio sources

Fluctuations in type III beams are produced by quasilinear interactions with clumpy Langmuir waves in type III radio sources. The properties of these fluctuations are estimated and shown to yield Langmuir growth rates and growth-rate fluctuations consistent with those required by the recent stochastic-growth theory of type III radio bursts, with observations, and with existing theoretical constraints. This strengthens the basis of stochastic-growth theory and provides an essential consistency test for this model.     

MHD compressive turbulence in the solar wind and the nearly incompressible approach

At MHD scales density fluctuation in the solar wind generally have a relative amplitude less than 0.1. The nearly incompressible MHD theory would seem then appropriate to describe a major part of the compressive turbulence at these scales. As a test of the theory, we focus on the scaling properties of density fluctuations with turbulent Mach numbers and on the level of correlation between density and temperature fluctuations. Our findings do not appear in favour of an extended applicability of the nearly incompressible theory to MHD compressive turbulence in the solar wind.     

Fluctuations in contracting objects

By a general relativistic fluctuation theory developed recently following ideas by LANDAU and LIFSHITZ, hydrodynamical fluctuations in a simple model of a contracting star are considered. It can be shown that there are always regions in which the fluctuations and mean square values of basic physical quantities are increasing.     

Buoyancy waves in Pluto’s high atmosphere: Implications for stellar occultations

We apply scintillation theory to stellar signal fluctuations in the high-resolution, high signal/noise, dual-wavelength data from the MMT observation of the 2007 March 18 occultation of P445.3 by Pluto. A well-defined high wavenumber cutoff in the fluctuations is consistent with viscous-thermal dissipation of buoyancy waves (internal gravity waves) in Pluto’s high atmosphere, and provides strong evidence that the underlying density fluctuations are governed by the gravity-wave dispersion relation.     

Fluctuations of electron precipitation to the dayside auroral zone modulated by compression and expansion of the magnetosphere

Concurrent variations of CNA fluctuations and geomagnetic fluctuations are classified into Type 1 (substorm-type), Type 2 (Pc5-type), and Type 3 which is the object of the present study. Type 3 apparently has peculiar characteristics in that CNA fluctuations at a certain auroral-zone station show a pronounced positive correlation with magnetic fluctuations at distant low-latitude stations. The magnetic fluctuations of this type are identified to generalized Si which tends to take place much more frequently than the so-called Si. The CNA fluctuations of this type are found to take place on the dayside auroral zone only when preceded by a magnetic substorm on the night side. Considering the change of the growth rate of electron cyclotron instability and enhancement of pitch angle diffusion due to the change of magnetic field intensity, the following model is proposed to explain the occurrence mechanism of Type 3 concurrent variations. The CNA fluctuations take place only when two conditions are satisfied; generation of the accelerated electrons in association with substorm onset and modulation of the precipitation of the electrons by compression and expansion of the magnetosphere, in other words, by generalized Si.     

Scaling laws and coherent structures in the solar wind

The interplanetary medium is characterized by a very high Reynolds number and is pervaded by fluctuations providing information on a wide range of scales, from fractions of second up to the solar rotation period. In the past decade or so, turbulence in the solar wind has been used as a large wind tunnel to investigate scaling laws of turbulent fluctuations and multifractal models. Moreover, new interesting insights in the theory of turbulence have been derived from the point of view which considers a turbulent flow as a complex system, a sort of benchmark for the theory of dynamical systems. Important finding like the lack of a strict self-similarity of the fluctuations with the consequent nonapplicability of strict scale invariance, the strong anisotropy of velocity and magnetic field fluctuations, the clear lack of equipartition between magnetic and kinetic fluctuations all contributed to suggest the idea that interplanetary fluctuations could possibly be due to a mixture of propagating waves and static structures convected by the wind. In this paper we further discuss this point and bring new evidence about the fact that the presence of a background magnetic field introduces not only a symmetry breaking in interplanetary space but also organizes fluctuations about its large scale orientation.     

Can non-linear structure form at the era of decoupling?

The effects of large-scale fluctuations on small-scale isothermal modes at the epoch of recombination are analysed. We find the following. (a) Albeit the fact that primordial fluctuations were at this epoch still well in the linear regime, a significant non-linear radiation hydrodynamic interaction could have taken place. (b) Short-wavelength isothermal fluctuations are unstable. Their growth rate is an exponential function of the amplitude of the large-scale fluctuations and is therefore very sensitive to the initial conditions. (c) The observed cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) fluctuations are of order of the limit above which the effect should be significant. Thus, depending on their exact value, the effect may be negligible or lead to structure formation out of the isothermal fluctuations within the period of recombination. (d) If the cosmological parameters are within the prescribed regime, the effect should be detectable through induced deviations in the Planck spectrum. (e) The sensitivity of the effect to the initial conditions provides a tool to set limits on various cosmological parameters with emphasis on the type and amplitude of the primordial fluctuation spectrum. (f) Under proper conditions, the effect may be responsible for the formation of sub-globular-cluster sized objects at particularly high redshifts. (g) Under certain circumstances, it can also affect horizon-sized large-scale structure.     

Angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background owing to initial perturbations in the radiation temperature

A new method is proposed to account for multiple scattering by electrons in calculations of the correlation functions describing the angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The apparatus of the theory of radiative transport with Rayleigh scattering is used. The problem is reduced to solving an integral equation for the vector source function (dependent only on time), along with differential equations for the other quantities (scalar potentials, baryon velocities, etc.) which show up in the problem. The quantities which describe the angular fluctuations in the CMBR (in the temperature and in the polarization) are then calculated by integrating the vector source function along the line of sight. As an illustration, the correlation functions and power spectra are calculated for the case where the fluctuations are produced by some initial gaussian perturbations of the CMBR. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 621–631 (November 2007).     

Darkening and visibility functions for the global five-minute oscillations

A theory for the brightness fluctuations of the Sun as a star under the effect of its global oscillations has been developed. Formulas for the darkening and visibility of p-modes are derived and their calculations are performed in the local approximation for adiabatic oscillations. Observational data from the DIFOS multichannel photometer onboard the CORONAS-F satellite are used to solve the inverse problem of determining the amplitude of the five-minute temperature fluctuations in the solar photosphere as a function of the height. Analysis of the solution and comparison with the results of other authors suggest that the predicted temperature waves resulting from a linear transformation of p-modes in the photosphere exist in the photosphere. The wavelength and phase velocity of the temperature waves are considerably smaller than those of acoustic waves. It turns out that the solar brightness fluctuations should be produced mainly by the temperature waves in the photosphere, not by the p-modes themselves. The darkening function for the brightness fluctuations is oscillatory in behavior, while the visibility function can differ markedly from that for the Doppler shifts of spectral lines produced by p-modes. These properties are important for interpreting the observations of stellar oscillations based on stellar brightness fluctuations.     

Nonlinear density fluctuation field theory for large scale structure

We develop an effective field theory of density fluctuations for a Newtonian self-gravitating N-body system in quasi-equilibrium and apply it to a homogeneous uni-verse with small density fluctuations. Keeping the density fluctuations up to second or-der, we obtain the nonlinear field equation of 2-pt correlation ξ(r), which contains 3-pt correlation and formal ultra-violet divergences. By the Groth-Peebles hierarchical ansatz and mass renormalization, the equation becomes closed with two new terms beyond the Gaussian approximation, and their coefficients are taken as parameters. The analytic solu-tion is obtained in terms of the hypergeometric functions, which is checked numerically.With one single set of two fixed parameters, the correlation ξ(r) and the corresponding power spectrum P(k) simultaneously match the results from all the major surveys, such as APM, SDSS, 2dfGRS, and REFLEX. The model gives a unifying understanding of several seemingly unrelated features of large scale structure from a field-theoretical per-spective. The theory is worth extending to study the evolution effects in an expanding universe.     

Fluctuations of light intensity in coron Æ formed by diffraction

Summary The fluctuations of light intensity in the diffraction corona produced by a large number of randomly distributed particles are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical considerations show that the view put forward by de Haas is inadequate and that really the fluctuations arise owing to the interference of the waves diffracted byall the particles, which gives rise to a large number of sharp images of the source in monochromatic light. In white light, these spots must spread out, and produce radial streaks. These deductions from theory are all borne out by experiment.     

Fluctuation theory of the mass flux from the stars: The refutations

This third paper on the stellar mass loss as a fluctuation phenomenon addresses the refutations. It discusses the instability of the subphotosphere to outward mass flows, which develop into stochastic surges. By applying the principle of minimum free energy, the average outward velocity to which these flows are amplified is found to be just below the atmospheric escape velocity. Small fluctuations above this average value will therefore lead to mass loss. This justifies the Langevin equation, introduced previously to describe the mass loss, and a formal derivation of this equation is presented. The average value is, furthermore, related to the earlier postulated equipartition of kinetic and thermal power of the atmosphere. Finally, the paper discusses deviations of the stellar relaxation time fromGM ² /RL, when a strong concentration of matter is at the centre. These deviations explain the anomalous behaviour of the mass loss rate of red (super)giants, so that the essential prediction of the fluctuation theory for the loss rate is not refuted.     

Rapidly varying accretion and AGN feedback

Accretion rates on to active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are likely to be extremely variable on short time-scales; much shorter than the typical cooling time of X-ray emitting gas in elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters. Using the Langevin approach it is shown that, for a simple feedback system, this can induce variability in the AGN power output that is of much larger amplitude, and persists for longer time-scales, than the initial fluctuations. An implication of this is that rich galaxy clusters are expected to show the largest and longest-lived fluctuations. Stochastic variations in the accretion rate also mean that the AGN injects energy across a wide range of time-scales. This allows the AGN to maintain a much closer balance with its surroundings than if it was periodically activated. The possible non-linear correlation between Bondi accretion rate and jet power, found by Allen et al., can be explained if the instantaneous accretion rate, scaled by jet power, varies log-normally. This explanation also implies that the duty cycle of AGN activity increases with the radiative losses of the surroundings, in qualitative agreement with Best et al.     

21-cm fluctuations from inhomogeneous X-ray heating before reionization

Many models of early structure formation predict a period of heating immediately preceding reionization, when X-rays raise the gas temperature above that of the cosmic microwave background. These X-rays are often assumed to heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) uniformly, but in reality will heat the gas more strongly closer to the sources. We develop a framework for calculating fluctuations in the 21-cm brightness temperature that originate from this spatial variation in the heating rate. High-redshift sources are highly clustered, leading to significant gas temperature fluctuations (with fractional variations ∼40 per cent, peaking on   k ∼ 0.1 Mpc⁻¹  scales). This induces a distinctive peak-trough structure in the angle-averaged 21-cm power spectrum, which may be accessible to the proposed Square Kilometre Array. This signal reaches the ∼10 mK level, and is stronger than that induced by Lyα flux fluctuations. As well as probing the thermal evolution of the IGM before reionization, this 21-cm signal contains information about the spectra of the first X-ray sources. Finally, we consider disentangling temperature, density and Lyα flux fluctuations as functions of redshift.     

星风吸积下的有盘X射线脉冲星

近年来对吸积流的数值模拟工作证实了在星风吸积中吸积盘的存在。本文在此基础上，讨论具有早型伴星的Ｘ射线脉冲星吸积过程中吸积盘与球吸积流的相互作用。我们发现，盘吸积率和球吸积率的相对变化可以导致吸积盘和吸积矩的改变，从而解释了这类脉冲星脉冲周期的复杂变化，我们以典型星ＶｅｌａＸ－１和Ａ０５３５＋２６为例分别作了讨论。